The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition

"They weren't lying when they said Game of the Year!"

Introduction - I was told by many that when I got my Xbox, I should definitely get The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. By the time that I actually GOT my Xbox, Morrowind: Game of the Year edition was out. For a pricetag of 30 bucks, NEW, I couldn't pass it up. I quickly popped the game into my console, and was ready to go. I started off on a ship, and followed the captain out. I then was immediately thrown onto a bridge, where I got to pick my character. I looked through the myriad choices for faces and hair, as well as the many types of warriors, ranging from the sinister Dark Elf to the valiant Nord. After creating my character, I went into the next room. I got to then customize my class, name it, pick what skills it had, and what it's best attributes were. Even after THAT it was still customizable, as I got to pick my birth sign. After completing this short task, I moved onto the next area, and saw a table full of luscious goodies. I jammed the A button and picked up EVERYTHING on the table. I knew I was going to like this game.

Gameplay - This RPG is quite possibly my favorite RPG of all time. It has lasted me MANY hours of gameplay, and with the two expansions that came with the main game, I couldn't put it down. You can do ANYTHING you want in this game. There are tons of towns, and each town is filled with uncountable people and houses. Guards also patrol the town. Inside a house, anything is fair game. You can steal anything inside the house that you please, but if you get caught, you'll get a bounty. When you have a bounty, don't talk to a guard! If you do, then you'll either have to pay the money for the stuff you stole [and anything else in your inventory that you've stolen in the past goes with it], go to jail [which your attributes will decrease], or resist arrest. I wouldn't recommend resisting arrest because the guards are strong, and killing them will just add to your bounty. There are a few people in the game that can reset your bounty though, for a fee. The game can be really easy, or really hard. It has a thing called the Difficulty Slider. It has 200 different notches, going from -100 to 100. It starts at 0, normal, and you can adjust it anytime you want. If a battle's too tough? Go to the options menu and move the slider back. Beat the guy, and then move it back to normal. I love it. The controls are good. The left trigger jumps, the right trigger attacks, the B button pulls out your inventory/menu/stats/spells, the A button talks/picks up stuff, the X button pulls out your weapon, and the Y button pulls out your hands for magicka. You can move it from first person mode to third person mode just by tapping the right analog stick. The left analog stick in conjugation with the right analog stick allows you to move freely, similar to Halo's movement scheme. I like how it isn't turn based, but it's real live action fighting, too.

Story - The story is one of the coolest I've seen in a long while. I'll give you a breakdown of each expansion, without spoiling.

Morrowind - This is the base of the game, it takes place in Vvardenfell, a huge continent. Learn about who you are, and fulfill your destiny! Make friends, lose friends, kill friends. You can load your old game save from the first Morrowind or make a new character.

Tribunal - In this game, you can visit the capital city, Mournhold, that lies just off the mainland. You can only access it in a secret way though, that is revealed to you shortly after you start the game. Let's just say this, sleep to find out how to travel to Mournhold. You can also visit the Clockwork City towards the end of the quest. There are many new armor sets, including the royal guard armor and her hands armor. Meet up with the Goddess Almalexia, or King Helseth.

Bloodmoon - This takes place in a small island called Solstheim, and is covered in ice and snowstorms galore. Wolves and bears patrol the island, and sometimes even devastating werewolves. Slowly work your way through the main quest, and you'll get pulled into a village known as the Skaal, where many nord await you. In this quest, you have the ability to turn into a werewolf, in which your strength goes up a lot, as well as your speed and defense, but you're unarmored and you can't visit your inventory or talk to people.

Graphics/Sound - The graphics are amazing. If you can just look at them you'll be in awe, as the armor is very detailed, and even the expression on peoples faces. The towns are amazingly huge as well, and inside each house there is detail up to the cracks in the wall. The very few cut scenes though are very awesome, and send a chill down my spine. The music is good, especially the starting screen's music, very catchy.

Play Time/Replayability - This game has a plethora of hours worth of gameplay. After you beat all 3 main quests, there are STILL houses, guilds, and misc. quests that you can do. Once you beat that, start a new character! If you don't want to start a new character, you can always find something to do, be it running around as a werewolf scaring people, or just plain slaughtering everyone in the game. The choice is yours, and yours alone. You think you've seen everything, but you always find something you've missed.

Final Recommendation - BUY. THIS. GAME. It's worth every penny. If you don't buy this game, and you're a RPG buff, you're making a huge mistake.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/03