Shivering Isles GotY

Remove all ads!

Yep, you read that correctly. Shivering Isles is the GotY not Oblivion. It is everything that Ob wasn't. Its fun, just plain fun. It also got me thinking. Yeah, I do that once in a while.

I've played vanilla Oblivion, KotN and the other plug-ins and have some opinions there that differ a bit from a lot of other people.

Factions: Thieves Guild is number one and I didn't feel let down with the ending. I really, really wanted to bash the Grey Fox's head in but restrained myself. I don't know if anyone has made a mod to continue the Grey Fox's (me) career but I can still use that hood to get away with all sorts of nefarious deeds.

Dark Brotherhood which so many rate as No. 1 didn't impress me that much but then I'm not really into the worship of evil.

Arena I played once and that was enough. Made me wonder how much we have progressed since the days of the Romans.

Fighters Guild was mostly okay but could have used a little more effort by the developers.

Mage Guild quests I thought were pretty good but the ending was a let down. Wow, I don't need to gather ingredients anymore. Whoopee, now get me an alchemist and someone to polish my shoes. The citizens don't even blink when they see me in my robes. Watch it, I'll turn them all into mudcrabs.

Daedric Quests varied some I liked and some I didn't.

KotN I loved till I got to the end and had a wtf reaction. That's it?

Did I forget any? Oh, yeah, The Main Quest. Not bad but why call it the Main Quest (with capitals). You don't even need it. I currently have a mod that turns it off unless you want to do it. I can't imagine SI without the Main Quest. Just wouldn't be any fun. There are a lot of minor quests but without the MQ it just wouldn't make sense. Ah, something wrong there. Should insanity make sense?

Lots of miscellaneous Quests and cave crawls, forts and Ayleid ruins to explore in Oblivion. Good game for a cold rainy day.

Here's to Shivering Isles rain or shine.

Correction: You do need the MQ in Ob for some of the plug-ins and SI to work.

 

The Dark Brotherhood quests were great, especially the one who requires murdering an entire family - how cool is that! And killing someone in cold blood being a criteria to join them? Eliminating idiots and being paid to do so? Works for me.

Haven't finished the Thieves' guild - waiting to be contacted by the Grey Fox, and frankly, I could care less if it happens or not - plenty of exploration left to do.

Speaking of the Dark Brotherhood, it could have had a much better presence in Morrowind - just imagine the storyline: You're working for the Morag Tong, and the Dark Brotherhood recognizes your potential as a killer because of the number of Dark Brotherhood assasins killed, and offers you to betray the Morag Tong, hell, eliminate them completly one by one and establish their supremacy in Morrowind. How cool would have that been - screw honor, I'm in for bloody money and the thrill to kill.

And Shivering Isles? I bought it today, so I've just begun. "Enter the realm of Madness" - how cool does that sound?

Daedra quests? Molag Bal's quest is pure evil, and I love it - bringing a man to the edge... and pushing him. Sanguine? A minor chuckle. Hircine? Short and the reward is worth it. Meridia? Never bothered - undead-hating b****! Sheogorath? Man, how FUN was that one - the infestation of rats, the sheep dying, and the RAIN OF FLAMING DOGS? ROTFLMFAO! Seeing those Khajiit running around and panicking like wusses was also priceless. Boethiah? Not yet level 20. Peryite? Got better things to do than wander the plane of Oblivion hunting souls. Nocturnal? The Skeleton Key is priceless.

So far, I haven't been disappointed by Oblivion. Shivering Isles? Time will tell.

 

, DotW. To each their own. Please post what you think of SI.

 

The Dementia ore weapons and armor are freaking SWEET - even makes me want to play an Orc tank, just to use the full set of armor and a gigantic axe, methinks.

The Amber weapons -- they look pretty sweet, though IMO it's a bit dumb that daggers weren't included... but backstabbing with a longsword also dishes out 6x damage, go figure. The Amber armor is rather odd-looking, TBH...

I also like the way the city is split - Mania is good for some chuckles, but Dementia's dark and gloomy... just the way I like it.

I haven't played much of SI yet, but so far, I definitively like it - well worth the $10 (boxing day sales are great).

