Are you kidding me, K? There's a massive world to explore in Oblivion and there are at least 6 towns (each with their own style) in which you can buy property and and talk to the different people and explore their cultures.
It's a great game. I loved it. And they also just released an expansion pack for Oblivion in late March. It's worth getting the expansion also. I personally enjoyed the plot in the expansion pack much more so than Oblivion's original storyline.
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Juke,
No, Oblivion isn't an online RPG like The Lord of the Rings RPG nor is the story similiar to the book by Tolkien.