The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

"With an incredibly detailed environment, Morrowind immerses you in an entirely new"

As soon as you start playing this game, one of the first things you will ask is "is this game online?" Considering the spectacular environment of this game, it's understandable why you would expect this to be online; no other single player games have even come close to creating an environment as sophisticated as Morrowind. In fact, most MMORPGs do not even have the open-ended gameplay, variety of NPCs, and the enormous world of Morrowind. The world that your character enters is all yours to explore and conquer.

As you can tell, the emphasis of this game is on the environment. This doesn't mean just the plants and trees; this means everything that surrounds the plot. With thousands of NPCs, miscellaneous items, houses, towns, ruins, dungeons, and landscapes, Morrowind is not just a game; it is an entirely new world.

Most RPG and adventure games have a huge emphasis on plot - the game revolves around a central conflict. The environment of the game exists only to support the main plot. Morrowind is the opposite; anything is possible on the island you are on, and the "main quest" is completely optional. If you want, you can simply kill the man who assigns you your first quest, take his armor, and terrorize the civilians. Of course you will likely be killed by the guards for doing this, but nonetheless it is entirely possible.

There is no goal or objective in Morrowind other than to do what you feel like. If you're someone who wants a very simple game where there's only one thing to do, you have probably already figured out that this game isn't for you. There is no reason to complete a single quest in this game - you can simply explore the world on your own and find all tons of items and money to support yourself with. You can become an outlaw, a known murderer of city dwellers, and every guard will kill you on sight.

If you decide that you want to do quests, there are over ten factions that would like your help. There are multiple factions for every type of character - a Fighter's Guild for warrior-type class, a Mage's guild for magic users, etc. Some of the factions are allies; others are rivals. For instance, if you join a great house in the game you might end up being assigned to kill an important member of another great house. As you complete missions for a faction and grow more powerful, you can rise up the ranks, giving access to new areas and equipment, as well as more challenging quests. Eventually you can become the leader of the faction if you are determined enough, although in some instances you might have to defeat the current leader of the faction in a duel in the arena.

The number of ways to play this game is limitless. There are no "classes" in this game like most other RPGs. Instead, when you create your character you choose your race from over ten choices, each of which have unique bonuses and looks - some even have claws and tails, and as such can't wear boots on their feet. Then you can choose various skills to emphasize from a huge selection - you can take the Axe skill to be more powerful and accurate when wielding axes, or the Restoration skill to be a more adept healer. Since you can choose ten skills to emphasize, the options are unlimited. You can specialize in wielding all types of weapons, or you can choose to specialize in only one or two types so that you can also specialize in certain types of magic spells.

Speaking of magic, one of the most extraordinary things about this game is that you can create your own spells. You can select the effect(s) of the spell, the magnitude of the effects (how much damage is done, how long it lasts, etc.), and the area the spell affects. For instance, you can create a spell that will paralyze every NPC within 100 yards of you, and also make yourself invisible so you can escape. Depending on how efficient you are at using magic, the more powerful you make the spells the harder they will be to successfully cast - so as you progress through the game you can continue to make your spells more powerful to suit your needs. You can emphasize area, damage, damage over time, etc.

The amount of details in this game is simply amazing. There are entire books that can be found in this game - some of them which explain Morrowind's history, others of which are just pure fiction. There are many religions in this game, each of which have their own God(s), history, and group of followers. Every NPC has a certain disposition towards you, which will effect what they will say to you, how much they will charge for their services, and whether you can count on them to help you when you need it. They can all be bribed - for a price, or you may have to run errands for them to get them to like you better.

Naturally a game this detailed requires certain system requirements. While when this game first came out these were considered relatively steep, now they are nothing to be concerned about. The graphics of this game are amazing, as well as the sound. You will not be unimpressed.

Finally, if for some odd reason you find yourself bored of this game, it comes with a "construction set" so you can alter the world in any way you want. You can add in a new dungeon, a new island, or remove a town you don't like, or add in an item that can instantly teleport you anywhere. You can create a castle for yourself with guards wearing the best armor available. And with the power of the internet, these mods can be shared with people all over the world. Among the "mods" that have been created, some of them are completely innovative, such as adding Magus's Castle from Chrono Trigger into this game, in 3D graphics with skeletons that are six feet tall. Is this even remotely possible in any other game? No, this is only possible in Morrowind.

If you are the type of person that likes one dimensional games where there is only one proper path, one main quest, and one way to play, don't even think about buying this game. But if you want millions of ways to play, and an environment almost as detailed as Earth itself (except you can modify this environment to suit your liking), you must buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/05