Non-Linear Roleplay (The Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind (PS))

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Product:	The Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind (PS)
Date:	14/10/03 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great graphics, music and storyline, The definitive 1st person RPG, Varied

Disadvantages: A limited number of faces between the many inhabitants of Morrowind, Difficult to keep up with at times

Recommended by a friend, Morrowind immediately became one of my all-time favourite PC games. The game is similar in principle to a lot of RPG (roleplaying games) out there because you control your single character through quests and improvements in armour and skills. It's also very different from what's come before.

The most surprising things about the game are the level of detail, a lot of work has clearly been put in from the place names and variations to the detailed books, and the variety it offers. This game is completely non-linear, meaning that at virtually all times it doesn't matter what order you do things in, or whether you actually do anything at all. Your character can be made how you like, basically according to combat, magic or stealth, and from a number of human and animal-ish races.

The island of Morrowind is huge yet realistic, with places designed according to the occupying religion/group, and there are a huge number of characters from shopkeepers to assassins and random mugged wanderers asking for help. The game is played in a first person view and involves a lot of combat, either with weapons or magic, and a great main storyline, as well as plenty of unrelated little quests and diversions with nice rewards if you don't want your character to be bothered to go through the main plot. The music's also incredibly well done, and the graphics are top quality.

The only real problem with this game is that it's easy to forget what you were doing earlier, even with the detailed journal system updated with the expansion. Amongst all the great graphics it's also a little annoying to see very flat grass and leaves on trees that don't move. It gives the impression of being a little rushed when compared to original artwork in one of the companion books. But personally, I know Morrowind has provided me with many hours of varied gameplay and will continue to do so for several years until the new definiti
ve first person RPG comes out.

Summary: