Category: video-games

The Original Oblivion still looks beautiful in 2025

The Imperial City in The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion
The Original Oblivion still looks incredible.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion got a remastered version in April of this year. It was quite a treat as the game has given what I consider to be my favorite version of the Elder Scrolls a boost in visibility. A game that was in the shadows of the massive titan of Skyrim, was now getting in its place in the sun

After I played the Oblivion Remastered, I went back to original Oblivion and I was impressed still with the graphics. They have aged in some areas but I think what is most important is that the game has is the style of the graphics. This is an area that many groundbreaking games tend to have issues with having a timeless style as they are so focused on impressing people who want to benchmark their computers not think about the artistic style.

The Imperial City vantage point is from Bleaker's Way.
The Imperial City vantage point is from Bleaker’s Way.

The village of Bleaker’s Way is larger than most of the equivalent villages in Skyrim. Its location is quite angelic in a sense. It is nestled in the hills, hidden away from any major buildings. However, you get great views of the imperial City from these screenshots that I have taken. This is just a great place to take screenshots. This is what the game is great at here. Skyrim seems to have improved upon it but I love Oblivion’s vistas more. I think it’s because Skyrim is more in line with browns and its greenery is closer to Riften which is much further to the South. Skyrim does not have a great variety of greenery within its snowy and cold climate. However, it’s just too earthy for me, probably because it just doesn’t look as good in a game.

Oblivion has the right style to me.

The Heartlands were always the best looking part of the game in my opinion. While all the other regions have their charm, it is in the center of Cyrodil where the game really shines here. It makes sense as this where the player would first see the incredible environments of Oblivion after leaving the dark areas of the sewers. This is what makes Oblivion so unique in the sense of games at this time. Many games were becoming brownish in the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 generation era. Oblivion stood as a symbol of Arthurian color in a sea of browns and grays.

The village of Bleaker’s Way, even in the original version is so beautiful to glance at. You want to take time just to glance the rustic beauty of the houses and colors of the flowers. It is truly a place that one can touch grass and enjoy the roses.

Even closer up, the Imperial City and water gives off such majesty.

Even with its rustic simplicity in some of the villages, Oblivion has a style that is timeless and makes cherish it every time I keep playing the game even if Skyrim is technically more sophisticated than it.

There is just something about the style that keeps it interesting to players in our age.

Battlefield 2042 Breakaway Map: Adventure and War in the Antarctic

Battlefield 2042 has some truly interesting maps to play on. One of those maps is Breakaway, which is a map that takes place in Antarctica. I have always enjoyed playing on snowy and arctic maps since the Delta Force games.

There is something unique about snowy maps. The color in it is particularly amazing to see in these modern games. The full textures and the shapes can be full revealed in these engines.

This is a map that reminds heavily of Battlefield 2142 with its heavy emphasis on snow in the European theatre. Battlefield 2142 in many ways had some of my favorite maps in the Battlefield series. It’s bold willingness to embrace its setting in its map design gave it a unique style which I cannot see in the newer games.

One of the main issues with Battlefield 6 when I was playing the beta was that too many of the maps looked similar to each other. One of the reasons why Liberation Peak was on top for me was because it was able to combine a small town, hilltop fortifications and lots of mountainous terrain. Empire State was too interior oriented for me to enjoy. Siege of Cairo is better as it is more exotic being an Egyptian setting and I think that it seems better designed than what we see with Empire State.

That is why when Battlefield 6 comes out, I am sure to enjoy Liberation Peak as my favorite map. It is big enough and has some of my favorite geographical features of mountains and snowy peaks. That is what makes it so beautiful and enjoyable to play.

There are still some maps out there that have not been released but I believe that they will play to their own strengths.

Battlefield 6: Liberation Peak is the best map in the Open Beta

Battlefield 6 Liberation Peak Mountains and Sniper

Battlefield 6’s Liberation Peak was probably one of the best maps of the open beta. I am guy who loves snow and this map just scratches that itch in more ways than one.

In comparison with the infantry heavy Empire State map, Liberation peak allows for the player to breathe and for tactics to matter instead of constantly worrying about soldiers behind you or in nearby buildings. Unlike that map, Liberation Peak uses space in a way that similar to Monte Grappe in Battlefield 1. Natural formations allow for snipers to hide behind rocks and mountain passes give the map a character which is missing in some of the maps such as Siege of Cairo and Empire State.

In my opinion, those urban maps are simply too cluttered and filed with cars and rubble. It is hard to make out what you are seeing and it turns the matches into whack a mole games where one guy slips by and you race to capture yet another location in the rear.

I believe that they will be improving these maps before the release of the full game.

What Liberation Peak reminds me of those classic Battlefield maps from before Battlefield 3. They were just huge maps where you could use vehicles or infantry and just walk around. It made it tough for hackers as they would be more exposed to attack from the air or snipers.

This map is a very interesting rendition of Tajikistan, a country of mountains and beautiful peaks which have snowtops; it is a truly beautiful and amazing place.

Battlefield 6 Liberation Peak Apache Nato Base

That’s what I love about. Honestly, it has that atmosphere that I love in the winter: it has that crisp and cold and most importantly, clean air.