The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

"This game has been the best experience I had for a long time."

Introduction
Sometimes, I go to a store, unsure of what to buy, and I see a game that I remember reading a review for in a magazine, and this game has been talked about very much. I am just not sure at all whether I should buy this game, but I just do to find out, and I am then glad I decided to buy it because it gave me so much fun. This has happened to some of the games which I reviewed and gave a 10, and this also happened to me with Morrowind. This game has been a unique experience for me, and while it isn't not very strong in story, which is what I like most RPGs for, it is very strong in gameplay. I will tell you about this wonderful game and the great experience.

Graphics: 9/10
Let's start with graphics. The graphics in this game are very detailed. Cities look beautiful, with many different types of architecture, the weather effects look realistic, and there are just many details, with interesting particle effects. The characters, however, are not very detailed and look bad. An important thing that you will need a VERY GOOD graphics card to run this game well. I have a GeForce 2, and while this game is possible to play with that, it just doesn't run very well. The framerate seems to be below 20 (unless there aren't many objects around you) when I play, and this game often crashes because of that, but that doesn't keep me from playing this game :). I would guess that you would need at least a GeForce 3 to have it run well, but it is playable with something less.

Sound: 10/10
The sound of this game is another one of the highest points of the game. Weather just amazed me. I still sometimes shake if I hear thunder, and rain also sounds natural. I don't know why, but I just love the voice acting in this game for some reason, and you will be able to tell which race is saying something soon after starting the game. Other miscellaneous sound effects are just something that should be experienced. This game will sound good even on two speakers.

Music: 5/10
Although the sound is good, the music is just often boring and not something you will be interested in listening to. I can't think of any track that I particularly like.

Story: 4/10
In this game, the emperor has just ordered that you will be released from prison and taken to the island of Morrowind. You do not know it yet, but you will fulfill an old prophecy. That is all I could mention without spoiling the game, but this plot is not very interesting, and it is hard to remember every detail. Your character does not interact with other characters, and it is basically first-person. There are no emotional scenes, but only times where you just have to speak with certain characters.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is the very part of the game that makes it great. You can have many options for what your character will be: There are 10 races, several birth signs (which determine what powers you have), and many options for characters. Even if you choose to make your character a fighter, for example, it will still be possible to use magic or stealthy acts like pickpocketing or picking locks. However, it will be more difficult to raise your skills in that. Many different skills that can be raised exist. There is much freedom in this game. You could go and kill someone for no reason (even though that would be stupid) and resist arrest if you commit a crime (which would also be stupid), but you can interact equally with any character. This game, however isn't very realistic. You can go anywhere any time, sleep isn't necessary, and it just doesn't matter what time of day it is. The main part of the gameplay is just how many things you can do. There are probably over 200 quests to do, you can join different guilds, many rare items to find, and so on. You can even make custom spells or enchantments to items! As you can see by that, there are many good things about the gameplay. One thing I just don't like is how no character has enough money to buy any rare items you find.

Replay Value: 10/10
I have spent about 100 hours playing this game, and even though I have completed the main quests for this game, joined some guilds, and did some missions for them, I can see that I still haven't done most quests, and still have most of the island unexplored. The place in this game is just larger than you would expect, and many locations exist. Even if I probably won't ever do everything in this game, there is still much for me to do. You can also look for mods to this game on the Internet if you want more quests or locations.

Miscellaneous: 10/10
But wait! There's more! This game comes with a program that will let you modify the main game. If you don't know anything about programming, this set is still easy to use (even though it will take a while to figure out how), and you will be able to do basic things like making new dungeons or characters. If you are even better than that, you will even be able to make your own items or change the gameplay somehow.

Buy?
While you might not like this game for some reason, I certainly did, and would recommend you to get it for the reasons I have stated.

Conclusion
Even though it crashes often, like I mentioned earlier, that won't stop me from playing it. This is just a game that feels magical to me, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. While it might not be famous in the future, I have definitely enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind getting an expansion if that would be released (hint to Bethesda).

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/02/02, Updated 09/02/02