My Recommended Oblivion mods

Oblivion is one of those games that has so much awesomeness, but suffers from a lack of optimizing. If you think your PC can run the 4th in the Elder Scrolls series, but for some reason it stutters and pauses and your framerate is like a time-lapse CCTV video, then follow this link. Below is my little list of Mods for Oblivion that I highly recommend, and a couple will also help to make it run smoother on your rig.


Firstly, make sure you have the latest Oblivion and Shivering Isles (if applicable) patches installed, and also the Unofficial Patches, found here. These are a must-have.


Click the images for a larger view. And by the way, I am not responsible if you break your game and mess with your Oblivion system files. Always install mods with care, and follow the included readme files to the letter.


1. Elven Map Redux - Changes the World Map and icons to an amazing work of art. Much more aesthetically pleasing, and simply gorgeous.

2. Alternate Start Revamped - Bored of having to play through the tutorial every time you start a new game? Wish you could pick a new way to start the game, rather than the life of a prisoner? Well this gives you the choice of 9 ways to begin the game, from a lowly beggar to a wealthy Skingrad resident. Essential.

3. BTmod - Makes the user interface for the inventory much better. Essential.

4. Immersive Interface - Changes the appearence of the HUD. Use this mod with the one above.

5. Dude, where's my horse? - Oblivion usually does a nice job of putting your horse in a city stable when you fast travel there, but sometimes this simply doesn't happen. Other times you may just lose it, or it wanders off never to return. This mod adds a continual quest that places a marker on the location of your horse. Handy.

6. Armamentarium Complete - Adds a multitude of new weapons and armour to the game, and adds new skins to the existing weaponry and armour, making for a much more varied array of gear to collect. Examples include Black Leather Armour, Gold Mithril, Katanas and Staffs.

7. Quiet Feet Max - Each time a person/creature walks the game plays a sound for their footsteps, and using this mod will eliminate that all together, greatly increasing performance, especially if you suffer from game stuttering during combat. Compatible with the horse armour plugin.

8. Unique Landscapes Project - Created by people who wanted to add much more depth and beauty to the world of Oblivion, these are by far the most amazing mods you can get for adding new content to the world of Cyrodiil. From lush forests, high mountain gorges, to beaches themselves, every conceivable place has been designed and created for you to enjoy. Other world changing mods may require patches if used with these.

 

9. Here is simply a list of amazing quest mods that add dozens of hours to gameplay, ranging from new Guilds, quests for lost artifacts, entire Islands, and more. All were created with the highest quality and care. Some may have compatibility issues with other mods. Ensure you check the readme files, and do a little Googling.

The Lost spires

Lost Paladins of the Divines

Artifacts of Tamriel

Stirk

Daggerfall Memories: The Liberation of Cybiades

I hope you enjoy these mods as much as I do. Be sure to thank whoever created them. They are the reason we will keep playing Oblivion, until the Elder Scrolls V is released.

Nintendo DS 2... is it needed?

Rumour is ripe on the interwebs, as is the norm, but in recent hope/fiction the mention of a successor to the DS has come up more than once. Some people predict we'll see some sort of announcement at E3, or at the next Tokyo Game Show.


All rumour aside, let's try to understand a couple of things. First of all the DSi has been out about as long as I've been blogging (not literally), so why would Nintendo waste the time and money on developing this upgraded version only to announce a new DS 2? Only a year into its life-cycle I'm pretty sure developers still have a lot they can achieve on the platform; especially given the recent leak of 3D gaming on DS.


Secondly, according to the NPD numbers for last month (Feb 2010) the DS sold over 613,000 units. That shows that people are still happy to keep buying it even though it's getting on in its years... just look at the PS2. Granted that Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver may have had something to do with the sales, but even so, people still love the DS.


I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe the DS 2 will simply be just another upgrade, god knows Nintendo believes an extra few millimetres of screen size will be a huge expansive improvement, and why not throw another camera on there to, because clearly no-one owns a camera phone these days.

DSi Goes 3D... wow.

Using the built in camera on the Nintendo DSi, developers are able to create 3D environments you can view by tilting the console in various directions. I have to say the feature seems pretty cool and something that I did not expect from the DSi. Check out the video below!