Although Oblivion has had some expansions since it's release Shivering Islesis the first full size expansion to hit the shelves. Not wanting to get into mini expansions in this particular review I can certainly recommend all the expansions available through download, in particular knights of the nine! The previous expansions added more content to the realm of Cyrodill, SI bases itself in a separate realm about a quarter of the size of Cyrodill, and in this case it's the realm of Madness!
Although you can enter SI with any character most of us will continue our adventure with their current Avatar.
The story takes you to Niben bay where a mysterious portal has opened, so time to leave your Skingrad Mansion behind and enter the realm of Madness.
After ignoring the guards recommendations to not enter the portal you are greeted by a rather peculiar fellow named Haskill who is the medieval equivalent of a sharp dressed man.
Upon entering the Isles you quickly find out that this place isn't quite right and very early on you will make your way to Sheogorath's palace where the Prince of Madness fills you in on the threats that the Isles are facing.
The Isles are divided in 2 distinct realms, a colorful and lively one named Mania and a dismal shrouded in fog one named Dementia.
Each realm has it's very distinct look 'n feel about it ranging from it's architecture and vegetation up to the inhabitants wardrobes.
Each realm has it's very distinct look 'n feel about it ranging from it's architecture and vegetation up to the inhabitants wardrobes.
It becomes very clear early on that both sides don't exactly get along and compete for Sheogorath's preferential treatment. Sheogorath himself has no love for either side but wants to ensure that this twisted kingdom of his remains intact and that's where you come in.
SI offers both a fairly lengthy main quest and a decent amount of generally well-written sidequests to easily keep you occupied for 4-50 hours.
There is probably a little bit too much dungeon crawling in this expansion to suit my taste but that's just me, with the world looking so nice I prefer to be outside I guess.
The gameplay mechanics of Oblivion remain the same in SI so if you enjoyed Oblivion SI is a very safe bet and being an expansion it really comes at a bargain price given the amount of content to enjoy. There are new sets of weapons, new spells, new suits of armor etc.
One new feature is that you have access to blacksmiths across the realm providing you with the ability to forge some of your own equipment.
And off course there are plenty of new enemies to ensure that your new skills and equipment are put to the test.
The "quality" of the graphics is just as fantastic as Oblivion's but things do look a lot more "fantasy like" here.
The "quality" of the graphics is just as fantastic as Oblivion's but things do look a lot more "fantasy like" here.
Cyrodill was very much styled towards what Medieval Europe would have looked like, the Isles to some extent remind me of Morrowind, the big mushrooms are back and the vegetation is quite alien.
Given the excellent soundtrack that provided a great atmosphere to Oblivion it's somewhat of a shame that there is no new musical score for the Isles. All dialogue is still voiced over and there are plenty of new voice actors used.
One of Oblivion's strengths and the Elder Scrolls series in general has been it's ability to create a world that although fictional always manages to provide a large degree of verisimilitude in how it relates to humanity's own medieval history. SI is a strong move away from that sensation as things are quite weird on the Isles, so some might find the story a bit too far fetched, regardless of this what SI delivers it delivers very well and it would be madness for any fan of Oblivion to not play it!
Each realm has it's very distinct look 'n feel about it ranging from it's architecture and vegetation up to the inhabitants wardrobes. 
