ES4: Oblivion - Re-Review @ RPG Codex

A second review of Oblivion has been posted at RPG Codex, written by Section8 (who, if I recall correctly, was an artist with Micro Forte on Fallout Tactics).  Here's an excerpt:

I would estimate that some ninety-percent of the many game locations are functionally alike - a dark place filled with cookie cut sets of inhabitants, and loot appropriate for your character level. Basically, nearly every location is a quick mission generator madlib. "I want to explore a (tileset) themed dungeon, face (monster type) and get loot for a (number) level character." And to add to this oddity of world design, dungeons respawn a few game days after being cleared, so basically you get to pick and choose once you've explored a few. I found myself taking note of the dungeons where the inhabitants exclusively wear heavy armour, and I'd revisit every couple of levels to upgrade my equipment.