Ok. Well I'm getting the Shivering Isles for christmas and was wondering..

What you've heard is true. Its an awesome game, but it's very different from the original Oblivion. If your looking for a change in scenery, it's the place for you!

If your into alchemy, it has some awesome ingredients, smoked baliwog legs being a good one, so I'd suggest grabbing them whenever possible. Life detect is also an important thing to have there because most of the enemies are either well camouflaged or invisible. The weapons and armor from the smiths in both Bliss and Crucible are very good, their arrows being a deal you can't refuse. Also, prepare yourself for some very demented people and quests on both sides of the border. Everyone is either insane, on drugs, or into torture. Still, Sheogorath is one of my favorite characters of all times (he's so nuts). There are lots of hidden secrets around the island, so don't be afraid to explore. Oh, and don't forget the obelisks. I had trouble closing them, so here's how to do it. You'll see many knights of order around them, but there will b one that is dressed different. This is the priest. Kill a few normal knights and take their hearts, then kill the priest and immediately put the the hearts in the obelisk. If you don't do it quick enough, the priest will come back to life, and if you put the hearts in the obelisk before killing him, he will fix it and you have to start over. Its annoying, but you'll get the hang of it.