Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year: Prima Official Game Guide Paperback – September 10, 2007

First let me say that the omissions noted by the other reviewers are correct. A detailed index to the quests would be helpful. I've have had to thumb through the various quests within a general category to find the side quest I'm solving. Once you are on a major category, like the Mages Guild stuff, the manual trundles right along, quest after quest, and you can follow them in order as you proceed, with no need for an index, just a book marker. The trick is to stay off random side quests that someone in the game requests. Just say no. Stick to the main categorical quests and the manual can be your best friend.If you get duped into a solving a random quest while solving individual quests under a general category, there is plenty of online help for locating random quests; one site provides a detailed world map. My old friend google helped me find them.So, why buy this laboriously-written manual?First of all, it's beautifully illustrated, well-written, and almost devilishly detailed. To locate a random quest - I should have said `no' to the bugger -- I go to a website which is nicely indexed, and follow the walk-through. Usually, the Prima version when I find it is more complete and helpful than the on-line walk-through.The world map the game itself provides (Play Station 3) is helpful, as well as its individual maps. The game provides pointers on the map to follow and also on its compass when your role-playing hombre is trudging through hill and dale.From my experience, I have found the manual well-worth purchasing. I recommend buying it, and am giving it five stars.Someone put tons of work into this manual, a work of love, and should be financially compensated, this at the very least.

Generally, when it comes to strategy guides I don't really use them because part of what makes a game fun is the gamers beating it by themselves. Then again I've never played a game as epic as Oblivion and I got lost in the game. So I decided to pick up this official strategy guide and I was blown away by how complete and detailed the guide covered its information. It has full maps of every town and dungeons with treasures all listed. It has all the handy tables and charts like weapons, armors, spells, ingredients, and the lowdown on every creature in the game and more. It also has a section on creating a character that best fits your style of play as well as info on the game's mechanics. It also has all the quests covered and you'll be amaze at how easy it is to follow all the tips and notes the author has written. THere's just WAY too much to list here. You will have to get it. It's the one complete guide and only guide you will ever need. The guide is 496 pages long in full color and covers all expansions and downloadable content.

It helped me

This guide literally has everything you could ever want to know regarding Elder Scrolls iv. It does coveer all platforms and topics range from character creation to individual quest walkthroughs. This is the end all guide for this game basically if you have the game you need this book. The only things I'm surprised at is that this isn't sold with the game itself because they are so perfect for each other. The only reason this guide is getting a four star review instead of five is that the guide is paperback. I think for a game like this the guide should be hardcover as you'll be frequently using it and the paperback will definately get some wear and tear.

I haven't had a chance to look through much of it yet, but my husband has been putting it to good use. I played Morrowind before, the prequel to Oblivion and absolutely loved that guide, the writers work hard to put humor into their work so it's not just a dry boring walk-through. I especially like the alchemy recipes in the Oblivion guide since they don't have them in books in the game anymore. The information on magic and spells is also very helpful, in the game it simply tells you that you don't have enough magic or your skill level is too low. The guide lays out what spells work at what skill levels, it also does this with alchemy potions. I usually work with a thief character and until I got the guide I didn't know that you gain sneak experience faster if you're near someone. In Morrowind it was more overall quantity that made you level up so I'd just leave my character in sneak mode virtually all the time. The guide really is great and it saves a lot of time when you're trying to find a specific cave or dungeon so you don't wander aimlessly or miss the entrances. If you play Oblivion and don't have the official guide you need to get it!!

This guide to the world of Elder Scrolls covers Elder Scrolls IV OBLIVION, and covers the entire game from start to finish. There are maps that show locations of cities, towns, villages, and camps you can travel to, as well as locations of caves, old ruins, wrecked ships, and others where treasure, loot, weapons, armor, and food can be discovered. It explains all the available missions, and options on how to complete each one. There is a big open world to explore and this guide comes in handy to any adventurer who wants to survive in this game long enough to finish. I played this game through from start to finish before buying this guide, and discovered after buying the guide that there were hundreds of side missions I didn't know about that were not part of the main storyline but can be played at the same time adding hundreds of hours of extra game play and I am having so much fun my second time around.