The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition

"One small step for Bethesda...One giant leap for RPG's"

This is one of the best games I’ve ever played on the Xbox so far. It’s a revolutionising RPG that really has open-ended opportunities. The game is one of the least linear games I’ve ever played. It has really set the new high standard for the genre and a new standard for future games to reach. This game is more of an add-on then a sequel. It has all the fine lush quality of the first game with the added features from the PC games Bloodmoon and Tribunal.

Gameplay: -
This is such a great game that it really has a large area to explore. Berthesda have Made this game so open every player has a different experience and a unique style of play. There are lots of diverse areas to travel through; woods, mountains, lava pits, caves, mines, seas, towns, cities, sewers – to name a few. Some people will find this game a boring because it has such depth, and with such a large amount of tasks people might find it hard to do everything. The controls are easy to pick up and controlling your character (giving him/her spells, weapons) just adds to the fun. This game has everything, your characters can be adjusted to your personal tastes and their attributes can be chosen and improved. It’s so lifelike (e.g. running makes your character energetic).

Story: -
This game does have a main quest/story but also has smaller quests that you have a choice to follow or not. The games plot is very interesting and draws the player into a compelling world of swords and sorcery. Everything in the games is there for a reason and players get the chance to explore the world and help people or even fight the Empire itself. Following the side quests also open up the game more for the players the story pieces together very well and all the different paths have interesting consequences. Making the experience unique each time.

Graphics/Sound: -
The game can be played in 1st or 3rd person (e.g. goldeneye, tomb raider style). The graphics are good but far from amazing, the landscape merges on-screen out of the mist and though blocky has a great looking texture with branches etc… With such a large area to explore I didn’t expect the graphics to be amazing (which they aren’t) but they are still far from poor. One problem people have with this game is that it has numerous loading screens between the large spaces. As you travel around the Xbox automatically updates the area by loading a section by section, this takes around 7 seconds and doesn’t disrupt play very much. These loading screens occur when entering buildings/mines/cave or when travelling a long distance across the land. Everything is so lifelike with sounds becoming louder as you approach cities/towns or people. Although some of the character movement is very stumpy the magic effects are very high-class.

Play Time/Replayability: -
This game is huge following every nook and cranny could take you nearly a year. The main story won’t take you overly long (couple of weeks), but with so many side quests and gangs/guilds to join the game has so much to do it will (should) keep you hooked if you like it. Because the game has different ways of being played it does have a fairly good Replayability. Each time you could choose a different character type, a different way of play, or even a different house/guild to join. The game really is vast and does allow the player to make significant changes to the game each time you play. It also has quite a lot of add-on form the first game. Save games from the original can be transfered over to this version so the player can use their characters.

Final Recommendation: -
If you want a large RPG with multiple playing chances then this is probably the game for you. This game is nothing like KOTOR because it can be completed in such a multitude of ways. To be honest if your not 100% sure I think you should rent it first and see for yourself. Because there is so much to do people do find it some times too large. If you really want this game it really is worth holding back for, it really could brighten up your games shelf and has so much to do. I hope this review has helped you decide it is far from the greatest game ever but has so many strong points it really does set a high standard to follow/achieve. One point though is that if you have the original test this first to see if you really want to pay so much for the add-ons.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/04