Re: Oblivion vs Saw
Oblivion is one of Alton Towers' headline coasters, it stands intimidatingly over the hole in the ground as plumes of smoke bellow out. SAW: The Ride is one of The Nation's Thrill Capital's most intimidating experiences. To compare the two, I've decided to break the review up into the following:
- Theme
- Coaster: Meat and Potatoes
- Overall Experience
Theme
Oblivion is themed around, just that, a sinister place in which you are not to enter. The main pieces of theming for Oblivion are dotted around its spiral queue line which include a piece of space debris, a man stood in the dark shouting at you, and Ben and Jerry's machines. Oblivion's theme is fairly strong, and I know this may be controversial, but I think it's fairly dated. Oblivion reaks of early 2000s millennium bug: everything from the fonts used to the graphics is very late nineties. Is this a problem? Not necessarily. It's just one of my bugbears with the ride, it is very dated.
As far as queue line theming for Oblivion, there is some, but it isn't as in you face, or obvious as that found on SAW.
SAW the ride, is based on the movie franchise which shares its name. It's fairly well themed, with a good variety of theming from; a man shouting at you in the dark, a collection of mannequins which make Jigsaw's hideout seem fairly similar to the back of a large clothing retailer and a police car. As far as queuelines go, there's no massive hill to climb in a circle, instead you're treated to what must be described as being a cow before the slaughter. As SAW is newer, it is nowhere near as dated as Oblivion, but it is well themed from the outside.
Inside theming
Oblivion, as it's not a dark coaster hybrid like SAW has very little theming other than a continuation of 90s Milena. SAW has some really good inside pieces, I really like both the queue and the inside bathroom scene. As far as shouting men in the dark go, both Jigsaw and the Lord of Darkness seem to be on a loop, suggesting they'll both have very sore throats by 3pm close (Or whatever Merlin have decided this week)
Coaster: Meat and Potatoes
This may sound an odd topic for review, but the bare bones of the rides are completely different. Oblivion is a one shock drop, one trick pony, SAW is a painful rough bounce upside down left right and centre. In terms of drops, Oblivion has far more force, but SAW has no time to consider what will happen when you make it down the drop. I don't think I can make a comparison of anything other than the drop, of which I prefer Oblivion.
Fear factor
I hate SAW because the inside dark ride section always manages to make me jump, when you're outside I have no real fear.It is after all just a series of bounces and loops. Oblivion however scares me sheetless even to this day because of that drop. Oblivion scares the pants off you, SAW does, but SAW's scare tactics are more, what's that in the dark... BOO! Harpoons! (Or whatever they're meant to be)
Shouting men in the dark
The Lord of Darkness looks like a smart price John Simms, whilst Billy the Doll put a suit on for the occasion. For that reason alone, I prefer Billy. Although Alton Towers being where it is, it's probably very hard to but anything other than farming equipment, manure and diggers.
So overall, what do I prefer? SAW, makes me laugh, but bangs my girlfriend's piercings so much I don;t get to ride very much, and Oblivion scares me shitless. Probably Oblivion, because I've never queued for it ever.