A Short and Useful Guide to Oblivion Mod Heaven

While taking a much needed breather from his extensive online sessions in the delightful realms of Blizzard's WoW, 2lions suggested we turn our attention a bit more towards the world of Tamriel. Over the past several weeks, the number of Oblivion mods has effectively surpassed the bird death toll during the annual Minnesota Crow hunt. Believe it or not, the expanding Oblivion community already boasts some 1700+ mods. Still, the lads at Bethesda Softworks were kind enough to provide a few neat additions to the game (Horse Pack Armor, Orrery and Wizard's Tower), all of which have to be paid for, by the way, in order to be played. So, what's a couple of bucks, when you can equip your lovely horsy with a new and shiny armor? On the other hand, you must consider going through the unbelievably vast selection of free Oblivion mods, created by diligent fans all over the world. While rummaging through a sea of Oblivion-related content, we've taken the liberty of coming up with a concise list to help you decide which mod is best suited for your needs.

However, before we face the main event, there are certain points we need to get out of the way. First off, we should remind you of the unanticipated hoopla regarding ESRB's recent decision to slap a giant "M" on Oblivion and make it a video game for grown-ups (in place of its previously established "Teen" rating). Concerning this, we couldn't help but notice that the entire matter is likely to reach the proportions of industry debacles such as the infamous Hot Coffee mod for Rockstar's enormously popular title, GTA. Unfortunately for all you nude-thirsty pervs out there, this editorial doesn't cover any nakedness or (COUGH, COUGH) potentially distasteful content that immerged from the wicked imagination of an increasing crowd of "naughty" Oblivion modders.

A majority of mods have indeed met with a favorable response throughout the Oblivion community and it's really wonderful to see how gamers use their creativity to perk up the gameplay. However, certain mods, reportedly, tend to cause problems in a game environment that already suffers from recurrent technical issues (in relation to that, we suggest you try the Oblivion Beta Patch). In many cases, installing a particular mod may bring nothing but disappointing results, instead of a satisfying gaming experience. That's why we urge all of our readers to think carefully before adding a specific custom-made update to their version of Oblivion. We also strongly recommend backing up all essential files before updating the game. There's plenty of unofficial junk out there and, in some cases, it would be wiser to avoid the whole thing, as opposed to ruining the entire game on account of a poorly designed mod. From what we've gathered, your best bet is to stick to fully-functional and regularly updated mods.

If you're looking to make your experience of running around Tamriel more fun, first you'll have to choose a particular category. In a complex RPG such as Oblivion, many things can be set according to your desire. If you wish, you can add new buildings, new effects, more guilds & factions, additional land features, different NPCs and companions, new races, new quests, more objects, new items, extra clothing, supplementary armor and weapons, a variety of handy tools and other utilities. Numerous mods were designed to improve gameplay altogether, in addition to offering quite a few useful tweaks.