Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Just in case you had somehow run out of things to do in Oblivion, along comes the first big expansion pack filled to the brim with more than 30 hours of new content. Shivering Isles looks set to provide just as compelling an experience as the original game, so get ready for more sleepless nights.

While the various pieces of downloadable content available took place in the game’s existing lands, the Shivering Isles expansion is set entirely inside the plane of Oblivion. Instead of the apocalyptic setting you might be familiar with, however, the Shivering Isles have a distinctly unique look. Upon installing the expansion, a dimensional gateway will open just beyond the Imperial City. It turns out that Sheogorath, a daedric prince who rules over the Shivering Isles, is having a bit of trouble in the form of a phenomenon that periodically wipes out everyone in the land. On top of that, all the residents of the Isles seem to be plagued with madness. Naturally, Sheogorath requires the aid of a mortal champion to set things straight, which is where you step in.

The Isles themselves are split right down the middle into two halves: Mania and Dementia. Mania is excessively bright and chirpy, with huge mushrooms dominating the landscape and little fireflys flitting about. Dementia, on the other hand, is completely different: it’s dark, gloomy, twisted, and home to all sorts of strange and twisted creatures. You’ll need to explore both halves thoroughly to get to the bottom of the problems plaguing the inhabitants of the Shivering Isles.

Bethesda claims that the expansion will make Oblivion 25% larger – and the Isles certainly do seem to be pretty big. There will be a huge number of quests, both large and small, and from what we’ve seen so far, they are looking more interesting than the often straightforward quests seen in the original game. It seems like the developers have really embraced the whole madness theme, and created crazy missions, items, and locales to match.

The Shivering Isles hits these shores very soon, so get ready once again to disconnect the phone, say farewell to loved ones, and get time off work: if you ever got lost in the world of Oblivion, you’re bound to get lost in its expansion.