Elder Scrolls III is a highly addictive RPG that will keep you coming back for more.
In the Census and Excise Office, you can either take a small quiz to determine the best class for you, or you may create your own class based on minor and major attributes. Then you choose you celestial sign which gives you magicka or added strength. Once you give the paper to the guard, you are seen as a citizen of Morrowind, and are free to explore to vast and mysterious lands that await you. Your actions throughout Morrowind determine your path in the game. The main quest of this game is to defeat the Devil Dagoth Ur, who has released all of the plague and evil onto Morrowind.
Although the main quest is a lot of fun, there are hundreds of side missions to complete. Some missions are quite easy, such as delivering packages to people and collecting small but appreciated sums of money. Others involve going into dimly lit dungeons and caverns, and defeating a variety of powerful monsters. So there are easy missions, and then there are hard missions that may take hours to complete. Each mission you accomplish is recorded in your journal, where you can refer back to any unfinished missions that you may have.
Throughout the game, you can also join many Guilds, such as the Thieves Guild, the Fighters Guild, the Mages Guild, The House of Telvanni, and many others. Each guild has its own unique set of goals, and as you complete goals, you also earn respect and move up in the ranks of the guild. It is also a challenge too, because as you move up in the ranks, some guilds will conflict with each other. One guild master will tell you to kill another guild master, and vice versa. Then you will have to choose between the two. Guild missions can be exciting and fun, but some of them take hours to accomplish, partly because it isn't easy to find things in such a huge map, with so many different terrains and territories to explore.
Morrowind's immensely large map will keep players busy for hours. The main island is called Morrowind, and it takes about 30 minutes to get from one end to the other depending on your speed and on the creatures or enemies you may encounter along the way. Some of the major areas of Morrowind are Seyda Need, which is where you start off, Balmora, a place where you start your career in many guilds, Ebonhart, which is home to many imperial guilds, Vivec, which is a huge city with hundreds of missions to complete, the Tel Area, where you begin to uncover the mysteries of the Dwarves and of Master Kagrenac, and finally Red Mountain, home to the source of all evil; Dagoth Ur. Each of these places is unique, but there are so many other smaller cities that fill the spaces between the major ones. The good thing is you have a map that you can zoom in on, which really helps you find your way around the maze that is Morrowind.
Two other major places are Solstheim and Mournhold. Solstheim is for more experienced players, and its definitely not a place for level 1 players. In Solstheim, there are some very powerful creatures, such as bears, wolves, and strange wood people. Besides that fact, Solstheim is a really fun place for level 6 and up players. It is the only place in the game where you'll ever see snow, and it is interesting to get caught in a blizzard, because its so hard to see where you are going. Solstheim is a very mysterious place with a lot of secrets to uncover, but one of the main goals there is to establish a small colony in order to increase trade with Morrowind settlers. The main area of Solstheim is called Fort Frostmoth, and it is kind of like a place of refuge for the harsh environment. You can get to Solstheim from a small port called Khuul, where you have to pay money to travel by ship.
Ships are a huge part of traveling in the game. They can save a lot of time when you are trying to get from one place to another, because although ship rides may last around 4-6 hours, it is only a few seconds in real time. Ship expenses may seem large to beginners, but to a level 67 like me they just seem like pocket change. Another major means of transport are the Silt Striders. These huge, flea-like creatures may seem scary at first, but they are harmless, and they allow you to travel by land very quickly. Although you cannot drive them, they do, like the ships, save quite a bit of walking time. It was a very good idea to used these ships and Striders, because without them, you'd find yourself walking for quite some time.
The graphics of this game are amazing in some areas, but lacking in other areas. For one thing, the landscapes look amazing, and the water even reflects the sunlight which looks really cool. But the original character models aren't as detailed as some may have hoped. Nevertheless, characters will look much better when you suit them up with enchanted armor, which shimmers like a diamond. The weather effects are also very unique. They change from sunny, to cloudy, to stormy, to snowy, which offers some variety as far as weather patterns go. There is even lightning, along with thunder that sounds almost real in surround sound. It is also great for the fear effect of the game, because it can be pretty scary when you are walking through Solstheim in a blinding blizzard and suddenly come upon a huge bear that takes furious swipes at your face. The changing weather patterns greatly contribute to the graphical beauty of Morrowind.
The sound is not bad, although some of the character voices can be a bit repetitive. When you approach a person, you will be greeted by a "Hey" or a "Greetings." But every time you approach someone they will acknowledge you, which can be annoying at times. The voice acting is not bad, and most of the races sound believable. Unfortunately, nobody really talks to you aside from the acknowledging comments of hateful shouts from enemies. The weapon sounds are actually not that bad, even though they are mostly all the same. The magicka sound effects are much better, and they can make some pretty interesting and sometimes funny sounds. Overall, the thunder effect is the most impressive, but all of the other minor sounds are not that bad.
Gameplay is the best aspect of this game according to most people. For many people who play this game, it can become highly addictive, and one might find himself playing for over 10 hours straight. Hey, that's all I did last Summer; I played for over 200 hours, and finally beat the main quest, along with most of the side missions. Basically, this game will last for hundreds of hours for people who are interested in the game. The story contributes highly to the addictive gameplay, because at times you fell like you are slowly unraveling the threads of mystery that bind the land of Morrowind. It begins to become eerie when you find Kagrenacs Plan books, and other Dwemer Artifacts. Throughout the game, you will come upon the ruins of lost cities, finding artifacts that enlighten you further on Morrowind's past. In short, there are many interesting mysteries to uncover in Morrowind, and they keep the game interesting.
