The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is a port of the huge, open ended RPG
for the PC. The game is played from a first-person perspective, with
combat being in real-time. You'll find that many aspects of the average
RPG are present. You'll fight monsters with swords and magic, collect
money, level up, get better equipment, carry out quests for NPC's, and
eventually get wrapped up in saving the world. However, Morrowind
offers you the ability to explore everything right off the bat, and
lets you decide how the game will unfold. It's easy to get lost at
first, but once you get a feel for this world, you'll call Morrowind
home.
Morrowind is the most immersive game that I have ever played. From
minute one, you feel like a denizen of Morrowind. This is partially due
to the first person perspective, but it's mostly because everything in
the game is presented to you as if you are there. For example, creating
your character is a process that's done in-game via registering with
the local government. Like real life, the entire game is totally wide
open to you right at the outset. You can wander right out of the first
town and head to any area of the game. You'll probably get wiped out
within 5 minutes of trying it, but you're free to do what you wish
regardless. This does have its disadvantages, if you're not paying
attention. I know people who have killed the wrong person and ended the
main storyline, or have dropped a key item somewhere and could never
recover it. Your choices have consequences in this world. I look at
this as a huge positive. I had to approach every conversation and every
area carefully to keep from ending my own quest. I also found myself
saving compulsively, lest I do the wrong thing and ruin my game.
You'll power up considerably during your travels. In a nice twist,
skills advance based upon how often you use them. Want to level up your
jump skill? Just jump a lot. Want to level up your enchantment skill?
Enchant something. You'll find yourself crafting potions, jumping,
trading, and persuading just for the fun of it and to level up your
skills. Provided that you don't go to jail, your skills won't ever
decrease, so you'll have an uber-character by the end of the game. This
is a mixed blessing, as you'll be able to walk all over anything that
you come across by the end of the game. However, it also added a lot of
incentive for me to keep playing, even after I beat most of the quests
in the game. There are a ton of skills beyond simple combat and magic,
adding a variety of things for you to level up.
The graphics are wonderful in terms of scale, if not great in terms of
detail. Character models and enemies don't look that great, but the
sheer size of the world is amazing. As you wander across the continent,
you'll be in awe of just how big the world is, and how much there is to
see. This includes many familiar RPG elements. Fantastical settings,
"steampunk" temples, and medieval castles are found throughout. Each
city is vast, and easy to get lost in at first. In a nice touch, the
different races all have their own architectural styles, and Bethesda
put a lot of love into each.
In addition, the available Game of the Year Edition adds loads of new content, as well as a couple of
major changes to the game. The two expansion packs, Tribunal and Bloodmoon
add new areas to explore. Tribunal follows the main storyline from
Morrowind. You'll head to some new locations and get some more powerful
items. Bloodmoon is more of a standalone expansion pack, and is set in
the northern arctic reaches of the continent. The second of the
expansion packs, it offers much tougher enemies and the ability to turn
into a werewolf. Some minor changes to the graphics have been
introduced. You'll notice that the water and sandstorms look a lot
better than they did in Morrowind. Also, your enemies now have a health
bar, so you can tell how much damage you're dealing to them. This is a
mixed bag, as you'll be able to better gauge when you need to attack
and when you need to run. I found that took some of the fun out of
combat. Ultimately, the change here is in value. However, Morrowind's
value was already so high that there was no way for me to go over 10.
Morrowind will blow you away with its sheer scale and how open-endedness. There's a main narrative to tie everything together, but the really
interesting stuff is hidden away in the nooks and crannies of the map.
If you enjoy diving into unknown dungeons, wandering
off the beaten path, and exploring every aspect of the game world,
Morrowind is your game.