I think I'll head back to Oblivion, complete some quests and build up a few levels before tackling more of SI - keep the best for the end, that's what they say.

 

@DotW, did you find Sherograth (sp?) a bit of a suprise? Remember he can look anyway he wants to. I hope you don't know what the ending of the MQ is. It's quite fun to play it without any pre-knowledge.

PS: Daedra Quests-My favorite is Malacath's.

 

Actually, no, I wasn't surprised the slightest bit by Sheogorath. One would normally assume that because he's the Daedric Prince of Madness, he would take a weird, unpredictible shape... but I think that's exactly what he expects, so he chose a normal form to confuse and catch visitors off-guard.

To survive in madness, one has to learn to understand it, right?

I have to disagree with you on the best Daedra quest... rescuing ogres isn't exactly my idea of a good quest... but then again, you are a sneaky rogue type, while I'm the ruthless assassin type - there's nothing more satisfying than a sneak attack and the dying screams of my victims. And the poison! Who can forget the poison, sweet, sweet substance, especially the paralysis poison - gives me even more time to enjoy the kill.

My char's a twisted psycho, as you can see.

 

DotW, I hope you have Deepscorn Hollow installed. I think of you just seeing the name. Now my favorite is Dunbarrow Cove. Man, is it fantastic. But as you said I'm the sneaky rogue type with a heart of gold which is why I love the thieves' quests. The Grey Fox is a Robin Hood type. "Harm my beggars and I'll skewer you three ways from Hel's Realm.

With a little imagination you that love to hear the screams of your victim might enjoy Dunbarrow Cove. Maybe Elder Scrolls IV will let us be bonified pirates sailing the seas for plunder and victims.

What I especially like about Malacath's quest is going back to the estate after the ogres are freed. and getting to loot the house without those blasted guards popping up out of nowhere.

 

Just recently finished SI last weekend, and loved every bit of it.

The sheer madness... The insanity... Moehaha! Sheogorath is such a loony. I was a tad bit dissapointed about the ending though. Oh well. But a fun play anyhow.

 

shivering isles is a really good addon

the landmass is about 25% of the original game, which is still pretty big and will require several days to explore fully

the island is split into mania to the north (colorful and lively) and dementia to the south (boring, dull), both also with different flora, fauna (also different treasure, harvestable plants); there is also one new major city, which is really well made and different from other cities in the game

as usual there is a plethora of various quests, but more importantly the main quest is longer and more interesting than original game, with interesting plot twists and some non-linearity

this xpack is a must have

PS: did you know sheogorath will send you to a sightseeing tour if you attack him in his palace?

 

Master Leo, Yes I know that. But you might not like how you land.

 

Nak, no, I don't have Deepscorn Hollow. I haven't had Oblivion/SI for very long, so it's basically still vanilla - except that uber-sweet Dreadweave armor & axes I just madly fell in love with at first sight.

I'm not against modding Oblivion/SI - I haven't really explored the issue... yet.

 

DotW, Deepscorn Cove is an official plug-in and is perfect for you. Dunburrow Cove is well worth getting and installing. It, too, is an official plug-in. I have only a few player made plug-ins and only because I've played Oblivion to boredom except for SI.

 

Well, I've just completed my run of SI - the main quest, that is.

It leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. The initial refreshing buzz is good, don't get me wrong, but then the FedEx quests rear their ugly head - go there, fetch this, bring it back. I absolutely abhor those _@!(*$ quests.

Becoming Sheogorath is all well and good, but I deplore the lack of entertainement - a freaking dancer? Give me a break. Defending the isles is a good way to make some easy cash, but it gets repetitive - how many times was I sent to Split?

It's not all negative, though... I loved Xedilian, and the Madness armor/weapons are definitively slick, though I would have loved a Madness Mace/Warhammer and a Battleaxe. The Amber gear? Uhh, thanks, but no thanks.

So now I'm back to Oblivion, doing some more exploration until Hermaeus Mora FINALLY summons me.

 

SI is so much better than Oblivion, I had a hard time readjusting to the more mundane setting after completing the Mad God's quest.