One of the most entertaining things you will come across in this game is your ability to steal items. This can be a lot of fun, because there is some skill to mastering theft. Once you get good at it, you will probably find yourself stealing everything you can see and selling the junk for money while you keep the treasures. After doing this for a while, you will begin to accumulate wealth, along with a huge stockpile of weapons and items. But you don't have to simply drop the stuff that you cannot carry. You can have a house built for you, or you can just use a guild chest or dead person's house. It is interesting because you might find yourself actually decorating your house, setting up helms on shelves for display. Some people may say you have no life if you do that, but I find that most people will eventually resort to decorating a house or at least storing things in a dwelling of some form.
Another factor the contributes to this addictive gameplay is the leveling system. This system functions mainly on a chart of your major and minor attributes. Depending on each one, you will level up a certain amount each day. Skills range from 1-100; 100 being the best you can get. To increase these skills, you have to use them. If you jump a lot for example, you acrobatics and jump will increase. If you wear heavy armor and fight with it, your heavy armor skill will increase. There are about 50 different skills to level up. There is a meter in the profile screen that lets you view your progress toward the next level increase. So say you are at level 1, 0/10, and your skill in 10 major attributes increases, then you will be at level 1, 10/10. In that case, it will say, "You should rest and meditate on what you've learned." Then you sleep, and you will be at level 2. If you do not feel like waiting to level up your skills, you can buy training to increase your rank. Training varies in price depending on how high your skill is. the higher the skill, the more the training will cost. Eventually, some people will not be able to train you anymore, and you will have to find a guild master to help you get your skill to 100. As your rank increases, the game will begin to get harder, and eventually you will be attacked by an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood. From that point on, the game begins to get very exciting.
There is a huge amount of customization that can be experienced through playing Morrowind. Besides customizing characters, classes, and attributes, you can also customize weapons, armor, jewelry, and potions. You can enchant armor and other items, which allows you to apply some extra skill to a weapon or piece of armor. For example, you can enchant a sword with fire damage, which will make the sword more powerful. You will know something is enchanted when you see its luster. Potion is another story, because you actually have to gather ingredients to make them. There is a wide variety of plant and animal life which provides hundreds of ingredients for you to experiment with. You will eventually get a mortal and pestle, and then you can make potions by grinding up the materials you have collected. One ingredient alone does not have an effect, but when you combine two or more ingredients with the same effect, the potion will contain that effect. it may sound confusing at first, but it is really easy once you get used to it. Another things is that you can name potions and enchanted items, which can lead to some pretty funny names.
As you may already know, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition has two built-in expansion packs; the Tribunal expansion and the Bloodmoon expansion. These unlock new features that you wont find in the original Elder Scrolls. One feature is that you can become a werewolf. It can be interesting to play as a werewolf because you cannot carry any weapons or armor. You use you claws to kill people. But if you are a werewolf, nobody will like you, and you will be constantly attacked by guards. Turning into a werewolf is something that one should do after completing most of the goals. Another feature is the ability to turn into a Vampire. Vampirism is brought about by a disease known as Porphoritic Hemophilia, which is marked by a black and white disease marker in your profile. Once you contract this disease, you can cure it. But if you sleep when you have it, then you will get a large text box when you wake up. This box tells you about a dream that you had, which involved a knight, blood, and some other strange things. When you begin to walk around, you notice that you can jump higher, and you are much stronger. Then you see that your eyes are completely white! You are a Vampire now, and there is only one person in Morrowind that can cure you. Unfortunately, he is in the farthest reaches of Morrowind, and finding him is quite a task to take on. Vampirism and Werewolfism are unique expansions to the game, and they give you a little something to do after you have completed the main quest and a lot of the side missions.
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is not for everyone though. People who like turn based fighting will not find it here, because all of the combat is in real time. That means that when you press the attack button, you attack, and you don't have to wait for your turn. Turn-based combat turns a lot of people away from RPGs, but since Morrowind is not turn-based, it can attract many more people who might not like the style of games like Final Fantasy. Also, if you don't like dedicating hours and hours to playing, this game probably isn't for you. I spent over 300 total hours playing this game, and I have come nowhere near completing it 100%, even though I have completed the main quest.
Another thing that might turn you away from this game is the load times. When you die, you have to wait for a 2 minute loading screen. That's why it is wise to carry a lot of health potions with you. There is also a lot of in-game loading, such as when you move between territories such as towns or districts. Basically, you will see a short loading screen every 20 seconds depending on how fast you are moving and where you are. As bad as that sounds, you should not let that turn you away from this game, because you will get used to it. Other than those two examples, there is not that much wrong with this game.
All in all, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an amazing gameplay experience that will give you a new appreciation for RPGs. This game is like no other RPG I have ever played, and its gameplay experience is definitely unique. If you want to take part in a captivating adventure that will last you for hundreds of hours, get this game, because at around $15.00 this game is practically a steal. On the other hand, if you like constant action and short stories, this is probably not a game for you. All I can say is that this game cannot be matched by anything other than Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but even Oblivion will not provide the same experience as playing in the vast and amazing world of Morrowind.