Review: The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine - PC, Xbox 360 - 8.9

Knights of the Nine is the first official "expansion" for Oblivion, combining several previously released downloadable content packs with a new, larger quest that spans the entire land.

Unlike the other Oblivion content packs, Knights of the Nine is integrated into the game. With the other downloads, your character received a quest update telling him or her where to go. The Knights of the Nine is integrated as if it was there from the start, meaning you\'ll have to hunt for clues a bit. It begins in Anvil, where you find that a previously-besieged local chapel. A prophet informs you that the evil Umaril the Unfeathered has returned and needs to be stopped.

This quest requires you to find long-lost weapons and armor of the divine crusader who confronted Umaril in the past. To do this, you need to gain the favor of the Nine (gods who watch over the land of Cyrodil), by visiting the shrines dedicated to them. Since Knights of the Nine simply adds another set of things to do in Oblivion, it\'s yours to decide at what point in your character\'s life to try to tackle its challenges, and it\'ll naturally be easier if you go into it with a stronger character. However, the foes populating Oblivion\'s world gain experience levels as you do, so the challenge does scale to a certain extent. After finding the relics, its time to combat Umaril, and its quite a confrontation.

However way you obtain Knights of the Nine, its a great value. Most of the other additions, like the Wizard\'s Tower and the Orrery are quite solid, eventually earning you some worthwhile rewards. The pack is a solid addition to a solid RPG.

Gameplay: 9 - More quests, more locations, same mechanics as Oblivion
Presentation: 9 - Knights of the Nine continues to preserve the excellent presentation values of the original
Graphics: 8.5 - Adds some new items and several more locations that look great in Oblivion\'s engine.
Sound: 9 - Fitting music and appropriate voice-acting.
Value: 9 - Great value for $20

Final Score: 8.9 - Excellent value for those wanting some more Elder Scrolls.

Marcin Skok
Editor-in-Chief
"The Gaming Corner"