Morrowind Review

Freedom. Total freedom. That's what The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is all about. I couldn't beleive I hadn't played this one when I first got my copy, two years late. This one got a slew of awards including Best RPG of 2002, Game of the Year, etc. The game has had two expansion packs and has been re-released as a "Game of the Year" edition to its adoring fans.

So what's so great about Morrowind? Well, for one, it's huge. You'll spend more time with Morrowind than you will with almost any other single-player game. The world of Morrowind is huge, and the possibilities are almost endless. There's no linear story — you can literally do anything you want to. Morrowind is about as close as you can get to an online RPG without having to interact with actual people.

"Morrowind is about as close as you can get to an online RPG without having to interact with actual people."

Some games which offer similar levels of freedom leave you lost, wandering the world wondering what you should be doing. Not Morrowind, though. I can't find the time to do the exploring I want to do in the game because almost every character I talk to has some kind of mission, quest or favour to ask of me. Sometimes this freedom can get you into trouble, also — but the makers of Morrowind thought of that. If you kill an important character, for example, the game warns you of your actions. A message comes up letting you know that you've destroyed your own fate, and offers you a choice — live in this doomed world with no hope of completion, or revert back to your last save.

The graphics of Morrowind are quite appropriate for the title. They're about what you'd expect from a current MMORPG on the Xbox, and they're nearly as crisp as your hardware will allow on the PC. The controls are easy to master, and customizable if you have your own way of doing things.

The gameplay of Morrowind presents significant challenge for those who thrive on the adventure — but there are reasonable ways around the challenge if you're looking for more relaxing, explorative gameplay.

I give The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind a solid 9.5/10. A game like this doesn't come arou nd very often. (Although Bethesda Softworks has recently announced that it plans to release The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the upcoming Xbox 360 — and Oblivion was proclaimed best RPG of E3 2005 by almost every gaming magazine there is.)

Colin Temple, Galbadia X