Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall now free

When The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released, it was hailed by critics for its sprawling open world and the potentially intimidating freedom of choice it offered players. While Oblivion represented a major breakthrough for developer Bethesda Softworks, the foundation of the title's gameplay was...

When The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released, it was hailed by critics for its sprawling open world and the potentially intimidating freedom of choice it offered players. While Oblivion represented a major breakthrough for developer Bethesda Softworks, the foundation of the title's gameplay was in many ways preserved from earlier titles in the series.

Now players who only discovered the role-playing game franchise with Oblivion--or have yet to try it at all--have an expanded opportunity to explore the series' roots. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls, Bethesda today released an earlier installment in the series, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, free of charge on its Elder Scrolls Web site.

Because the game is being released free of charge, Bethesda will not be providing technical support for it. However, the game can be made to run on modern computers using the DOSBox program, and Bethesda has released a step-by-step guide on how to get it running.

The original Elder Scrolls game, Arena, was similarly released for free to mark the franchise's 10th anniversary. It remains available for download from Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Web site.

For more on Daggerfall, check out GameSpot's original review.

199 Comments

  • Thomasskins

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 3:19 am PT

    Oblivion IV game of the year version or the original Oblivion IV, im not sure which to get, I need a little advice please...
    Both games are the same price eventhough GOTY version holds more content (expansions) which is a bit strange, I would have assumed the GOTY version to be priced a little higher because of the extra content compared to the original Oblivion.
    Im wondering if this is because of the bugs GOTY has, iv heard that it sometimes freezes and crashes the PS3?
    Because of this im not sure which to get, my head says GOTY because of the extra content but if it is buged I think I might be better off buying the original, if you have played GOTY version is it badly buged, would i be better off getting the original?
    If anyone has played the two can you give me your oppinons please, also does the original have any bugs?
    Thanks to everyone who posts a reply or sends a PM to me, I will be very greatfull.....
    Happy gaming - Steve.

  • Thomasskins

    Posted Dec 27, 2009 3:07 am PT

    Thank you Jadenman!

  • Jadenman

    Posted Dec 5, 2009 3:28 pm PT

    (To thomasskins) I've played Oblivion on The Ps3, and It's much less confusing, definetily. If you get stuck somewhere in a quest you can always go to your sack and look at the quest portion, which gives you a good idea of what to do next, as well as Setting something as your main quest puts a marker to your next needed location. Dragon age is a great game too, but oblivion has very good graphics and So much more to do, if you wanted to you could go into a town and follow someone around, watching what they do, what they work as, Throughout the day. In my opinion Oblivion has much more to offer, in terms of playability and time - Check out "Red Faction: Guerrilla"

  • for2100

    Posted Nov 29, 2009 4:10 am PT

    definately get oblivion i have played dragon age and well it might suit others but it didnt do it for me i like more first person rpg eg. oblivion and fallout 3 also i would love to play morrowind again but.. i tried and frankly the going so far back in graphics terms irritated me would love a re make

  • Thomasskins

    Posted Nov 28, 2009 9:36 am PT

    I dont know what to do get Oblivion GOTY or Dragon Age, I want a game that i can play for hours and loose myself in it, i played Morrowind on PC years ago and found the graphics brilliant for the time but found the game a little confusing always strugling to know what to do next which slowed gameplay down, so i need a little help tp make up my mind, if you have played Oblivion on ps3 what do you think of it as a whole, i know it looks amazing and over 200 hours of gameplay 400+ in my case lol, but is it hard, confusing, slow gameplay?
    Id like to hear your take on it if you have played or are still playing, thank you

  • Knight95007

    Posted Oct 10, 2009 9:33 pm PT

    I must say I was really impressed by Oblivion and its strong storyline and I look forward to downloading Deaagerfall

  • IceJester45

    Posted Aug 29, 2009 6:13 pm PT

    A played a game called "Gemstone" in.....jeez...it must have been in the mid-to-late-1990s. I believe it was before "Ultima Online" came out. I'm not really sure, though. That's the only MUD I can remember playing. Sorry.

