GameSpy has posted the first online preview of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda's latest PC and next-gen console RPG. The five page piece comes with an overview of the game, developer quotes and this screenshot gallery.

"That's what we want to address," Howard said. "Never let the player be bored, always be entertaining. We want to 'show you the fun,' and always be pointing you to something fun in the game, even if you don't know it's there." One of the major ways that they're doing that is by completely reworking the game's navigation and orienteering tools. "Right now we're working on our dynamic compass that will show you how close you are to dungeons while wandering the forests or where the person is that you need to talk to make a quest progress," Howard said. They've also altered the way players travel in the world. Technically speaking, the world of Oblivion is actually larger than Morrowind, but as Howard himself pointed out, Bethesda doesn't want "hundreds of hours of gameplay" to consist of a few minutes of fun punctuated by hours of boring traveling. Instead, the game will include a revised fast travel map that will hopefully eliminate a great deal of the annoying repetitive travel over long distances.