Shaky Foundation

I was up almost an hour late this morning thanks to my fascination with Shivering Isles. Now, I'm supposed to be completing the main quest in Oblivion (I completed it once before, but now I can pump the graphics as high as I like, I'm playing it again) to get rid of those pesky Oblivion gates (if I want to fight an army of daedra later I'll just find some conjurers or piss off the mages guild). But since I received and installed Shivering Isles yesterday I thought what the hell, might as well see what its like.

Freaking fantastic is what it's like! I don't want to spoil anything because it's so well done so I'll try to explain things in as abstract a manner as possible. The moment I stepped into Sheogorath's realm I knew it was going to be fantastic. This wasn't Bloodmoon or Tribunal, this was something on a new level. After the introduction to the Shivering Isles and getting out onto the main "landmass" itself I found the detail of the world to be that much more than Cyrodill. Obviously with an island smaller than the explorable area of the main game, the developers could afford to put more detail into the world. And they had to - after all this is Sheogorath's plane; a place of madness where mania and dementia reign.

Mehrune Dagon's plane of Oblivion was, I would think, much easier to come up with. There are plenty of images of a scorched hell built on sooty brimstone, rivers of lava oozing between dead rocks that bleed boiling ichor, and rust-coloured roots that whip out to take the eyes of any who would stray too close. Black, bladed towers of obsidian reaching into the red, lightning stricken skies, burning from within as columns of fire hold open the gates to the mortal realms.

But to create a plane of madness takes a lot more effort I think. You have to be more subtle. Having people run around half naked, or dressed in fine white robes but bearing a soiled fur helm worked in Oblivion at Sheogorath's daedric shrine, but when you're in Sheograth's world you have to see a different kind of... overbearing madness. Everything must ooze craziness and mental unbalance, just as Mehrunes Dagon's world must ooze destruction, hate, and fire.

So far the NPCs have worked. They hear things no one else hears, count from one to ten in the middle of sentences, mumble about little things that irritate them, make up unintelligible words, or display an unfounded paranoia. I'm sure I'll run into one or two characters who just go on about cheese, abruptly change their minds, or talk in a sing-song voice (not really my idea of madness, it's too forced or put on to seem like real insanity) but so far the NPCs have impressed me. So far the expansion pack has been worth every penny.

The developers also seem to have had fun with the game's graphical engine. Standing at the entrance of a small village called Split, I could see the city of New Sheoth as the sun rose wobbily over Suicide Hill and the mountains beyond. The colours of the Shivering Isles have been tinted, the night sky is vibrant and powerful, and... well if you've played Shivering Isles then all I need say is butterflies!

I'm eager to get home and get back to playing it. Looks like I'll have to put Knights of the Nine and Bioshock on hold for a moment. This game has given me a new perspective on metronomes.