The Orrery, the latest chunk of downloadable content for the excellent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, is now available for Xbox 360 via the Xbox Live Marketplace and for PC at Bethesda's Oblivion site. Costing 150 Microsoft points (about $2.00), it's a download that's around 9MB in size and offers a new quest centered on rebuilding a mysterious, conked-out backroom within the Arcane University.

We're a little torn about The Orrery - the new quest it offers is too brief and somewhat dim, involving the collection of Dwarven items from bandits scattered across the land. But the Orrery itself is a beautiful contraption, and makes for a unique sight. Plus, by offering new powers to the player based on phases of the in-game moon, there could be more that we've not yet seen.

The Orrery is the second of three pieces of extra content currently planned by Bethesda, with the third - Wizard's Tower, a mod that offers a useful new home for magic-focused players - due in the next few weeks.

April 18, 2006