The Elder Scrolls: Arena

"A Legendary Start to a Legendary Series"

Ahh...the Elder Scrolls...if I had to count the number of hours this series has sucked out of my life, well, I wouldn't admit it to anyone (especially a girl I was trying to impress). The series got its start in 1993 with the revolutionary Arena. Bethesda was smoking something seriously mind-enhancing when they programmed this gem. Like all Elder Scrolls games, Arena gives you the option to pretty much go anywhere and do anything in a massive world (over EIGHT MILLION KILOMETERS!!! That = HOLY ****, ESPECIALLY for 1993) I first played this game in 1996, after beating Daggerfall, because I wanted to see where that masterpiece got its roots. So I went to my local Software ETC. and bought this game. While I believe that Daggerfall trounces it in most areas (except for Least Buggy), this game is still larger than either Morrowind or the recently released (and over-hyped) Oblivion. On to the review:

Graphics: Then - 9/10, Now - 4/10
Running on what looks like a modified Wolfenstein 3D engine, this game redefines the word "blocky". Seriously, it looks like they made the entire game world out of legos. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, seeing as the size of the world and the number of random dungeons to explore is unparalleled by anything outside of the Elder Scrolls series. The sprites for the NPCs and the world details (statues, fountains, trees, etc...) aren't very well defined, but they are more than adequate in getting the job done. The spell animations are decent, and the weapons are pretty cool looking. I love the way the taverns and Mages Guilds look, but the weapon shops are very bland. Everything is highly (and I mean HIGHLY) repetitive, but I guess that necessary when your game world is THIS big.

Sound: Then - 7/10, Now 3/10
The sounds for this game are glitchy and really nothing to write home about. The weapons all sound similar (read: hitting a Coke can with a letter opener), and the spells are all to repetitive. The music, on the other hand, does a good job of getting you involved in whatever is going on around you. Unfortunately, these days, getting this game to run smoothly on DOSBox requires me to turn the music off entirely. Thats fine, because if I leave it on, its choppy and distracting for some reason.

Gameplay: Then - 10/10, Now 8/10
Just the simple fact that you can attack in eight different direction with any weapon is freaking awesome! Daggerfall only had six, and Morrowind only had three! The exploration of the world is very engaging, and combat is fluid and (more-or-less) responsive. But my favorite thing about the gameplay in this game holds true for all four of the core games in the Elder Scrolls series, and that is the go-anywhere, do-anything, write-your-own-story mentality of the developers. They worked very hard to create a living, breathing "sandbox" world for us to play in. The only thing from later on in the series that I would add to this game is guilds, which would make finding quests so much easier. But between the main quest, the artifact quests, the random delivery quests, and the random dungeons in the countryside, you could play this game for hours and hours BEFORE you discovered the ability to bash down anyone's door and rob them blind! The developers went above and beyond the call of duty when they penned this masterpiece, and the involving and highly deep gameplay still holds up today. And then, they went and did us one better: They made it FREE!!!! Thats right, folks. You can now download this game in its entirety from Bethesda's website www.bethsoft.com Here's hoping they do the same for Daggerfall, because finding this game is about as easy as removing a splinter from your back with your tongue!

Story: Then - 7/10, Now - 4/10
I've never been a big fan of the story in this game. It involves finding the eight pieces to a broken staff (The Staff of Chaos) from eight dungeons in the eight provinces of Tamriel to rescue the Emperor from an alternate dimension where he was sent by a usurper (Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn). The Legend of Zelda, anyone? But, at least the main quest gives you a good reason to explore each of the eight distinctly different provinces (Like you would need a reason. My reason is "They're there, so explore them!). All in all, its the weakest main plot in a series definately not known for its main plots.

Conclusion:
If you like Morrowind, Oblivion, OR Daggerfall, you have ABSOLUTELY no excuse for not playing this RIGHT NOW. I mean, COME ON! Its FREE!!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/18/06