The deck duel is quite fun, and the early levels are nice to get a feel for the game. Then you have 10-15 turns before you die in later levels, against vastly superior enemies. I like finding combinations of cards to cast to thwart a computer player. The decks of 15 cards provide less lumpy experiences, but you can still load 5 cards or so of the same type (expensive!). Hero levels matter - they decide life points and how much mana you have each turn. And the play can be balanced since the 4 schools of magic aren't allowed to mix - so combinations can't be made across schools. Losing comes too quickly to the maps. Several maps had enemies rushing my castle by turn 10, and dealing it 20% damage per turn. You can lose within 20 minutes, easily, when his 27 life hero fights your 10 life hero - and has powerful spells and more mana to cast them. The early game is definitely an ideal experience, but the levels turn horrible. I have to average them out for a 3-star review. You'll be happier if you stop when the game gets painful!
I like designing ships that work together, like adding repair components and refuel components to form a movable gas station. And when I'm facing fighters and missiles, adding a few ships where I added point defense helps immensely. Then again, nothing stops you from creating a rather large ship holding all those components. That's what amazes me about SE4 - not the graphics, but the combinations of ships you can invent. Lots of variety in how to defeat opponents.
Mounted on a horse, I can charge through combat in TwoWorlds, where Oblivion only offers a horse for transport. My favorite feature of TwoWorlds is the extra damage and protection offered by mounted combat. I still recall an Orc Shamen's fireball killing off my horse, from months ago. TwoWorlds introduces spell modifiers, where you can reduce cost, boost duration or damage. To optimize I found myself moving these boosters around. I also found a way to use spells that was overpowered in TwoWorlds, which isn't as well balanced as Oblivion. I really appreciated the connected portals in TwoWorlds that allow me to sell off loot and resume adventuring quickly. You can use a portal once you find it - and have gone through the early quest to get portal activation stones. Much better movement between locations on the large map in TwoWorlds. And much less time picking loot to keep, and hiking back to town to sell it. I'd recommend experiencing combat mounted on a horse, and the transportation portals of TwoWorlds. They're the two most notable advantages over Oblivion in my view, but that said both games rank among my favorites.
