Oblivion is one of those games that changed how I look at video games, and set the standard of which I judge all RPG games.
When Oblivion came out, I didn't even knew it came out. I was too young to be paying attention, but my brother was not. He came home one day with Oblivion, and when I put Oblivion into the Xbox 360, that was it, I was hooked.
My first character was named Jack. A Nord with bright blue hair, my first experiences were with him. Poorly optimized and holding on to many different items that had no value at all, I leveled him up all the way to level 40. He also became a blood thirsty vampire who could kill an entire city without trying. He had many incomplete quests as well because, at the time, I would stop a quest if it had no red arrow. Little did I know, I could've just read the quest in the journal.
After Jack, I made a slew of other characters, because Oblivion isn't just a game you play once. The world felt so alive, and (somewhat) reacted to what you were doing and who you were. If I played as an evil character, I was always getting stopped by guards. If I was a good character, people would recognize me as the "Hero of Kavatch," or the, "One Who Saved Martin." This game truly felt alive.
The system of creating your own class worked very well in this game, and is the reason I wanted to play it so many times. Your character is who you made them to be. Their seven skills are their seven skills, and you cannot change that. Because of this system, a player could go through one quest with several different characters, and though limited, could solve problems in different ways. I love this about Oblivion.
Oblivion was my first Elder Scrolls game, and so of course it amazed me. It captures the D&D style magic that I'd never experienced in any game. The closest thing to Oblivion that I'd played before we got the game was Zelda, which has it's own special magic. Oblivion will always hold a special place in my heart as one of my most favorite games, and the hundreds of hours of fun and joy this game has brought me will never be forgotten.