  • CastorCat

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 9:28 pm PT

    HA! Anyone that's going to deny these games deserves to have their thumbs cut off. Now, granted, your Breath of Fire games and Final Fantasy games (prior to 7 anyway - I don't care what anyone says, FF7 is just a bunch of selfish whining with big swords - and FFT is more RTS than RPG) are fun, they'll lose every time to the solid (and more in-depth due to greater control flexibility) PC RPGs that are released every year by both big-brand and indie game companies. But let's forget all these fancy games for a moment and let me pose a couple of questions to you. When was the last time you played a hardcore in-depth text-MUD like Achaea? Do you even know what a MUD is?
    One last thing -- IceJester45, way to remember Planescape Torment. You leveled up.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Aug 14, 2009 10:54 pm PT

    PC RPG-related story. Today, some guy in one of the forums said that there haven't been any good RPGs since "Breath of Fire III" and "Final Fantasy Tactics," both of which came out in 1998. My first response was, "Ummm...'Baldur's Gate II' and 'Planescape Torment.'" I listed a few of the quality RPGs that have come out since 1998. He replied by saying that every game on my list made him yawn. I find that unsurprising. If "Breath of Fire III" is this guy's measure of a great RPG, a real RPG like "Baldur's Gate" would go completely unappreciated. It's like giving a physics book to a fourth grader.

  • StewSpot

    Posted Aug 14, 2009 8:49 am PT

    Sweet! I wish other game developers would follow this lead =)

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Aug 5, 2009 11:32 am PT

    @ IceJester45, could not agree with you more. I am beginning to think that new gamers know they want simpler games as they know older games tax their minds because they are too smart for them. You only have to compare the Oblivion with the Morrowind with the Daggerfall main quest. Oblivion: In your sleep, Morrowind: You have to be aware of the world, Daggerfall: You have to be a political understanding person.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 9:46 pm PT

    Why would someone be opposed to bringing back PC RPG gaming? That entire mindset makes no sense to me. At best, it's a statement that the person wants less choice and diversity in gaming. Do these people want every game to be a "Final Fantasy" clone or something? Do these people have so much animosity toward PC gaming that they're willing to hurt themselves? People do funny things.

  • totlot

    Posted Jul 30, 2009 9:29 pm PT

    i'mhaveing probloms i do every step very cerfally and when im at the last step type dagger and when i do it sees like i have the wrong disk it realy sucks

  • P1zzaman

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 6:16 pm PT

    Nice! I sold my copy a while back, now i can get it again.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 2:44 am PT

    @writer4life have you got the latest 0.73 version? Have you installed it into the default folder (C:\Program\Files\Dosbox-0.73

    Download a windows front end for DOSBox, like 'D-Fend Reloaded' (just google it) as that may make a difference.

    Also, do you mean Daggerfall is crashing when you start it in DOSBox?

    Go to the Bethsoft forums,where there is a lot of help for new gamers.

    I have never ever heard in 5 years of using DOSBox where it has crashed the PC.

  • writer4life

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 12:05 pm PT

    Unfortunately, that DOSBox program crashes my computer everytime. Sucks.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 27, 2009 12:33 pm PT

    I want to remind PC gamers:

    A post was made on 12th July: "bring back pc rpg gaming!!!!!!!!"

    It has two thumbs down.

    Fight back PC gamers, fight back!!!!!! Get some backbone guys!!! They haven't won yet! This is a thread about Daggerfall a PERSONAL COMPUTER GAME - don't let the console gamers win even in THIS thread!

    And if I get loads of thumbs down I will know we have lost and that PC gaming is a breath away from Oblivion. (Yes, that word was intentional!)

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 27, 2009 12:22 pm PT

    In a post below I was talking about playing the Quest for Glory games... a free re-make has been made available by fans with better graphics and icon rather than text input control!

  • Mr_Versipellis

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 12:24 pm PT

    I can't wait to play... this is the only one I haven't played yet. Old it may be, but it's a history lesson.

