The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

The Good
Not what I liked, more like what I loved. I personally put in over 2000 hours in this game (not including modding). The great thing about this game is that you don't have to follow any line of quests, you can just do whatever you feel like, and if you feel like doing the main quest, or side quests, do as you please. The graphics are unbelievable, even today, nearly two years after it came out. Not to mention the size, unbelievable. It's hard to get a grip of how huge Vvardenfell is, but get a grip. The beauty in the world is amazing. Some people say that the NPC's are dull, and that they should be doing stuff. They do do stuff, walk around, thats the NPC's job, to do nothing but maybe give you hints to what to do, thats why they're non playable. And some do, most don't, but considering the hundreds of npc's, and by hundreds I mean over 1000, it is truely remarkable. And if they dont like the games way's, it comes with an EXTREMELY powerful editor that is fully compatible with 3D Studio Max.

The Bad
The bad, well, with a game with so much goods, things can go wrong. You have to read a lot in this game, as would be expected with the size of the world, and the limits on a cd. I think that the game could have had them talking about most things if it were on multiple disks, which most huge games are. Reading doesn't bother me much, but it may bother others. Another thing that bothered other people, but not me much was the inability to do much when you start out. Virtually any animal can kill you, and you can't hit anything, and most people in today's world are used to GTA and games that you start out with abilities, and don't gain or lose any of them. But you have to earn your way to the top of the world in this game, and I love that. The cool part is, that technically have unlimited levels. In one of my characters i'm level 232 (and i'm 1000 in another, but that time i used the console). Other than that, there's not much wrong with this game.

The Bottom Line
This game is, to me, the greatest game I've ever played, if your into games with freedom, then this is for you. Think of it like this, its GTA, except with a much bigger world, more NPC's and a better story, but with swords, spells, and that D&D flavor....... buy it today...

The Good
One of the greatest things about this game is it's completely open-ended. The game starts out on a prison ship, and soon you are released on Vvardenfell, an Island in Morrowind. From there you can choose to follow the main quest and fulfill ancient prophesies, join one of the guilds and rise through their ranks, or just explore the huge island. You can stop and start any of these things at almost any time in the game. Those are just a few examples of how open-ended this game is. Another great quality this game has is the graphics. The detail and quality of each individual object in the game is astounding. This game will probably give you 100+ hours of game time, if not, more.

The Bad
This game has few flaws, but they're just enough to piss you off. For an example, lets say you've gotten nearly to the top rank of a guild, you may have to make a choice, to stay at the Master rank of the guild forever or try to become a Magister and then the Archmagister which are higher ranks than Master. Seems simple to make the choice right? Well your boss "forgets" to give you the choice and you automatically get stuck at the Master rank forever. Glitches like this will pop up ever so often in the game. Of course you can get a patch for most bugs and glitches in the PC version, but obviously not for the xbox. Sometimes there are ways to avoid these problems but most people don't figure that out untill it's too late. The glitches in the game, avoidable or not, are too big a problem than we hoped fore.

The Bottom Line
This game is a must get for open ended RPG fans. And luckly, the new Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of The Year Adition, that will be coming out very soon, will fix many of the previously stated glitches and bugs in the game. It will also include the expansions, Tribunal and Bloodmoon, which are also must gets for RPG fans. All and all, this is an amazing game that will keep surprising you when you think you've seen it all. This is my favorite game.

The Good
I have never played either of the previous Elder Scrolls games so I didn't know what to expect when I loaded up Morrowind but I have to admit I was definitely impressed. Right from the character creation screen its hard not to be amazed with how huge the game is. You create your character based on 10 different species and over a dozen character classes and from there you're free to do what you want. If you've read any reviews about this game, either negative or positive, the one thing you've probably picked up on is that Morrowind has a huge world to explore. You are free to basically wander around do whatever you want. There are several dozen villages to explore and an even larger number of crypts, caverns and tombs which are loaded with valuable and rare items.The game also contains many guilds and groups to join which will provide you with quests on top of the main story line, some which are quite creative and fun. The story is involving and dark and will draw you right in. My favorite feature would have to be the leveling system which allows you to level up individual skills such as lock picking or an individual magic or weapon class.

The Bad
Morrowind's open-ended gameplay and vast world can be a bit overwhelming to some. The fighting system is lame, you basically press you're left mouse button repeatedly until a dice roll decides that you hit you're opponent.

The Bottom Line
For every person that loves Morrowind there seems to be another that hates the game so know what you're getting into before buy the game. That said, most RPG fans will love Morrowind, its one of the best RPGs in recent memory.