Tags: Elder Scrolls   Games   Geek Loot   Reviews


My big red Alienware PC is now about two years old. Seems like I just bought it. *sniff* As I mentioned earlier, I bought BioShock, the smash hit new game that doesn’t work. Well, this game really showed me how old my computer is. The graphics are still good, and oh-so shiny, but the framerate just isn’t high enough to allow me to react fast enough to the zombies... er, mutants... er, splicers? I don’t know, whatever they are. They’re zombies with a stupid name.

So, disappointed, I switched over to playing Oblivion again. I still love that game. Then I thought about making it run even better. I mean, eventually BioShock will get a much-needed patch (right?!) and then I’ll want to play it. So, I downloaded the Computer Internet to my hard disc driver, and found that video card prices have dropped delightfully! I was expecting to see the latest cards being sold for $300 or more (Canadian dollars), but found one of the recommended upgrade card (see Tom’s Hardware) for as low as $192! Wow, a PC upgrade that’s cheaper than an XBOX 360? Too good to be true.

The Tom’s Hardware upgrade guide I referenced describes my PC perfectly. It’s like they wrote it for me. But instead of following the advice strictly, I just bought the video card and ignored the CPU upgrade suggestion. Turns out it was a fine decision, because now I’m playing Oblivion with things turned up almost to max! BioShock looks better too, but still crashes all the time. So my “old” hardware wasn’t the problem. It really is just a broken game.


Much of my joy in Oblivion comes from my characters. I like to take lots of screenshots of them. And now they look so much better. I can now use the “self shadows” option, which means that their clothing, armor, weapons, and other body parts (arms, nose, cheek bones, etc.) cast shadows onto the character. I’m playing a character who is often sneaking through the shadows, so seeing him wearing a hood that cast shadows over his eyes is video game geek heaven! Skulking in the shadows is way more fun now!

Another advantage to this simple, cheap upgrade is how well it handles the dense, lush forests in the game. Combat in the grassy forests always brought my computer to a crawl with my old nVidia 6800GT, giving me about 5 to 10 frames per second, which was a bit frustrating. Now forest battles are glorious and gorgeous.

Self-shadows is still my favorite feature though. Seeing the shadow of my sword on the goblin’s face right as it’s coming down will never get old.

If your computer is in need of a quick fix, check out the 8600GTS. It seems to be a prime time to upgrade right now, and this card delivers a lot of power at a low cost.

Oh, and for fun, check out a realistic and hilarious review of BioShock. Apparently, I’m not the only one who noticed how much of Fallout was stolen... I mean, how inspirational Fallout was to BioShock. I can’t embed the video here, so you’ll have to check it out at The Escapist.