Morrowind came out on Middas, the 22nd of Second Seed. That's May 22nd, 2002 for all those not familiar with Tamrielic time frames. Because of the year it was released, Morrowind doesn't really look all that great anymore. Not without mods anyway. With mods the game can look incredible. Almost as good or sometimes better than Oblivion without mods. So instead of fussing over things like texture resolution or polygon counts, I'll just say that the art direction is incredible. Every race has a distinct style. Armor and weapons are interesting to look at and you'll want to collect and store them in the house you no doubt murdered someone for. From the golden, shell-like armor of the Buoyant Armigers to the Roman inspired Imperial Legion gear to the fur and chain worn by the viking-like Nords, there is a ton to see, obtain, wield and wear.
The cities in Vvardenfell have distinct looks as well. Coastal towns such as Seyda Neen and Khuul feature lots of wooden shacks whereas the Altmer (high elves) of the Telvanni have built their homes into giant mushrooms and trees, reflecting their magical prowess. The Dunmer (dark elves), native to Vvardenfell, live all over the island. One group in particular, known as the Ashlanders, are nomadic and as such are found living in tents in the more barren areas of land. The Imperials living on the island inhabit towns built of stone. Some including castles. The Imperial design is the most boring of all the races and is, unfortunately, the main artistic direction for Oblivion.
On top of the places inhabited by the various races are dungeons and ruins. Places that are remnants of races and events left long in the past. Dark, gothic looking ruins are home to practitioners of the dark arts and Daedra (demons), while the more steam-punk influenced structures belong to an extinct race of beings known as the Dwemer. The point is that the world is believable. There is culture and lore on a level that can't be found in most games.
Sound design is great as well. Every time I start the game up and hear the game theme I'm stricken with nostalgia. I walk around in towns and while pretty much all of the dialogue in the game is in text form, I still get chills every time I hear a Bouyant Armiger or Ordinator say,"we're watching you, scum."
There are storms in the game as well and depending on where you are, you're either blasted with sand and ash or you'll find yourself jumping after hearing the sound of thunder cracking in the distance. The sounds of combat are metallic and clunky and the spells you can cast sound appropriately... well, mystical.
Animals all make unique sounds and you'll find yourself familiar with a lot of them. I often find myself swearing aloud at hearing the screech of a cliffracer.
Quests are interesting. I've played through a lot of them and even now, 8 years later, I haven't finished them all. I haven't finished them all because there are many occasions where events in the game can cause you to get locked out of quests. I know a lot of people might get frustrated at this but it adds a sense of realism to the cultures and political structures in the game world. Certain factions just don't get along. Allying yourself with one and doing quests simultaneously for them and their enemy faction will leave you having to make some choices. Say you're in both the fighters guild and the Camonna Tong (thieves guild). These factions are hostile to one another and eventually you'll be asked to kill or steal from one or the other. This puts you in a position where you'll be cut off from a guild either temporarily (thefts can be forgiven in time) or permanently because you have to kill the leader or quest giver for the opposing guild. Sure you can play it safe and just join a couple guilds but joining them all and trying to juggle and negotiate them all adds to the fun of the game. There are a lot of these political and idealogical disputes in Morrowind and I greatly appreciate them. Oblivion doesn't have this layer of depth. You can complete and become the head of every single guild in the game and because of this lack of interaction and acknowledgement between guilds or factions the world just isn't as believable. I'm also a bit racist towards Imperials because of this.
Gameplay itself in Morrowind consists of reading (a lot), traveling/exploration, and combat. I'll give Oblivion some credit in this regard: its combat is far more interesting and fun. You can immediately pick up and hit people with your weapons. In Morrowind combat is more heavily stats based. Have a long sword skill of 13? Good luck hitting anything with that. You'll have to raise that number by spending money at trainers or attempting to kill enemies to raise the skill. There is still that chance to miss in Oblivion but it's been toned down a lot.
On top of the core elements are a lengthy list of sub elements. Players can learn a wealth of different magicks from a variety of different schools. You can be a warrior, a mage, a thief or more. You can multi-class in the most ridiculous of ways. Be a warrior that specializes in alchemy to provide yourself with potions for any situation. Be a magic wielding thief and conceal yourself with invisibility spells to sneak past enemies with ease and steal everything out from under their noses. I won't list all of the things available to players but the list is definitely one of length.
Exploring and travel are a huge part of Morrowind as well. You'll never know what you'll encounter out on the roads. You might easily find yourself side tracked and exploring a random cave or tomb. You'll encounter things like bandits, vampires and the odd sub-plot. It's all very entertaining. Traveling makes sense in this game. You're either walking or you're fast traveling by Stilt Strider (a large bug like creature, tamed by the dunmer) or boat. There are also a few magic methods of transportation by way of temples (intervention scrolls) and the mages guild. In Oblivion fast travel goes un-explained. You simply open your map and you're jumped to the location of your choice.
Morrowind is one of my favorite games and always will be. Excellent lore and depth of culture as well as interesting art direction all add to a sense of immersion I find lacking in a lot of more modern games. Though the gameplay is starting to show its age, it's a world I can lose myself in for hours at a time and I greatly appreciate that. Oblivion is a whole different beast and I think I'll be talking about that soon as well... Until then, Vvardenfell will be my home.
Besides, in the end, Morrowind just has more Metal Gears than Oblivion ever will.
2 comments:
I wouldn't say every one moved on. I saw someone playing this at Clark today on their laptop.
I said "most people" not everyone.
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