  • HiSaZuL

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 12:36 am PT

    i just couldn't resist making a comment on bioshock and rpg in same sentence .... name 1 rpg element there?
    please if someone wants to say fps-rpg then theres deus ex... thats fps rpg anything at least half of it could be called fps-rpg but something like bioshock can't be an rpg simply because theres 0 character development. theres no customization of any kind there are no objectives aside from (next open door shoot monster 914 await further instructions)... and most importantly theres no story to unravel and no great epic adventure of your own to have. its a linear game where amount of choices you can make is so minuscule its disappointing in itself. as fps it was fun tho not going to deny that heh system shock was a nice fps with ... some rpg elements to it. eh everytime i think bioshock i think system shock for some reason... i guess both are bizzare in their own way heh

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 3:58 am PT

    To all those thinking of trying Daggerfall; don't give up until you change the control option in Z.cfg to 'viewplyr.dat'. This will give you a WASD control scheme with mouse look. In other words, the way modern games work. Also, check Options a) to see the control keys set up and b) to click on 'Full Screen' so you now have a Morrowind/Oblivion style GUI! With this set up you'll be a lot more comfortable and will do better in the game!

  • Sovereign_13

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 11:03 pm PT

    Bethesda what are you thinking! You should have used the Nintendo method and charged $20 for it. Then, you wait a week and come out with a new motion based control scheme and charge $30 for that.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 12:52 pm PT

    Krondor...there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I never played the "Ultima: Underground" games, but I did play the last few games in the main series. As for the "Quest for Glory" games, I played almost everything that came out of Roberta/Ken Williams-era Sierra (I seem to remember the Krondor games being theirs, too).

    I never got around to playing "Lands of Lore." There seems to be quite a few RPGs I missed.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 9:08 am PT

    @ IceJester45, back in the day I was playing the Krondor games, the Realms of Arkania games,the Lands of Lore games and The Quest for Glory series. Although late on, I also found (about 5 years late) the Ultima Underground 1 and 2 games to be excellent. Realms of Arkania is up there with Daggerfall in my book; consider, for example, that when your party rests you can set each of them on different 'shifts' to guard the sleeping party and you can send your wizard off to spend a certain amount of time looking for herbs for alchemy. The amount of detail is just as amazing as the title we're talking about here!

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 10:03 pm PT

    Leonagard,

    A DS version of "Daggerfall" would be great. The DS seems like it should be well-suited to handle old PC strategy games and RPGs. The stylus works very well with games like "Civilization: Revolution," which is essentially a prettier version of "Civilization II." The only problem is that developers and/or publishers keep botching retro PC ports. "The Settlers II," for instance, should have been brilliant on the DS. I think its gameplay is perfect for the handhelds (it's accessible enough to play on the go, but it's also deep enough to keep the player engaged). Yet, the final product was glitchy nonsense.

    Sorry for the digression. Yeah, "Daggerfall" would be awesome on the DS, provided they could fit everything on the cart (not sure how much a DS cartridge can hold) and keep the game relatively glitch-free. It would sure be a welcome break from all the Japanese RPGs.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 9:42 pm PT

    Humorguy_basic,

    What other RPGs were you playing back then? I was more of a strategy, point-and-click adventure, and space flight simulator fan back then. Yeah, most genres I used to enjoy are more or less dead now. But, I also had a lot of fun with "Redguard," "Plane Scape: Torment," the "Ultima" games, and other big-name RPGs.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 9:38 pm PT

    I can't believe I'm actually getting thumbs down for saying that I think "BioShock" is not an RPG and "Mass Effect" is too short.

  • eagleballer44

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 5:45 pm PT

    This game is a little before my time but its so hard. How do you beat anything past the rat and bat? everything kills me in one hit.

  • Quinzark

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 2:38 pm PT

    i have serious respect for Bethesda for doing this for free. A classic they could easily have charged for on Xbox-live.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 12:20 pm PT

    Tell me, in what game of any type, on any system, has a third party NPC blackmailed another NPC to make false accusation of the player, forcing the player to do the quest of the third party NPC or leave town mistrusted....!!!!! Now THAT'S Roleplaying!!!! Get this game and give it an hour. It'll be the best thing you did this year!

  • Leonagard

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 5:53 am PT

    port to DS or PSP!!!!

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 12:06 pm PT

    Seems according to Daggerfall,that my character is healthy other than an obsession with a video game! Gotta love the humour! Also, a barmaid that said 'It's now officially a bad day - i'm talking to you!'!! Who said the NPC's were boring!

