The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Preview

The guys at 1Up have posted a two-page hands-on preview of the Xbox 360 version of Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles expansion pack.
Because the expansion features fewer NPCs the team was able to go into more depth with each, fleshing out their personalities more completely, and with that giving them more to say. This figures directly into the quest design that aims to take advantage of these eccentric characters and their unique situations. Their warped psyches present plenty of convoluted, entertaining problems to solve, but it's not a direct attempt to be comedic. Bethesda feels that jokes never work well in games, so don't expect to see any sort of wink-at-the-camera stuff.

Besides plenty to keep you busy you'll also find ample rewards for your efforts. Crafters will want to seek out the smiths in Bliss and Crucible, each of which will be able to create a powerful new set of armor. In Bliss you can put together a sleek suit from amber collected around Mania. In Crucible you can, of course, forge a more sinister looking set of plate from madness ore collected around Dementia. And in either case matrixes found throughout the realm can be used by the smith during the process to imbue your new gear with additional magical capabilities. The new Dawnfang sword is also sure to be sought out by many. Get 12 kills with it and it becomes more powerful, leveling up in a sense, but the catch is that it resets every 12 hours with the cycle of the sun.