- Gameplay
Apart from the main story, the game plays exactly like the normal game. But as you run in the country side just outside of Bravil you will notice the island in Niben Bay. On this island there's a kind of "oblivion gate". As you walk through the door to the Shivering Isle.
You will be teleported to a room along with Haskil, the servant of the Madman (Lord Sheogorath), you will take on a journey to help the Island to stop the Greymarch. As you accept this, the room will explode and dissappear, and you will be sitting at the table just in the countryside.
The Fringe:
The Fringe is a part of the Shivering Isles, it's a kind of a pre-world to the "real deal". Your first encounter with people you will start noticing that they are not smart by any means. Most of them are slightly mad. The quest here is to get in to the central part of the Isle, and to do so you'll need to kill the Gatekeeper of the Gates of Madness.
Gates Of Madness:
Guarded by the Gatekeeper, and the door to either Mania or Dementia. Mania and Dementia is the same place, but slightly different. You will have to kill the Gatekeeper to get in to either of them.
Mania and Dementia:
Mania is colourful place of the Shivering Isles, everything have lush colors and looks beautiful compared to the dark greyish world of Dementia. Monster are more powerfull in Mania for some reason, but nothing you'll have a hard time to live up to as most of them are pretty bad.
Storyline in short:
As you progress in the Shivering Isle, you will come to the capital of New Sheoth. This city is divided in to parts, just like the world.
In to Bliss and Crucible and ofcourse the palace part. Notable things are: Amber and Madness ore, that can be smithed in the locals smiths in town.
You will take on the journey to stop the Greymarch, once every era the Madman Lord Sheogorath to become the daedric prince Jyggolaggh, The Prince of Order. Most thing you'll do is to try stopping it, but all for no reason at all. Eventually you will have to choose side between the Aureals and the Dark Seducers. Choose if you will become duke/duchess of any of the houses (Mania or Dementia). And after some time you will take the throne of the Shivering Isles and fight Jyggolaggh himself.
- Graphics and Replayablity.
As an expansion for one of the best looking games for the Xbox, the grafics cant be complained, some performance dipps, but nothing that will make it die. The HD-Bluring is excellent and the game runs well on SD quality and looks great. The game is huge, i spent more then 20 hours and mostly main quests, and its alot left to find. Quests are scatered all along the Isle and most of them are very good.
- Music/Sound
The voice acting is perfect for the main carecters and most of the people in the world aswell, this sets the DLC apart from the Main game as most voices were the same.
The music is perfect for the game, a mixture of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. After all you can still change to custom tracks.
- Cost.
It costs 2400 Points, its asmuch as a older game and as deep as most games in the price class. It may not seem to be worth it, but if you dont have Oblivion yet, try to buy GOTY edition. In Game of the Year edition you will get all extra DLC and the game for a reasonal price most of the times. The DLC is about 25-35 hours of gameplay and thats more then most games of today. Its strictly a single player game but all live features will work.