The Elder Scrolls: Arena

"Arena: The first in a epic series"

Vivox's Review of The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena

Ten years ago Bethesda released the first in a series of RPG's. Daggerfall, Morrowind, and the soon to be released Oblivion. But before these, there was Arena. Arena is a open-ended first-person RPG where you explore cities, dungeons, gather loot, armor and weapons, talk to people, fight monsters, gain levels, and do quests for more experience points and items. But, after ten years, does this game stand the test of time?

Story: To keep a long story short (no type of pun intended) the story involves a bunch of staff pieces that you must collect in order to destroy a evil wizard who has captured the emperor and taken the land (disguised as the emperor) as his own. You, the hero of the adventure, start off in a dungeon where a ghost helps you to escape. Once you escape the dungeon, your free to go and explore the world and do the main quest at your leisure. The story is great in that you can take on many side quests and stories that ave nothing to do with the main story. In doing these side quests and stories, you gain more experience points and items, making the main quest easier. The story may be a little dated, but the way it is handled (open-ended) makes it even better. The Story gets a 8 out of 10.

Gameplay: This is the true greatness of the game. You explore dungeons and cities, collecting info, items, and doing quests all in the hopes of building your character into a powerhouse. You can explore where you want, when you want, if you want. The gameplay of the game, for lack of a better term, is awesome. The open-ended gameplay appeals to me more than any type of game now-a-days (I used to hate open-ended RPG's. Even in my review for Ultima VI, I bashed Morrowind. Now, Morrowind is one of my favorite games). If you enjoyed Morrowind or Daggerfall, you'll love Arena. The Gameplay gets a 10 out of 10.

Graphics: The games graphics, to be fair, are ten years old and definitely dated. For when this game came out, the graphics were definitely good. And, for the type of game, the graphics definitely fit the game. And the random weather is also well done (I love random weather effects in a game. You could call it a "fetish" of mine.). Snow and rain look well done, and you can definitely tell when day has turned to night. The graphics in the game, for its time, are well done. The Graphics get a 7 out of 10 (being generous, as this game is ten years old).

Music/ Sound: The music in the game sounds very good. Towns, inns, and the dungeons all sound as they should. I found myself, for example, humming the inn music. The sound in the game is as it should be: you can hear grunts, growls, and the scrapings of claws on the stone floor. So, overall, the music and sound in the game is very well done. The Music/ Sound in the game gets a 9 out of 10.

Replayability: C' mon! The game has tons and tons of replay value! With all the random dungeons and random quests to do, you'll find yourself (once you've beaten it) playing again and again. You'll find yourself experimenting with different character races and job classes. The game is just fun to play. The Replay gets 10 out of 10.

Buy, or Download?: The game cannot really be bought (except on Ebay) and it is a free download. Bethesda has released the game for free now, meaning its a free download. And the download size is small. The game is definitely worth the couple of minutes of downloading. So download it for free (its worth it).

The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena is the first in a epic series. With Oblivion coming out soon, the game is worth the download, if just to see the origin of the Elder Scrolls series. You'll find yourself playing this game for hours and hours, exploring dungeons and towns, and doing quests and gaining levels. The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena stands the test of time better than most other games its age.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/05