  • Caer_Death

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 10:46 am PT

    My stepdad used to play this game way back in the day. Me and my brothers awed at it's massiveness and style, as we were still hooked on Final Fantasy VI and Mario World at the time... Those were the days... x.x

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 9:46 am PT

    Well, about 10 hours of retro gaming in, I am in love with Daggerfall again!

  • Autolycus

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 8:25 am PT

    Its no Might and Magic/World of Xeen, but I may download this, if I ever get around to playing games on Pc's again.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 7:53 am PT

    Given the last few posts, I think I should repeat my excerpt from the introduction in the Daggerfall manual -I think it says a lot for today's debate about RPG's and tells us what gamers thought an RPG was 10 years ago:

    "... People who play RPG's need more than some pretty graphics and non-stop action to whet their claymores. They want depth and character and wit and drama.They want the thickest,most involving novel translated to their (computer screen),with them as the hero. That's why I love people who play role-playing games.They're so reasonable."

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 8:26 pm PT

    All in a nutshell..they (meaning the devs) are already taken elements from traditional RPG's and presenting them in a different way. Instead of stats and numbers they're using meters and titles. Most of your AAA (I'm talking non-RPG) titles have good character development and even customization. ( Saints Row2 for instance) Instead of +weapons/armor they have upgrades with "cooler" names. Using dialogue with AI to progress the plot or story that's being used now. Voice/Text narratives almost none of the older non-RPG's games used this,but now just about all of them do. RPG's as we know it now, won't be the RPG's in the near future, BUT they will have just about all the elements of traditional RPG's are known for.

  • lindallison

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 8:03 pm PT

    @Deluhathol
    Not convinced Stalker even qualifies as a FPS-RPG, because there's no character development. The character alterations you can make are reversible. Similar to how you can bolt on and swap out every special ability in Bioshock with no consequence, so can you with stalker's artifacts. But yeah its got more RPG in its blood than Bioshock, but its still just a FPS at the end of the day.

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:59 pm PT

    I know what you're saying guyz, but bear with me..if we were playing together and we're held up in a foxhole with our rifles "lock and loaded" about to charge the lead enemy AI when suddenly this guy begans to hover in thin air and shoots a fireball at us. I GUARAUNTEE you we going to do a "doubletake" and look at each other.."did this dude just shoot a FIREBALL at us? Reply. "Yep." As our comrades are charginging from behind, We'll be running towards them yelling "REGOUP!" "REGROUP!"..lol Seriously I dont consider BioShock as a RPG, I'm just saying it's not a traditonal shooter either and it could easily be mis-classified. It's fused with alot of different genres.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:49 pm PT

    On topic, "Daggerfall" doesn't look that bad, even today. Usually my eyes bleed after I boot up old PC games. I find "Daggerfall's" graphics oddly comforting. What a pleasant surprise.

    I tried playing "Privateer" again a few years ago. The first time I tried that game, I was amazed by the graphics. Ten or so years later, not so much.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:39 pm PT

    TheoleDominion,

    Actually, I do think it is a rather traditional first-person shooter, albeit with light RPG elements. The game reminds me more of "Half-Life 2" and "Far Cry" than it does "Oblivion" or "Fallout 3." I think the overall structure of the game--the emphasis on combat, the linearity of the levels, the fact that there are levels, etc.--prevents the game from being anything other than a first-person shooter at its core. The plaznids or whatever are nice RPG elements, but they don't really change the fact that you're playing a game that is fundamentally a first-person shooter.

    I don't think the inclusion of magic in and of itself has much bearing on whether a game is an RPG. There are RPGs with no magic in them (The "Fallout" series comes to mind.), and there are non-RPGs with lots of magic in them ("Heretic" comes to mind.).

  • Deluhathol

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:33 pm PT

    I agree with IceJester45. Calling BioShock an hybrid RPG is rather misleading. There isn't really anything to do with RPGs other than some fairly superficial path choices and some upgradable weapons; other games that are just classified as shooters have almost as much RPG-ish content, consider games like BF2 with wide open environments where you can approach targets as you wish, and a variety of unlockable weapons, but we don't call that an RPG. There are considerable numbers of FPS games with some sort of character progression, but they aren't RPGs. IMO, to be classified as a FPS-RPG, there needs to be significantly more RPG content than there was in BioShock. Take S.T.A.L.K.E.R for example, THAT was an FPS-RPG, despite the relatively linear environments and conversation choices; relatively poorly executed, but it gave you the feeling that you were playing an RPG in first person.

