The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion wasn't the first next-gen game that I owned for my 360, but it was the first to make me feel that the next generation had finally arrived. This game is so huge, so rich, and so wonderful that it's difficult to find a place to begin.
I suppose the first thing players will notice when they start into Oblivion is that the game is gorgeous. Though the framerate occasionally stutters, mainly outdoors and especially when moving really fast like on horseback, the visuals are generally stunning. The player can stand atop a mountain at one end of the game world and look out across the landscape to the far distant hills and valleys. Objects, especially characters and their weapons and armors, are wonderfully detailed, so much so that building the appearance of one's character could take an hour if the player wanted to get that intimate with it.
Then there's the audio which does a great job, especially in the voice acting which includes Patrick Stewart as Emperor Septim. One aspect of Oblivion that gives it room to boast over Morrowind is that all the dialog is fully voice acted, and by "all" I really do mean "all" without exception, no matter how mundane and trivial the dialog might be. The musical scores aren't particularly memorable, but they set the mood nicely.
The most important aspect of any good game is the gameplay, and boy does Oblivion deliver. The game allows so much freedom that players can pick their own progression through the main plot, side plots, and guilds as they desire, or even not at all. Players can join and progress in a list of guilds if they so desire. They can play their character and develop them in any way they want. They can create their own unique spells, enchant their equipment, create potions through alchemy, fight in the arena, gamble, and so much more that a player could easily spend a dozen hours playing without ever considering the game's main quest at all.
Then there's the massive world that's so intricately detailed, complete with so many places to explore that it's unlikely that most players would ever venture through them all. Players can travel on foot or on horseback, but Oblivion also offers players the ability to "fast travel", allowing them to sort of fast-forward as if they had walked from one point to another complete with the advancement of time but without the player actually spending the time bothering with it.
I put over 100 hours into my character and, even after finishing the game, still had a lot that I wanted to do. Anybody that enjoys RPGs should definitely get their money's worth out of this wonderful gem, but the realistic pacing isn't for everybody.
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