Hopefully this will be the first of a series of posts where I point readers to entirely legal, free computer games to download. If that doesn't pan out, though, then please enjoy the one game that I'm pointing you to right now!
You have, perhaps, heard the great commotion all the country through for Oblivion, the massive, open-ended RPG from Bethesda Softworks available for the PC, XBox 360, and PS3. Playing the game, though, requires a minimum investment of $300 in a low-end 360 (and a maximum investment of multiple thousands of dollars for a gaming PC). Not to worry! Oblivion is the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls series, and Bethesda has kindly made the first game, Arena, free on their website. All the open-ended wandering of the Oblivion, with graphics scaled down to a level anyone can enjoy!
The trick with Elder Scrolls games is that the plot is not the point. There is a plot, yes, and you should probably get around to completing it eventually. But the games are filled with dozens of side-quests for every plot quest, and the game never tells you "You must go here now and do this to proceed!" Most games, even open-ended ones that emphasize exploration, will start you in a small area and gradually unlock more of the world as you complete the plot. Not Elder Scrolls games. The world is wide-open from boot-up. Moreover, there's generally a lot of freedom in terms of character advancement; rather than being locked into rigid classes, you're free to build your character in whichever direction suits your playing style.
I'd recommend anyone interested in computer RPGs give Arena a download. If nothing else, it'll give you an idea whether you're the sort of person for whom the significant investment necessary to run Oblivion would be worth it.
