"MY first PC gaming experience was as success."

When I first picked up The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, I was a bit skeptical. I had never played a PC Role Playing Game before, so I was unfamiliar with the controls, the graphics, everything. I was delightfully surprised when I played Morrowind though. I could have easily given up, claiming that the controls were too difficult to learn, or there were too many settings or something like that, but the game was just too good. Never before had I been immersed in a game. Never before had I truly believed I was there! It was an amazing gaming experience, and one I will not soon forget.

I opened the box, installed it, and loaded the game. After all of the character creation, I was on my own. I had never been “on my own” in a game before. I had always played the linear RPGs, like Final Fantasy. In other words, I had never played anything where I had much control as to what my character was going to do, what he was going to become. In Morrowind, it was different. If I wanted to kill someone, I could do it! Sure, there would be repercussions, but as long as I could deal with them, I could do anything. I could run, jump, and swim. I could buy, sell, or steal. I could do anything, and I was mesmerized. Never before had anything been up to me. I loved Morrowind when I first played it, and I still love it today, more than a year later.

In Morrowind, the player is destined to save the world. Yeah, yeah, I know – aren’t they all destined to save the world? However, this rehashed story is presented in a new and unique way. Instead of the character being an upstanding citizen, like most other RPGs, this character was released from jail in order to save the world. Throughout the game, this character must perform several actions, the results of which will determine if the character is the prophesied one. If all of the trials are completed, then the character will be the only hope for survival.

However, not all of the inhabitants are happy to see the return of the prophesied one. The church will proclaim you, as well as all of your followers, heretics. The church refuses to believe in the ancient prophecy, because it goes against everything that the church decrees. Even with the church’s opposition, many of the game’s peoples will follow the character, look up to him. The followers believe that the character is indeed the savior, and will do nearly anything to please him.

Opposition will not only come from the church. During the course of the game, several people will be decidedly unfriendly. Needless to say, these people will have to be dealt with. Some, such as the early bandits, are quite easy while others, namely the last few bosses, can be extremely difficult if the player is not properly prepared. With the right preparation, the character will soon learn anything is possible.

The game starts out with the player given a single quest – to find the leader of the Emperor’s spying community on the island. This sets off a chain of events in which the player’s character is named the Nerevar, the person that the prophecies claim will save the world. This will not be easy.

The player has a set of twenty-seven skills that have the ability to level up. The five most important skills, according to the player, should go in the Major Skills position. The next five most important skills should go in the Minor Skills Category. The skills in these categories determine when, and how often, the player levels up in the game. Every time a combination of ten Major or Minor skills goes up a level, the player will gain a level.

Depending on the type of character that the player wants to play, different skills should be placed in the Major and Minor positions. For the brute force player, melee skills and defense skills should be given high priority. For the thief, skills such as Sneak (for staying hidden), Security (for stealing and pick pocketing) and Short Blade, for attacking up close, are important. For the master wizard, magical skills, such as Alchemy (to mix potions away from towns), Restoration (to heal anytime), and Destruction (to attack from afar) should be given high priority.

Every time one of these skill sets is used, a certain percentage towards a skill level up will be given. After the total of these percentages reaches 100, then the skill level goes up by one. As mentioned previously, any time that any combination of skills goes up ten times, the player will gain a level. Appropriate choices should be made in the early going, or else the creatures roaming the land will be too powerful for the player to take on.

The graphics in Morrowind are phenomenal. Everything in the game is presented in vivid detail. The forests are lush with vegetation, the swamps look decaying, the water rushing in the rivers actually look wet, even the clouds move! Non player characters actually have facial features, as do the multitude of creatures found in the game. Mountain ranges rise up from afar, as they would in real life. I had never found a game in which everything was so real and in such vivid detail! The graphics were more than simply pretty though. They did nothing to take away from the gameplay, they were just naturally gorgeous at the same time.

Sound effects in Morrowind are absolutely amazing as well. The rain actually splashes onto the ground, instead of hitting the ground silently, like it normally does in video games. The wind howls in the sand storms to the north. Every creature has a distinct sound that it makes, allowing the player to identify certain creatures without even seeing them. Whenever a creature is around, the battle music will start. This can be frightening at the night, especially when the music starts and there are no visible enemies. There have been several times that a little Rat has scared me half to death because I simply could not see what was attacking me!

The battle system is new to me, so I thought it was truly innovative. Instead of hitting the opponent every time the character tries to attack, the character misses more often than normal. That is, until the correct skill is at a high enough level where the character will hit the opponent most of the time. At the beginning of the game, battles are to be feared, as the character could not attack his way out of a paper bag. Later on, however, the battles become enjoyable, as the character is much more competent to attack.

Morrowind is a wide open game, with tons of sidequests. If the player is only looking to complete the main storyline, then it will take a good forty to fifty hours to complete. If however, the player is looking for a more rewarding experience, there are several hidden items, innumerable sidequests, and plenty of dungeons to plunder. When doing everything possible in the game, Morrowind can easily take up to 200 hours (or more!) to complete. Because of all the additional stuff that can be done, Morrowind has a ton of replay value. If the game is too easy, go loot some Daedric shrines. If the game is too short, do some sidequests. Collect all the books in the game, build a mansion, or just go look for loot by plundering dungeons and crypts. Master all twenty-seven skills – without using a trainer! There are so many things to do in this game; I could not possibly list them all here. You will just have to try things out and see for yourself. There is no shortage to the amount of replay value this game has.

Overall, Morrowind has been one of my favorite games of all time. I was immersed in this game like no other. I have played it for over 200 hours, and I am still not sick of it. I don’t know that I will ever tire of playing this game. That is how amazing The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind actually is. Without a doubt, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is one of the only games with great graphics and sound that still has an addictive gameplay. The graphics are pretty, but not because the game is horrible. Morrowind is an enjoyable game for anyone, and there are as many different ways to play it as there are players. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is a definite must buy, because no matter who is playing, no matter how they are playing, it will be an enjoyable experience.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/29/03, Updated 07/29/03