"Morrowind is, in the most simplest of terms, a stunning game."

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is simply a stunning game. It would not surprise me one bit if it won Game of the Year for 2002. This is truly a role-playing game; you exit your real life and you take the role of your character. You can do almost anything in the game... limited only by your imagination. Do you want to take up arms and be a warrior, fighting for fame and personal glory? Join the ''Fighter's Guild''! Or do you pursue gold, riches and the thrill of excitement? Hook up with the Thieve's Guild. It's your choice. It's your ROLE.

Graphics-wise, it's even better than the screenshots, and that's saying a lot considering the amount of hype this game has generated. Requirements are quite high, but it's worth it. I use a Pentium III 800mhz, 256mb RAM, GeForce 2 MX and 20 gigs of hard drive, and the game is very smooth with occasional slowdowns when changing areas or loading something. The graphics make you feel like you are there. Ironically however, the most beautiful graphics lie in the sky, which you don't look at much. But when you're bored, or waiting for an event to trigger, study the sky. It has about 4 layers, 2 are clouds that actually move, and 2 are the sky, such as the brilliant stars at nighttime.

Sound and music is stellar. The voice acting is great, sound effects are top notch, and music a masterpiece. I don't believe I'll see the day I turn off the speakers because of irritation. I'll never tire of the orchestral music that fits the environment nicely, or the different accents each race possess.

Gameplay and realism is superb. The possibilities are endless, and the Construction Set on the second CD is like ''second helpings'' in a grand meal. The gameplay is non-linear, you don't have to rush and finish the game. Take your time and try everything! I restarted over 4 times in search of my niche, until I finally found the role that suited me best. Hopefully this guide can prevent you from restarting over because of stupid mistakes!

A final note on the realism. The first time I played, I was a bit desperate for cash. I broke into someone's house and murdered him, and took all his stuff, which included silverware (most valuable), food, baskets, utensils, and much more. On the way to the store to convert my loot into gold coins, I passed a guard. I swear to you right now, I was NERVOUS, and when he said ''Good Day'' to me I almost freaked out! That's the level of realism we're talking about here. By the way, I didn't feel any remorse for murdering him, because he kicked my ass with his bare hands THREE times before I finally figured out the combat system! Which is what we will cover next...

Combat in Morrowind is kinda like Quake. You hit F to unsheathe your weapon, click to attack, and click and hold to swing harder. If you ever played the Heretic series, you know what I mean. Rest assured however, the combat system is far more advanced than mad clicking! If you try a clickfest, you will do very little to no damage, and your fatigue will DRAIN. Run out of fatigue, and you will drop to the ground for a breather for about six seconds. The combat system effectively separates the novices (swing swing swing and more wild swing) from the vets. Try attacking a guard and see how he fights. Skills like Dodge automatically come into play during combat. When I fought that civilian, occasionally my stabs would be dodged by lightning speed. You can't normally move like that, it's automatic dodging. So running around like a chicken with its head cut off won't work either. It may seem like a simple Heretic system of combat, but each movement and each action is calculated by a very complicated system in the background. Jumping is also a good strategy to get out of a pinch, such as the time when I got cornered. I jumped on his bed and stabbed him in the head for extra damage!

In conclusion, this game requires alot of reading and interacting, probably much more than combat. So if you're a hardcore Diablo fan, you're out of luck and would be better off with something like ''Dungeon Siege''. But if you love reading fantasy novels like Dragonlance and the works of Tolkien, and you're tired of your real-life and would like to try an identity change, you must try Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind!

Graphics: 10/10
Sound/Music: 10/10
Realism: 10/10
Gameplay: 9.8/10 (more skills would have been nice)
Replayability This factor cannot be measured on a scale simply because the replayability is humongous. Score would be something like 100/10.

Overall 9.9/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/02, Updated 05/04/02