Morrowind

INSTALL/SETUP: The installation of Morrowind is a no-brainer, insert the disk and let it go. It doesn’t take too long so you can be up and running before you’ve bitten off all your nails. I suggest keeping the manual handy for this one until you are very familiar with it. System Specs Minimum:


GETTING STARTED: You will begin in the bowels of a ship standing in front of a green-skinned passenger. An interesting way to start the game, he asks who you are and your answer ends up being your name. Instead of the usual way of setting up your profile by creating your character before you enter the game, you are playing and answering questions to decide your details watching your character unfold before your eyes. Soon someone comes down to take you out of the boat. You will have to stop and talk to several people while they sign you into the city. By this point you realize you are a prisoner about to be released, although you don’t know why yet. Most of your actions are not available so far; this is the prelude to the actual game. Take your time and browse the book before you decide anything.

You are simply a name at this point. A guard will ask you where you’re from and you must choose your race from Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Khajiit (My personal favorite), Nord, Orc, Redguard and Wood Elf. You can change a few physical features but the choices are very limited. You will then be led to a room where another man is waiting for you. You can finish up your character creation here by choosing a class and attributes. I like the way Morrowind gives the player control over every aspect of character creation. You can choose from preset classes or create your own “Super-Class”. When a game gives you the freedom to explore and create at your own pace and in your own way, it earns MAJOR points from me. A plus side is that no one class is more powerful than the next. They will all face certain obstacles and difficulties, but the balance in this game is shocking, all games should strive for this kind of balance.

LEARNING CURVE and GAME PLAY: Each individual player sets the pace of Morrowind. If you are anything like me you will run right in and start hacking and slashing at unsuspecting villagers. If you prefer to take your time and explore before you do any damage, you can do that too. It’s nice to play a game where you aren’t being pushed along and rushed into things before you’re ready. You decide when it’s time to leave the town and you decide how you’ll handle many situations. You must discover your destiny on your own, some players will love this others will hate it.

The NPCs will react to you based on your race and class and will even react if you’re NAKED! I discovered this quite on accident, I was taking off and putting on my clothing, learning the actions when a villager came up and commented on my lack of morals and that I should go buy some clothes! If you jump up and down while talking to them, their heads will bob up and down trying to track you, nice realistic touch.

The game changes and evolves with you. No two games will be the same unless you play your characters exactly the same. The game will react to each of your choices and each of your moves, the story changes with you as you grown and become the fantasy character you have dreamed of becoming. The denizens of the towns and cities will change and react as you develop as well, so choose your path wisely, if you are a very naughty person you can be thrown in jail!

Movement in Morrowind is fairly simple to learn but you can remap the keys. The back cover of the manual has an illustrated quick guide you can refer to as needed. The first city is your newbie safety net, so walk around and get used to things before you get too brave (or stupid) and venture off.

Travel would be tedious if it weren’t for all the cool scenery to look at and the side quests you can find along the way. There is also a great travel system including Silt Striders (Giant Bugs), teleportation and boats that will drastically cut your travel time. Sometimes you’ll be required to wait for one reason or another, thankfully you don’t have to just sit still forever there is a rest command. Use the rest command after you train so you can level up and earn points to spend on your attributes.

You are allowed two views for play, first and third person. I play in first person for one very good reason: the game lags something fierce in third person The added bonus I’d get from the third person view is thrown down the toilet because of the lag interruption.

With all this freedom also comes responsibility. You’ll be responsible for your level of fun, if you don’t get moving and keep yourself motivated, Morrowind can fast become a bore. If you’re used to your game pushing you along in the right direction and prefer to be led around by the hand this is NOT the game for you. You must take the initiative and control your own destiny. The game will provide hints and clues, but thats as far as it go.

GRAPHICS: It’s amazing to see all the works done in this game. 3D technology creates realistic textures, real-time shadows, immense landscapes and incredible animations. There is a complete weather system that effects your game play, if it’s pouring rain you won’t be able to see far ahead of you and could run into some big nasties.

Along with all the nice looking creatures and scenery, the game allows you to move and change the interface. I find this little touch very valuable. You are able to open and close windows individually, resize them, keep them open while you play or hide them all. The choices are limitless, and we all know Optycal LOVES choices!

SOUND and MUSIC: I was pretty impressed with the sound effects and music. It is non-invasive which is important to me, but is still enough of a presence that you don’t forget it’s there. Well composed and set in just the right places, it will help to pull the player even deeper into the game-world. Things like footfalls on different kinds of ground (gravel, grass, wood) and stepping into the water keep you constantly looking around for the guy sneaking up on you.

Some of the voices seem a little tired and uninterested, but for the most part they sound good.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  The developers thought ahead and included an extension to the game called “The Elder Scrolls Construction Set”. It enables you to build onto the world in any way you see fit. Create your own items and dungeons and have a blast using your imagination. I haven’t played with that part of the game yet, but it really looks cool!

Another neat point is the spell system. You can combine and create all kinds of spells to fit your needs and desires. Just play with them and discover for yourself the benefits of combining certain spells.

The game is in-depth with plenty of things to learn and discover about the local religions, politics, different cultures and stories or quests. A lot of time and effort went into making this world fully alive and engaging to the players.


RECOMMENDED: I recommend this game to brave adventurers who like to have freedom to control their own gaming experience. Anyone who needs to feel in complete control of the game world will likely enjoy this game as much as I do. If you want a game to hold your hand and wipe your butt for you, move on, Morrowind will only make you cry. A definite must have for hard-core gamers and fans of freedom in a game.