The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

"I highly suggest that you just play PC Morrowind or Oblivion instead."

Well, I bought this game after hearing nothing but good things about it, I was really expecting something a lot better than this. The game, at its core, is really quite good. However, it is plagued by a number of flaws that bring down the quality like you wouldn't believe.

Graphics- Some stuff to like, a lot more to dislike.

Well, I generally don't care much if a game has bad graphics, and Morrowind isn't much of an exception. However, for those of you who do care, this game looks terrible. The characters are a pain to look at; the environments are bland and generally consist of one theme in a certain area (mountainous area, snowy area, forest-like area, swamp area) and don't use much detail to make that area feel more alive; and the game can be hard to really get into partially because of the horrible graphics. This game looks like a good Nintendo 64 game or a Dreamcast game, and that shouldn't be so on the most powerful system of the last generation. The animation isn't done very well either- the characters and enemies of this game move and attack in an awkward fashion, which can somewhat draw you out of the experience. However, it is worth noting that the art style of the game is fairly interesting. The setting is that of a fantasy world, and has some towns, dungeons and such that fit in as such. The NPC characters and enemies follow interesting archetypes of this genre and are a lot of fun to interact with if you like the setting. In conclusion, the graphics look terrible and can really draw you out of the experience. The animation only makes it worse. However, if you like fantasy worlds, that of Morrowind might interest you.

Music- Ranging from good to very good, but never great.

The music in this game is actually pretty good. Nothing to write home about, but pretty good nonetheless. Most of the game's music matches with the atmosphere rather well and helps very much to immerse you in the experience. You may find yourself on occasion admiring the well done music, but it's not so great that you will find yourself wanting to listen to it while you are not playing the game. The exploring themes give off an adventurous mood, the town themes are generally peaceful, the battle themes are exciting, and so forth, just as they should be. But like I said, the music doesn't do much more than just its role to complement the experience. This isn't a Koji Kondo, Nobuo Uematsu, or Motoi Sakuraba soundtrack that makes you want to revisit certain areas or look up videos of a certain cutscene just to hear the music again.

Story- Meh

You're a released prisoner, you've been sent to do some random tasks, fetch quests, guild questlines, something or other. I didn't really finish the main storyline, but from my experience, the story is nothing special at all. Sure it may give you a reason to go from place to place, question the outcome, and make you care a little bit about the world of this game. However, nobody in this game seems to have any personality worth noting. It's like you're setting out to save a world of life-size cardboard cutouts. Pretty much whatever happens is just met with an apathetic "Meh". There are no real endearing characters in this game and ultimately, I just was not at all interested in what happened to this world.

Gameplay- Oh, where to begin...

Oh, the big one. Like I said earlier in the review, Morrowind is not a such a bad game at its core. I quite much liked its successor, Oblivion. Morrowind, on the other hand, is just full of problems that eventually ruin the game when enough of them come together. The basis of the game is your traditional WRPG fare. You make a character, choose a class, customize some stuff, grab some weapons, and run out into an open world that is full of possibilities. However, before too long, you come across the first, and in my opinion, one of the larger flaws of Morrowind's gameplay. There is no fast travel. There are methods of getting between certain areas, but these tend to either cost a bit of money or aren't available for some time. Now I'm a patient guy with my games, I play mainly RPGs so I'm just fine with waiting through some slower parts to get to something that blows me away. However, Morrowind is a walking simulation. You hold the control stick up for several minutes at a time and that is the content of the gameplay. And then there's fatigue. Unlike Oblivion, which restored fatigue while moving and drained it while jumping or attacking (a good balance), Morrowind actually drains your fatigue while moving. This means that if you want your fatigue back, you're going to have to stand in place and wait to get it back. Speaking of waiting, let's talk about these load times. Again, I am fine with waiting for a game to load if the end result can justify it, but this game pushes that belief. These load times are really quite ridiculous. Anyway, when you do come across an encounter, you'll find another of my biggest problems with the game. The fighting in this game is bland. You attack your enemy, step away from his attack, rinse and repeat. Oh and the hit detection. You will often make a fine swing at an enemy and totally miss. I've heard that it has something to do with a low weapon level. However, the end result is still that I'm swinging at an enemy, and I'm not hitting it, which can be maddeningly frustrating. Exploring is a bit of fun, and the dungeons in this game are somewhat cool to go through and search for items. Though there aren't any interesting puzzles or anything else of the sort, so you may find yourself a bit bored with them after a bit. I've heard that once you get to a higher level, the satisfaction makes your tedious work at the beginning worthwhile. However, I believe I played for a solid amount of time and felt no such satisfaction. Overall, the gameplay of Morrowind to me just felt tedious, uninteresting, awkward, and boring.

Replay Value- Very Good

The one thing that I can give this game without any drawbacks is that is is huge. Not only in area to explore, but in things to do. I played a good bit and I don't even think I saw very much at all of what the game had to offer (though my complaints still stand, as they are of mostly of the gameplay rather than the content). If you are one of the many that for some reason seems to have enjoyed this game, you are certain to find your money's worth in the massive amount of things to do. Between several questlines, many more separate quests, and a ton of possible leveling, Morrowind will offer hours upon hours of enjoyment...to those who somehow enjoy it.

Overall

It has a solid base, and does some things right. However, the severity of this game's problems made me give up on it. Oblivion is a very good game if you are interested in something of this sort, as it fixes pretty much every problem that I had with Morrowind. Also, most of this games issues seem as though they could be patched if playing on a PC (thought I don't know for sure, as I don't have a gaming quality PC). So do yourself a favor and do not buy Morrowind for the Xbox. This is really the only game in a good while that I have spent money on and could not bring myself to like.

Pros:
+Good art style
+Good Music
+Half-decent story
+Open world
+Tons of content

Cons:
-Horrible graphics and animation
-Story failed to interest me
-No fast travel
-Poor hit detection
-Most environments are not very interesting.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 03/02/09

Game Release: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (US, 06/06/02)