"Oh, my. This one starts slowly, picks up speed, and never stops."

This game surpassed anything I thought a PC game could be. I'm not saying it's going to be your favorite game of all time, although it very well could be...but the fact remains that this game has so many amazing things going for it that you just wonder what the heck the programmers were on when they created it...and where can we get some?

Graphics: 10/10

Oh...my. Not only is this adventure fun, but it's a stunning sight to behold. If you have a powerful enough computer (and believe me, this game needs it) then you can be happy that you have quite possibly one of the best looking games out there. If you ever doubt...just look at the sky.

Sound: 8/10

The sound effects are nice and get the job done effectively, and the music is wonderful. Then why 8, you say? Because there are seemingly less than 10 songs in the whole game. In fact, until you fight creatures, it only seems like there are 3 or 4. They're all great...but...when you walk into an ancient Dwemer ruin, why does happy music start to play? Because it doesn't have anything else to choose, I suppose. Oh well. Great music, though.

Control/Interface: 10/10

It controls just like a first person shooter for PC, with the A, W, S, and D keys, and the mouse to aim. Plus some extra keys for attacks, talking, magic, etc. And there's a handy-dandy hot key feature. And the point-and-click interface is so easy to understand, you should have no trouble sifting through all of your stats, items, weapons, etc. The only complaint I have is that sometimes the game thinks the Shift key is pressed when its not (this happens only in shops or on the item menu), and choosing how many of what you would like to sell or take can be a little tricky, because Shift changes how you pick them up (all at once or one at a time). It doesn't do it often though, and it's really not that big of a nuisance at all, hence the reason why it didn't hamper the 10 out of 10.

Gameplay: 10/10

Oh man. Where to start? Basically, you're dropped into a beautiful, mysterious fantasy world and you can do whatever you want. Your character is entirely customizable. You can choose between many classes, between male or female, and several head and hair types for each (clothes are handled by what you actually wear, like a Robe or Steel Armor, which is very cool). Each class has various powers and bonuses specific to it. Then you can choose what class you'd like to be. This is where it gets really cool. You can be just about anything you'd like, such as a Mage, Thief, Knight, Crusader, Witchhunter, Rogue, Barbarian, etc. These are preset classes than you can choose from. OR, if you're the customize-type, you can create a class all your own. You select your specialty, your favorite 2 attributes, and your Major (starts highest) and Minor Skills (starts a bit lower than Major). The rest become Miscellaneous, which are less important for your class, harder to increase, and much lower. Then you can choose a Sign to be born under for even more special bonuses and powers. Once proceeded into the game, you can choose to follow the main path, or go off on your own journeys for awhile. There are so many quests and things you can do, it will probably take well more than 200 hours to really complete this game. More than 300 if you really want to find it all. The scope of this game is incredible. You can look at just about ANYTHING, and pick it up (usually stealing), and talk to and/or kill anyone. Crimes are bad though. There's another aspect of the game, too. But anyway, with the general gist out of the way...this game will suck you in and you will be hard-pressed to pull away from it. It is truly amazing.

Replay Value: 10/10

As noted above, this game is so unmeasurably massive that you'll practically never run out of things to do. And if you do, try playing again, with a totally different approach. Maybe instead of being a nice guy and chatting it up with the townsfolk, you'd like to put on some beastly armor, grab a huge battleaxe, and lay waste to everyone in town. And believe me, you can do it. It's actually pretty funny to see. And a nifty little tool that's only found in the PC version (not XBox) of Morrowind is the Construction Set. If you ever get truly bored, you can make anything you want and put it right into the game. This can be used in a variety of fun and cool ways, and is a really nice tool to have.

Overall: 10/10

Amazing. Bethesda Softworks has accomplished something truly spectacular here. I would suggest this game to anyone and everyone. So what are you waiting for? Don't you want to try it, too?

Note: The XBox version is identical to the PC version, and is adapted for the controller and TV screen. It adapted very well, actually.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/02, Updated 06/12/02