All of the attacks - "normal" and power attacks - are appropriate for the weapon type. No more thrusting hammers or axes.

In Morrowind, blocking was done automatically, based on your blocking skill. For Oblivion, blocking is now performed manually using a block button. Just hold the button, and you can block - either with your shield OR with a weapon. If you're facing an opponent and you block, some of the damage from your opponent's attack will be absorbed by the shield or weapon you're blocking with. But be sure to watch that weapon condition -- broken swords are useless until they're repaired! You can even block with your hands if you're in hand-to-hand combat. But wait, you say, why would you do that, since there's no shield or weapon to absorb the damage?

The answer is another new feature: recoil. If an attacker's blow is blocked, the attacker will recoil. Think of a sword bouncing off a shield. Recoils send the opponent back a little bit, and it takes a second or two for them to recover - an excellent opportunity to press your advantage. Now there are two reasons to block - to protect yourself from maximum damage, and to try to force your opponent to recoil so you can perform a counter attack. Of course, you'll recoil too if your own attack is blocked - and you can be sure your opponent will be taking advantage of your temporary vulnerability!

Combatants hit hard enough will stagger from the blow. Like recoil, a staggered opponent is briefly vulnerable to attacks.

Hand-to-hand combat is improved as well. As with melee combat, there are "normal" attacks - left & right punches - as well as power attacks. One big difference is that hand-to-hand hits will damage health as well as fatigue. In Morrowind, only the opponent's fatigue was damaged until the opponent was unconscious, after which the opponent's health was damaged by further hand-to-hand hits. The base amount of health and fatigue damage done is based on the attacker's hand-to-hand skill and luck, and as with weapon attacks, that amount is further adjusted based on the defender's stats.

While I'm not going to get too much into magic, I will mention this: you can cast spells at any time. You no longer need to "switch" to magic. If you only have one free hand, you'll cast with the empty one. If both hands are holding something, you'll cast with your weapon hand. There's no more "ready magic" button, just a "cast" button. This makes for some very exciting combat, since you can alternate weapon attacks and spell casting on the fly.

OK, so the player character has a lot of meaningful combat options available, accessed with a simple control scheme that's very similar to Morrowind's. Stats are every bit as crucial as in previous Elder Scrolls games. But what about NPC's? How has their combat behavior been enhanced?

First of all, NPC's can do everything the player can do. They can move around, block, use normal and power attacks, mix things up with weapon or hand-to-hand combat, or magic, etc. So can creatures. And it's all customizable using a new feature called a Combat Style.

Combat Styles are collections of settings related to combat behavior. They dictate things like how often a combatant will move around, how often and under what circumstances they'll attack or block, how often they'll use power attacks and how they choose which ones to use, and even things like how likely a combatant is to attack when their opponent is recoiling, staggering, or knocked unconscious. Combat Styles are created in the TES CS and can be assigned to creatures or NPCs either in the editor or via a script function. So, you can swap combat behavior in and out on the fly. It's a very powerful, very flexible system. The Combat AI system makes use of these Combat Styles, along with AI traits set for each NPC or creature such as aggression, confidence, to make most of the decisions during combat.

Other behaviors implemented include intelligent use of buffs (such as fortification potions or spells, summoned creatures, or bound weapons,) restoration, and even counter effect magic. Archers can be set up to maneuver from gap to gap along the top of a castle wall, in order to maintain a visual on their target. And a lot of time has been spent working on path finding and object avoidance. The Combat AI uses our own Radiant AI technology to handle pursuit and fleeing, and even the acquisition of nearby weapons if a combatant is unarmed, among other things. Spectators will clear space for combat they're uninvolved with. NPCs will leave interiors in order to summon guards if a crime is committed, and can flee or pursue through load doors, as well. No more running into a tavern to escape the guards - they'll follow you right in.

And finally, combat need not be lethal. Any combatant - including the player -- can yield to their opponent. It's up to the opponent to accept the yield or not, but if they do accept, combat ends. It's a way to get out of those sticky situations where you find yourself in over your head. Just don't try it with a creature or with anyone who really, really hates you! And if an NPC yields to you, you make the call - walk away, or keep fighting.

So that's my "summary" of combat in Oblivion. There's a lot more, but I hope this gives you an idea of what's in store. We're having a lot of fun with it, and I hope you do too. See you on the forums!