PS3 Owners (all 12 of you) grab this while it's hot.

Bethesda Softworks Announces

The Elder Scrolls® IV: Shivering Isles™

PLAYSTATION®3 Retail Disc

Official Expansion Disc to Award-Winning Role Playing Game to be Available Next Month

October 24, 2007 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that it will release The Elder Scrolls® IV: Shivering Isles™ for PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system from SCEA at retail. This standalone disc will allow gamers who already own The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to experience the award-winning expansion.

This new retail product follows the October release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® Game of the Year Edition (GotY) for PLAYSTATION®3 system, which includes the Shivering Isles expansion. Originally released in March 2006 for Windows and Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and in March 2007 for PLAYSTATION®3 system, Oblivion has already earned countless awards from publications around the world and won numerous Game of the Year and RPG of the Year awards.

Oblivion features a powerful combination of free-form gameplay, unprecedented graphics, cutting edge AI, character voices by acting legends Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Terrance Stamp, and Lynda Carter, and an award-winning soundtrack. Gamers can choose to unravel Oblivion’s epic narrative at their own pace or explore the vast world in search of their own unique challenges.

With more than 30 hours of new gameplay, Shivering Isles allows you to explore an entirely new plane of Oblivion – the realm of Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. Shivering Isles features a bizarre landscape split between the two sides – Mania and Dementia –filled with vast, twisting dungeons mirroring the roots of the trees they are buried within. Sheogorath himself looks to you to be his champion and defend his realm and its inhabitants from destruction as you discover all new items, ingredients, spells, and much more.

Shivering Isles for PLAYSTATION®3 system is scheduled to ship on November 20, 2007 and is rated M for Mature by the ESRB. For more information on Oblivion, Shivering Isles, or The Elder Scrolls, visit www.elderscrolls.com.

Oblivion TES IV: The Fighter's Stronghold add on

Defeat the attacking marauders and become lord of Battlehorn Castle. Located in the Colovian Highlands west of Chorrol, this expansive castle will allow you to live the life of a noble warrior, with private quarters, grand dining hall, wine cellar, barracks, training room and more. And what castle would be complete without a few hidden passages and dark secrets?

• A fully detailed castle for you to explore
• Knights of the True Horn patrol the castle and do your bidding
• Secret treasure vault
• Upgrade the furnishings in every area of the castle
• Hire a vintner to create special wines to enhance your fighting abilities
• Hire a combat trainer to spar with
• Hire a taxidermist to craft lifelike trophies for your great hall
• Purchase an ancient Dwemer Forge that buffs your Armorer skill
  

For the rest of this week Bethesda is offering a free download of the latest and last add on to Oblivion TES IV. I downloaded it last night for my Xbox 360 and messed around with it briefly. The initial battle to reclaim the stronghold was trivial. The biggest thing I had to worry about was the bandits attacking my horse, but at this point I could afford fifty white horses. Once the battle was over, the surviving guard thanked me and welcomed me as the new lord of the stronghold. I was then able to go to the capital and buy stuff to trick out my new home. I couldn't help but think that this would have been fantastic last year when I first got the game, but it is all pretty much fluff and relatively useless to me now that my character is a demi-god. If you are just starting the game out, I recommend taking the time to get this download. It will help you out greatly and you will find it a very useful addition. If you have already completed the game you could probably pass, but what the hell it is free so it only costs you the time to download 10 megs.