I’m avoiding as much combat as possible, relying on sneaking and, to a much greater extent, running really, really fast.

I’ve not been getting into it as I thought I would. In particular, the summoning and killing of headless zombies I’m having to do to keep all magical weapons charged is getting very tiring.

One classic Oblivion moment, though. My vampirism was getting stronger, as I hadn’t fed for a while. Needing to stay out of sunlight, I sat on a bench in the local inn until the early hours of the morning. No guests at the inn, so I snuck out into the streets and picked the lock on a local house. I crept up to the bedroom and in. A figure asleep in bed – but someone standing next to them! I froze, but the standing figure didn’t see me and instead tottered across the room, groaning. I fed on the sleeping person – priorities – then crept up to the groaning creature, which seemed to be some kind of zombie… called Uncle Leo. It’s a strange place, the Shivering Isles.

Then, finally, into the Shivering Isles. Started off well enough, but then things went a bit weird.

I tried talking to people at the beginning who should have died, except the monster that was meant to kill them ran and jumped into a lake instead. So when I talked to them I got a (console window?) line at the top of the screen and a “I HAVE NO GREETING” message where their subtitles should be. After wandering around for a few hours of game time wondering what to do I got a message saying all the guys who should have been killed had been and I could continue with my quest. Which I did, until the game locked up when I tried looting a corpse.

I wonder if I’m using it incorrectly somehow?

Had to kill a load of ogres in a cave – which was easy enough, as I was very sneaky and had a magic bow. Found a sword that my fence had asked me to get for him, but it was an Honor Blade from a local town, so I thought they’d want it back. So, pausing only to feed on the blood of a sleeping tramp, I returned the sword and everybody was very happy. Except, I assume, my fence, but I’ll avoid him for a while.

Also: Conjuring and trapping the souls of many scamps to recharge my magic weapons gets very boring.

I was down in Anvil when I started the game up after downloading the tower, but I decided to walk to the tower instead of fast travelling there. Inevitably, I did some sightseeing and had some adventures along the way. Found a lovely bridge by a waterfall. Killed a couple of ogres and some nasty people who attacked me as I passed. Killed a nice person who wouldn’t have attacked me by mistake. I saw her up ahead and assumed she was an evil person. But, no, she had a proper name so was probably going to have a nice chat and offer me a cup of tea, possibly. I’ll never know. Couldn’t find a bed I could sleep in in the Chorrol Mage’s Guild, so I wrecked the place from top to bottom with my fireball spell. Petty, I know. Then I played the “get the fireball as close as possible to the guard” game all night while I waited for the weapons shop to open. It’s an exciting game, you should try it. The idea is, as you may have guessed, to send a fireball flying by a guard without hitting him. Knowing that if you get it wrong you’ll have to pay a fine or go to prison adds some great tension. Too much tension, in my case. After some very close shaves I couldn’t handle it any more so I stopped and spent the rest of the night summoning lots of scamps so I could use their souls to recharge my weapons.

Anyway, finding my way up the mountain the tower is on was a trial, but I got there in the end and seeing it emerge out of the fog was wonderful. It looks very, very good. Comes unfurnished, so I went across to the Imperial City to buy the furnishings. Got there at night, so slept until five in the morning in an inn and then went out to feed. Found a beggar asleep outside, so I was able to drink his blood. I like it when I don’t have to break into a house to feed. Another beggar was wandering around and I fired a sneaky arrow at her, which killed her outright and sent her slamming into a wall. I feel bad about that.

Also feel bad about sending a sneaky arrow into the back of Bruma’s stable boy’s head as he ate his lunch. Will make it easier to steal a horse in future. Though I own a horse. And never use it. So it was an utterly pointless kill. When I started playing this game I was good. Then I was honorable thief. Then I was a slightly honorable murderer. Now I’m just a vampire and a killer. I may have saved the world, but I’m just plain evil. I wonder how history would judge me, given all the facts?

Anyway, the furnished tower is superb – Shadowbanish wine in the basement! – and I’m very happy with the 15,000G and £1.50 I spent on it. The view from the top is awesome, too, despite it showing off some of the limitations of the engine.

Oh, and you know what? I can say it now: Oblivion is the best game ever. Finally, after twelve years or so we have game better than Doom.

(I do, however, reserve the right to change my mind again.)

Or rather I thought I’d play it. Took, ooooh, about ten minutes to get back into the swing of things. Didn’t do any quests or anything, just wandered around near Anvil finding new places to explore. A den of necromancers, a marauder camp in a ruined fort, that sort of thing.

It was absolutely wonderful. I think I’m almost ready to call this the best game ever. Almost.

Other than that, I just wandered around aimlessly. My heart wasn’t in it today.

All the special items I’ve been earning are rubbish. Armor worse than stuff I’ve got, weapons that I can’t use.

So what did I do? Well, I decided go to the Arena. I’d never even been into the Arena District of the Imperial City before. Bet 50G on the blue team and lost. Gambling’s never been my thing. (Though I did get my own back my stealing 500G from the bookmaker later.) So I decided to enter the ring myself.

Piece of piss, it is. I’ve been using my trusty Sickening Bow, only changing my lovely fire sword Smelter when the long range thing isn’t working. I go out, fight, come back, heal myself and then conjure up and soul trap some scamps to refill my magical weapons. At the end of the day I wander over to the weapons shop to get some repairs done. It’s a good living and I’m up to Gladiator rank already.

Not the best part of the game, I reckon. All a bit dungeon-crawly.