The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition

For me, Morrowind is the pinnacle of the ES series and the best open world RPG I have ever played. So much has been said about it and I won't re-iterate, but I will add the following: It always amuses me when I see people criticizing the combat system for relying on 'invisible dice rolls' to determine whether you hit. Sorry, but that is simply *how RPGs work*. Pen and paper RPGs going back to D&D have always relied on dice rolls to hit opponents. If you don't like that, then what you want is not an open world RPG, but an action adventure (not that there's anything wrong with that). The combat dice rolling in MW is not a design flaw - it was a deliberate choice, because that is how this sort of game works. I also have to point out that, although the original game was excellent, there are many great mods that have been developed over the past 20 years that have made it even better. Of course, there are many bug fix mods, but there are also many available that improve the graphics. With increased view distance; improved water shaders and shadows; higher resolutions and groundcover, the visuals can (imo) rival Oblivion. OpenMW is also an excellent open-source recreation of the entire engine, which works great and is much more stable than the original. The Tamriel Rebuilt mod is also essential, which is an enormous mod that aims to complete the rest of Morrowind province. The quality is incredibly high and it adds so much content that you will never see it all in 10 playthroughs. Morrowind is a timeless masterpiece and a captivating journey through one of the most enchanting and unique game worlds ever created. Even after completing the game, as I was strolling triumphantly back down Red Mountain, I still had the same sense of wonder and immersion that I did when I stepped off the boat in Seyda Neen. It is very rare that I can say that about a game. I got bored of Oblivion after about 20 hours, but I can see myself coming back to Morrowind again and again.

GOG is amazing. This game includes the GOTY Edition of Morrowind, Elder Scrolls 1 and 2, and the GOTY Strategy Guide. They do an amazing job of including tons of content for a reasonable price. Steam may have Elder Scrolls 1 & 2, but GOG makes them easy to run and play. No DosBox or extra stuff required; their games just work amazing. As someone who enjoys older games, I really appreciate them. Morrowind still holds up today. It feels old, sure, and you probably need the Guide if you want to get through the main story within any reasonable amount of time. What makes this game great is the immersion. As annoying as following road signs is, and the infinite birds of hell, it truly has one of the most charming worlds. You don't get to fast travel your way through it (without spending some coin), you get to enjoy all the detail and interesting facets that make up the amazing Island of Vvardenfell. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I can't say much for the first two elder scrolls. The fact that they run well and are included is amazing enough for me. I will probably play them if I ever complete Elder Scrolls 3, 4, and 5.

nothing that hasnt been said already but i just wanted to leave a review for my favorite wrpg of all time

Morrowind captured a genuinely alien world to explore from the get-go off the Prisoner's transport; no standard earthlike fauna and flora so familiar from the wildly popular Skyrim: a Siltstrider's musical howl offered an eerie starter to what followed in its 100+ hour story. Nowadays it's easy to consider Bethesda in light of the possibly/probably dreadful and shallow Fallout76 which so easily fooled a generation of thin plastic helmet wearing and cheap canvas bag wearing adult gamers. But in the noughties, with Morrowind and its two expacs, they left all competition floundering behind them with the story of the Nerevarine whom, reminiscent of the Matrix's Neo, had a prophesied job to do confronting a changed world of shifting allgiances, crime syndicates and temperamental Deities. The combat was absurd. The text-based narrative oddly jarring -- but that musical score, the incredible endessly inventive world design (e.g. Ald Ruhn) and the sheer volume of loot to find made this the seminal RPG experience of its day. 10 internet hindsight stars.

This is the best game of the Elder Scrolls series, period. You won't find fast travel here and the crappy journal system found in Skyrim; instead, the journal is chronological and offers a lot of context. Something which Skyrim does not, so even if a lot of quests are bland and repetitive, you will always know who gave them to you and whether you're helping the bad guys or the good ones, which more than makes up for it. The way this is implemented in Morrowind is somewhat basic, sure, but for a game made in 2002, this is more than acceptable; Skyrim utterly fails in this regard. The game itself is addictive and its buying and selling minigame (if you can call it that) hugely contributes to this. The items you find in the game offer a lot more variety as well as personality and you will always know if the item you've found is a legendary artifact or just an average weapon. Skyrim lacks that feeling of epicness. It's also been said the game is quite difficult and does not really take you by the hand...well, that's not really true: first, you can adjust the difficulty level whenever you want, and second, if you adequately prepare for a mission in the early stages of the game and bring a lot of restore health potions with you, which you can drink while the game is paused, you usually won't have any trouble at all. The game does have a couple of almost critical bugs, but if you tread with caution, and don't kill anyone from one of the great nomadic tribes, and don't save the pilgrim found near Ald Velothi before the quest is assigned to you by the Legion, you'll be fine; and I recommend you travel around there only after joining the Legion anyway. Also, while traveling near Ald Velothi, get the Amulet of Shadows ("a lady in distress") and never sell it to anybody. It will make you a master thief, and will spare you a few bounties as well as help you complete the Gnisis Imperial Legion questline without getting kicked out. And remember: Skyrim sucks utter balls!