The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Game: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Developer: Bethesda
Platform: PC, Xbox
Release Year: 2002
Hamish's Rating: 11/10

So I'm going to do something a little different for this one. I only played Morrowind for a couple of hours and it didn't really grab me, but a good friend of mine is pretty much a religious zealot when it comes to Morrowind, so I thought it only right that he write up a few highlights about the game.

Basic Plot

Now, there are many people out there who know a lot more about the Elder Scrolls than I do, it's an almost religious experience for some. Also, what might be considered heresy to some... I don't know anything about what came before Morrowind, and hated Oblivion, which came after (dumbed down for console)... but I did play a LOT of Morrowind. It was my digital crack. I roamed that land so much, when I remember back to my Morrowind days, it feels like real life memories - I really scrambled about under giant mushrooms, I'm pretty sure there really is a city inside a giant mudcrab shell.

There was a main plot revolving around a dark god, a volcano, Imperial rule, the Ghost Gate and of course you're the mysterious stranger.. but ya know, the main story-line wasn't why you played through Morrowind... there was too much world to discover. There were guilds to join, quests under every rock pretty much. And if you got bored of questing, the world itself was fascinating to explore, & always someone to fight, somewhere to sneak or something to... acquire.

Gameplay

This game was a wildly unfettered 1st or 3rd person RPG, with a lot of fine control over interactions with NPCs and your characters stats.

The character creation is something Morrowind was famed for; you could greatly alter your characters appearance with difference faces and hair-styles, but more importantl, there was a very detailed system of creating your perfect skill set, letting you fine tune to your heart's desire. I tried quite a few characters before settling on my prime, a Dunmer, trained up in short sword combat, light armour, archery... I was fast and agile. I didn't enjoy the magic aspects of the game so much, preferring to just carry a bunch of potions if needed.

At the Seyda Need Census and Excuse Office, you could either choose a predefined class which comes under a specialisation; Combat, Magic or Stealth - or create your own (which was the fun part in my humble opinion). The mechanic of skills and attributes is pretty complicated, but basically, you chose what you wanted to be good at, and while you could still attempt all the quests in the game, some would be much harder for you. Doing Theives' Guild quests without high lockpick or sneak skills is gonna be a real drag.

 

Once your character creation is complete, you are set the task of going to the next town, Balmora... but here's where Morrowind is fun. You can just go off and do other stuff. Forget the main story-line. There was a small smuggler's cave nearby the first town, and it made an excellent first foray, after killing a few mudcrabs to get your slashing or archery up to snuff. If your character was like mine, killing was all about sneaking in the shadows, sending deadly arrows at your unsuspecting foes, then panicking when it turned out they were far stronger than you expected and running away as fast as possible. Or you could wear massive armour and hit them with heavy things, or cut them with sharp things, or fling balls of angry magic at them. Either way, Morrowind really came to life when you stepped off the beaten track, killed mercilessly, and pilfered loot off the corpses littering the ground around you.

Positives

A pretty big but incredibly detailed game world. Incredible design work. At the time the visuals were mind-blowing. A life-changing musical score. Complete control over character development. Interesting stories throughout the world you can roam at will... I could pretty much keep on like that all day.

Negatives

Admittedly the combat system isn't up to par with modern games, and even modded to the brim it's looking its age, and has been well surpassed by the latest in the series - Skyrim. Other than that the only thing I could suggest as a negative is that its epic scope would turn away the casual gamer.

Memorable Moments

Where do I even START?! The first time I found my way into some Dwemer ruins and encountered steam driven spiders. Exploring at night and encountering my first (of so many) windracers... and running away when I discovered how rubbish you are in the beginning (terrible mudcrab damage!). When I first laid eyes on a Silt Strider... Morrowind is packed with incredible design and beauty everywhere you go.