The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition

I can't say much about the game that hasn't already been said in countless other reviews, so I'll relate how my experience with the game went. I have vague memories of starting the game, wandering around Seyda Neen, and not really understanding what a "silt strider" is, so I decided to walk to Balmora. I was very nervous and spent a lot of time deciding whether to peek inside Adanumuran or not. The caldera gave me creepy vibes and I sped through it as best I could, and then.... Then I reached Balmora and thought it was super impressive, and spent a lot of time wandering around and getting to know the NPCs. I also have memories of going to Vivec city for the first time and being overwhelmed by its size and layout, wandering like a tourist and trying to figure out how the city was interconnected. When I first got the game, in the mid-2000s, I still had access only to the family PC, and my time on it was limited. To make the most of my time, I got into the Construction Set pretty early in my playthrough and created a simple home for myself, with a bunch of storage, and set the entrance to be a ghostly door outside of Clagius Clanier's shop, since that was near to the entrance of the Mages Guild. Some of my other notable memories are building up Raven Rock on Solstheim (I loved that quest chain) and finally walking up to Ghostgate. All of these memories are dear to me, but they make me worried, because I doubt I will have the same experience if I tried to play the game again after all these years (and many other games played). So, for now, I keep my existing memories close, and keep the installation of the game ready, for some day, I shall return again.... to Morrowind.

I could write forever about why Morrowind is so good. But I'll stick to what elevates it above later Elder Scrolls in my opinion. Morrowind is the best Elder Scrolls game primarily because of its setting. This is because the setting is not only very engaging, but also, more or less, the main character. Every single quest, from the Mage Guild new guy chores of collecting some flowers, to the epic intrigues of the main quest, revolve around the land, peoples, history, conflicts, and secrets of Morrowind. And the land, peoples, history, conflicts, and secrets of Morrowind are bloody interesting. There is a very real sense of place, and of culture. The appeal of Morrowind lies not merely in levelling up and crushing the many beasts and bandits of Morrowind; it lies for a huge part in playing the anthropologist, the historian, the religious scholar -- all roles you will have to play over the course of the main quest. Morrowind was when The Elder Scrolls was, in terms of setting and lore, at its most strange, creative, and fascinating - to the point that while dedicated modders remake Morrowind to Skyrim's engine, the largest mod project for Morrowind seeks to create... more of Morrowind. Morrowind is truly something special. In terms of game mechanics, how you explore and fight across this strange land, the game may show its age (depending on your taste); but in terms of that strange land itself, Morrowind is evergreen.

This will wind up as a story, no matter how I try to format it. A very long time ago, at the beginning of high school, I tried this game for the first time. I had previously played a whole lot of Fable 1 (not The Lost Chapters), and so I had my expectations when my dad told me "it's like Fable but *better*". Now, at the time, he was wrong. I completed the tutorial, ran in the direction that did not allow me to find the magical falling man with the continent-hopping scrolls. I walked the coastline, actually enjoying the atmosphere for a while, until through the fog, an island appeared over the water. Well, my dad said I could go anywhere I could see. So I tried. I was almost immediately eaten by slaughterfish. I put the game down for two years after that. It didn't click with me at the time. So, two years into high school, I've made friends with fellow nerds. One of which starts hanging out with me now and then, and one day he sees my dad playing Morrowind on the Xbox. His eyes light up, and he starts asking my dad what all he's actually done in the game, before going on about how he accidentally found half a set of Daedric armor, with a dai-katana as well, and found out about a glitch to permanently control low level NPCs. It was magical. I began to understand that I never gave Morrowind a real chance. So, I dove in again. For several years, I explored this game across two, maybe three characters. The atmosphere was bar none for games I had played, and even on a small CRT, with a near-powerpoint framerate, this game set a standard for story and exploration driven games that I rarely see now, but more importantly, cannot ever have the time to enjoy like this one ever again. The game itself is a 4/5, what with *the bethesda moments* creeping in, but the experience with the game in my life gives an improper fraction for a score. Something about 45/21.

I can excuse many flaws in this game, for the experience is really good. An actual RPG, where you can actually play the role you choose. So much freedom, to mess up, to learn, to get things right. It's possible to role play, or not even care about that. It's possible to min-max, but there's no need for that. There's a variety of factions, for a variety of playstyles. The first time I actually play this game, I played it more as an action adventure game. Although that's not really the point of the game, it is possible. I didn't know english at the time so, it was not very possible for me to actually role play. I didn't understand most things that were written. And that is one of the flaws of the game: there's a lot of reading to be done. Everything has to be read. It's a minor flaw, but it has to be pointed out, because there may be issues with those who cannot read. Still, it is possible to play the game, as I already pointed out. Dark Brotherhood assassins out to get you as soon as you're out of the tutorial is also a flaw. Funny thing: I manage to kill some of these guys without them using their dart. And once, that dart actually hit me, and I died. Throwing weapons are great Enchanting is impossible on your own, unless you fortify you inteligence A LOT. But, this is a implementation problem. It could have been fixed. As many other problems the game has, like pickpocketing being impossible, for example. And it is still possible to enchant by paying for enchantments, so that's just a minor problem in the end. It actually gives the player a use for their earned gold, so I'm fine with this. Unfortunately Bethesda didn't had time to spare to fix some of these issues that could make this game better than it is. Still, it's a great experience, and that's what really matter for a game to be considered a 10/10 for me.

Like every major title in the Elder Scrolls series, Morrowind is a diamond in the rough. For every strength (world building, exploration, character development, freedom, immersion) there are jarring weaknesses (combat, NPC dialogue and characterization, and of course bugs-galore). Still, these weaknesses don't altogether overshadow what is arguably the most atmospheric game in the TES series, thanks to its wonderfully detailed and idiosyncratic game world (Vvardenfell is easily one of gaming's strangest and most fantastical settings) and wonderfully flexible character building system. Plus, with mods you can fix many of Morrowind's obtuse design elements (Cliffracers!), and even make the game look comparable to and in some ways even better than Oblivion, its successor. In short: *A Must Buy for RPG fans. *Install Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 for graphical goodness. *Enjoy!