Morrowind Review

Graphics
Morrowind features the best graphics for an RPG you have ever seen - maybe for any game released so far. The views are breathtaking, and the diversity of the game world is astonishing and can't be praised enough. From green meadows to ashlands, from mountains to swamps - everything is there, everything is beautiful and unique. The weather effects, the day and night cycle - everything is state of the art.

This beauty has its price: With a low end system, you won't be able to enjoy Morrowind in its full glory. There has been a lot of discussion going on about low framerates even on high end system, but this is something I cannot confirm. On my system, which is middle class at best, I have all features maxed out, even enabled antialiasing, and I still get enjoyable framerates in cities. So, in order to get the most out of the game, you will have to do some tweaking (not so much in Morrowind, but in your system), but if I can do it (I am no tech guy at all), you can do it, too.

Some people complain about getting stuck in the environment a lot. Based on my observations, this was true in the beta, but has been mostly eliminated in the retail version. Another thing that has been changed since the beta is that rain is falling regardless of where you are. In the beta, the rain stopped when you were under a roof, for example. I think they took that out for performance reasons, and it is unrealistic either way, since the rain stopped completely in the beta.

I don't know why this hasn't been mentioned before, but you can clearly see the influence of French comic art of the early 80's in Morrowind. The elven culture has been inspired by the art of Jean Giraud and Drulliet. Balmora could be a city from "Le Garage Hermetique et Jerry Cornelius" by Moebius (aka Jean Giraud), the old Dunmer buildings resemble the drawings of Drulliet - and this is a good thing, a fantastic thing. Everything in Morrowind is stylish and top notch.

If you are looking for something to complain about, it would be the animation of the NPC's walking in the distance. Although it's done by skeletal animation, it sometimes looks a little bit strange. But that's only a minor complaint. Creatures are well drawn, well animated - and meeting your first Flame Atronarch or Dremora is a spooky thing indeed.

Sound and music
The score for Morrowind is fabulous. Even after 130+ hours in the game, I haven't turned it off. Jeremy Soule did a great job here, the music adds to the mood of the game. The sounds in the game are excellent as well - at least for my taste. After some time in the game, you can tell: "ah, a kwama forager ahead to the left" - very nice if you have to plan your way through the landscape. Ambient sounds are nice, although there could be more (and I am sure there will be more once people get used to the editor).

The Interface
Morrowind's interface is based on windows. They are resizable, movable, and information is very nicely presented. You can remap all your keys, and navigation is very easy. All info is presented in two layers maximum, and the second layer is a pop-over, so this isn't a click feast at all.

The journal, however, is rather basic and crude. It's not easy to find information, and quests aren't marked as "done" at all. Although there is an index to the topics you know about, the journal could be much more useful. You have no way to annotate it yourself.

You have 10 quick slots for spells, weapons and potions - and these come in handy and are a very useful feature.

Odds and Ends
One thing that has to be mentioned: you can get diseases in Morrowind, and you can be cursed. This lowers some of your stats, and diseases will affect your ability to communicate with NPC's. These effects can be healed at altars or with spells.

You can also become a vampire in Morrowind, and although it has some nice side effects, people will absolutely hate you. If you want to be the ultimate outcast, becoming a vampire is the way to go.

The game comes with a useful map of the island and a small, but well written manual. The added bonusses in the collector's edition are a figurine, a book with Morrowind art and the soundtrack on CD.

The editor
Morrowind ships with an editor that lets you add your own content to the game and change most aspects of gameplay. The documentation is very sparse, and it has a steep learning curve (this is the reason why I didn't write a preview for the editor, although I planned to do one), but once you get the hold on it, it is extremely powerful, as the first user made mods show. If they only had included a better help file - but maybe we'll get one soon.

Who will like the game and who won't
If your perception of roleplaying is modeled by Everquest, you might be in for some real disappointment. This game isn't about getting your skills as high as possible as fast as possible. Sure, you can do that, and mostly because Morrowind allows you to play the game like you want to play it - but I forsee that the game will get boring after 50 hours or so. If you are used to being told what to do in a game, and if you don't care for background story and atmosphere, Morrowind will overwhelm you without end. If you have no time to play a game and get bored by walking, but use running all the time instead, Morrowind will drive you nuts.

If you like to play a role, and be true to the role in the game, Morrowind is the perfect environment for you. If you were always looking for games that keep you entertained for months, if you prefer epic novels over short stories - go for Morrowind. If the thought of standing somewhere and watch the sun rise over a lake sounds like fun to you, you'll feel at home. If you can withstand the numerous possibilities for exploiting the game (like making cheap spells to raise your skills fast), you will find a well balanced, engrossing game.

In some way, Morrowind puts you into the position of being responsible for how much you will enjoy the game. If you will enjoy the game, will depend on how you like that thought.

Conclusion
This game, behind its advanced surface, does so many things in a traditional way, and I mean this as the biggest compliment I can make to a game. Back in the times when 16 colors were all you got, and screen resolution was 320x200, a game HAD to focus on gameplay and story to be successful. Morrowind is - in its soul - a Bard's Tale, an Ultima 1, and an Ultima Underwold with today's technology. This is what sets it apart from the rest. The immersiveness, the gameplay, it's all there and more. It's a SLOW game in the best sense, you will have to and want to take time to play it. Morrowind is a gaming environment - not just a game. It lets you play the game you want. Some are more suited than others, but Morrowind doesn't restrict you as much as other games do. Powergamers will find exploitable things galore, and while Morrowind provides everything for a most enjoyable gaming experience, it doesn't restrict you in spoiling your fun.

By being so traditional under the hood, while shining on the surface, Morrowind has advanced the genre in a way not even Baldur's Gate was able to do. All coming CRPG's will have to compete with Morrowind - and I doubt there will be a new King of the Hill soon. Morrowind is addictive, and while it has some weak points, the package as a whole is the best game you can buy at the time being. There is no better RPG out now - for that reason, I have to rate it higher than any other RPG I played. And because it raises the bar for the genre like only a few classics did, the rating must be even higher. Furthermore, my rating cannot be based on speculations how future RPGs will look like and what they will offer. It is based on the current situation. I'll rate Morrowind as explained below, deducting some points for the weak hand to hand combat, the issue with vendors and the crude journal. Looking at the whole game, these are only very minor annoyances. I didn't deduct points for the steep system requirements - that would be like complaining that Formula 1 cars need special tires.

Bethesda Softworks has created an outstanding game - a gem and a classic, and with the editor, they gave all power to the gamers. It has been a long wait, but it was worth every day. Buy it, and if you can afford it, buy it twice to show your support for brilliant products.

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