Have you conquered the deepest, most vile depths of Oblivion? Engaged in epic (or not so) conflicts with towering demon demigods? Rose through the ranks of a band of cut-throat thieves to become their king? There is certainly no shortage of content in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but no matter how staggering the number of adventures in whichi one can engage, the simple fact is the grand total rounds out to finite. If you're weary of grinding your Herculean hero through endless caves filled with meager goblins and bandits unworthy of your ferocious mettle; fear not! Adventure lies just ahead. Bethesda will soon be releasing the latest in a winning line of plug-ins and it's the biggest yet.

Knights of the Nine is an epic adventure begging to be taken up by a dashing hero with not nearly enough blood on his sword. Whispered rumors of an attack on a church and a doom-prophesizing seer lead the player to the town of Anvil where more than mere vandalism is afoot. It seems that this attack is one herald of the return of an ancient Ayleid king, thought dead these past 3000 years. It is quickly made clear that this is, in fact, not a good thing. The player must prepare for the worst and collect the Crusader's Relics, the armor and weapon of the knight to last face this Ayleid king in battle.

The quest leads players all around Cyrodil, from ancient shrines scattered throughout the forest, to shambling, decaying Ayleid ruins long since swallowed up by the seas. There are eight new unique pieces of armor and weapons that comprise the Crusader's Relics, and they are pretty ϋber gear that provides great boosts to the player's stats. Of most importance though, is that they look cool, because nothing is worse than a poorly dressed hero. One item of interest was the Crusader's helm, which offers a heavy boost to personality (a stat most players ignore), but that's not the kicker; the helm has Thor-like wings that stretch out from both sides. I want to create a new character, name him Thor, and immediately obtain this helmet.

The story is simple--collect the items and kill the bad guys--but it does a good job of maintaining a strong undercurrent of Lovecraftian horror. The return of the Ayleid king plays out much like a god from the Cthulhu mythos; ancient, irredeemably evil, and of grave danger to any and all living things. This plug-in differs from the others that have been offered in that it seamlessly integrates itself into the game; there are no magical letters from distant relatives, or inherited deeds for far off lairs. Instead, the player will have to check the rumor mill with some NPCs to find out what's going on and who to hit.

Knights of the Nine is a bit more expensive than the other add-ons have been ($9.99 compared to the next-most-expensive add-on at $2.99), but is definitely worth it for the amount of new, unique loot and the 15-hour quest that can be played by meek heroes-to-be or muscle-bound demigods.

- doctordoom99