ES4: Oblivion - Knights of the Nine

The additional content doesn't stop with those first three morsels. Below are our impressions of the other four pieces of additional content included in the game.

Wizard's Tower

The Wizard's Tower instantly reminded me of something out of Lord of the Rings. It's huge, providing the highest vantage point in the whole of Cyrodiil which will attract all Oblivion sight-seers straight away. The target audience for this is most certainly those who fancy dabbling in the magical arts.

So apart from agreat view, you get a pretty fancy garden (with lots of exotic plants) as well as the ability to teleport to any of the other Mage Guilds in the world. I'm not really into my magic, though, and the lack of fighting left me feeling a bit lost. Sure it is great to go up the tower but what do I do now? Jump off? (I actually did do that).

If you're a budding Paul Daniels then this is a must have, otherwise you'll get along quite fine without it.

The Orrery

The Orrery quest initially sets you off in search of pieces of dwarven components. You must hunt out the bandits and return the components back to the Arcane University where they will fix a machine that can give you powers.

The quest is fairly simple, the bandits camps are located on the map and you simply have to run or gallop towards them, kill whoever is there and pick off what you need. The bandits carry some pretty cool weapons that, even if you have no use for them, will fetch a hefty amount of gold in the towns.

It's not at all complex and once you have all the pieces you simply return them to the University. It whiled away about 30 minutes for me with the reward of some new abilities coming at the end. It's probably the weakest (excluding horse armour) of all the additional content.

Spell Tomes

The Spell Tomes content doesn't provide you with any new quests or locations. Instead it introduces a whole load of new books. These books include some new magical abilities and as such can be particularly useful to those who are starting the game.

With this piece of content you will find books in places where there were no books before. You might gain access to more powerful spells at an earlier time so it is definitely worth installing before you start your new character. I didn't go and hunt out all the books but apparently there are hundreds dotted over the entire world. Oblivion book-worms, just try to contain your excitement.

Vile Lair

The Vile Lair does for Vampires what The Thieves Den did for thieves. Located in the most southerly region, this secret hideaway caters for those who wish to dabble in the dark side. If you fancy taking this piece of content on be warned - you'll need some cash, as the new area requires you to buy a few things before it actually kicks off.

Once you've got the base up and running you can make use of a garden full of toxic flowers, a shrine which will heal and cure disease as well as the ability to heal Vampirism. In fact it is this last ingredient which may appeal to some Oblivion players, who have become vampires but don't particularly like it. This is a quick and easy solution to that 'illness'.

Conclusion

All in all I felt this expansion/additional content disc is well worth the money if you're a big Oblivion fan. The additional content slips straight into your game and works seamlessly, so no requirement to start a new game or anything silly like that. As such, it's really hard to complain. There is almost certainly over 6 hours of playable content here as well as new additions that will add depth to the original game.

My only problem with this is that there probably isn't enough to entice you're average Oblivion fan out of retirement. A lot of the quests are specific to certain types of character. Where an expansion pack will tend to cater for everyone with a few more hours of play, the impact these mini expansions will have on you is completely dependant on what type of game you like to play. You can download the content individually online here, or alternatively pick up the retail boxed copy for £14.99.