    Also, TheoleDominion, it is rather silly just to call it an RPG because you can use certain 'magic' powers. An RPG is what it is because of the ROLE PLAYING, not the particulars such as magic, etc. I do agree that the use of magic makes me think 'RPG' (though that has nothing to do with what we classify the game as), and with the lack of depth present in modern RPGs, but they haven't fallen quite as far as BioShock in terms of RPG content, yet.

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 7:05 pm PT

    IceJester45...And if BioShock is not a hybrid then what is it? It's not a traditional shooter either..Ghost Recon, COD, Halo, or Rainbow Six..etc. I guess you could sub class as a "sci-fi action thriller. But since you can shoot fire and lightning out your fingers, you cant blame some people thinking RPG too. Maybe..I'm a little too old school..but as soon as a character I'm playing "get ta glowing and shooting lightning" I'm thinking wizard or warlock or whatever..and that element belongs to the RPG realm.

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 6:49 pm PT

    IceJester45..I agree, but the use of magic was pretty much exclusive to RPG's. Also because of cost, deadlines, short attention spans (you name it) devs are CHANGING the way RPG"s are made. Remember the older traditional RPG's were almost NEVER a "pick-up and play." You had manuals thicker than the bible...this slowly turn-off the younger or next gen of gamer (especially console players). So now devs are using narratives and a more cinematic approach to RPG's. However I agree, it's leaving us older traditional players "out in the cold" because of the lack of depth and length.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 6:37 pm PT

    TheoleDominion,

    I don't know if I could even consider "BioShock" much of a hybrid RPG. If we defined "RPG hybrid" that broadly, then I imagine most games would apply. There just doesn't seem to be enough RPG content in "BioShock." If it had an experience system, an open world (Wouldn't being able to go anywhere in Rapture be pretty cool?), or more flexibility with regard to the main character's development, then I might be able to view it as some sort of hybrid. To me, the game's just a first-person shooter. By the way, I loved "BioShock." I think it's one of the best games that came out that year. I just don't consider it an RPG.

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 6:24 pm PT

    I don't believe they're true RPG's, I apologize if you misunderstood. I think that a game shows ANY hint of an element found mostly in RPG's such as inventories, upgrading, magic etc...(Especially magic I dont know your age but when I grew RPG's were the ONLY games that had magic) it's most likely going to receive the "RPG" label. I'm not saying it's accurate or right but it does happen often. And I agree, most games are way too short for the kind of money they're charging RPG or otherwise.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 6:16 pm PT

    TheoleDominion,

    I never contested "Mass Effect's" designation as an RPG. My only problems with the game are its length, driving segments, and number of glitches (Though, I have to admit that those are pretty big problems for me.). I don't believe that a game can't be an RPG just because it's short.

    That said, you're actually the first person I've heard (or read) call "BioShock" an RPG. There are light RPG elements in "BioShock." However, I just don't see how one could justify calling it an RPG. I suppose I should ask you why you'd consider the game an RPG.

  • TheoleDominion

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 5:59 pm PT

    @ IceJester45, I understand your point of view about Mass Effect and BioShock (I cant believe I'm ageeing with a PC gamer..lol)not being RPG's, at least not the traditional ones. I think they're "hybrids" since they are a mixture of both. But until they come up with a more suitable name for these types of games, RPG it is. However, if you want to get "super" technical, most games are "role-playing." But that's just too literal and vague when it comes to naming a genre.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jul 12, 2009 5:42 pm PT

    Humorguy_basic,

    I've been playing PC games a long time, and I've noticed a lot of the things you mentioned on this thread. Honestly, you seem to be a bit more optimistic about PC gaming than I am. I wasn't trying to flame you with my previous comment. My comments are generally made in good faith. Calling "BioShock" an RPG seems preposterous to me, and if GameSpot or IGN was trying to hype the game as an RPG....well, then God help us.

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