The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox, 2002)

Everywhere you turn there is a quest begging for your attention. So you gather them up, store them in your journal and enjoy the sheer joy of exploring the land.
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a Bethesda Softworks release for the Xbox, is a single-player role-playing game that can be a touch overwhelming initially. So much is thrown at players as the game begins that unless you set your own standards for play, you may find yourself running in several directions.
But that is a good thing. The Morrowind world is huge, fraught with danger and while it may not appear so initially, there is a purpose for your place in this world ­ not just that of a Samaritan running about helping people.
The game begins with your arrival at Vvardenfell. It seems you have been released from prison and sent to the island, though few know why. Your introduction to the world begins as you select your avatar. There are 10 races to choose from and 21 character classes (you can also create your own class and give it a name). Should you want to jump in and play as quickly as possible, you can answer a series of question which will put you into a class.
Armed with only a knife, a limited amount of currency, and told to report to Caius Cosades in Balmora, you are loosened upon the world in the village of Seyda Neen. Talking to everyone you meet is not a bad idea. You will gain a lot of information about the world, and its characters. You will also be besieged with requests for help. Of course, you can say no and continue along with your initial quest.
Getting to Balmora can be difficult or easy. The hard way is to try to walk it. You are hardly equipped with the skills and armament necessary for the task. The easy way is to spend some of your money and hop the local transport system, which are Silt Striders, giant bugs with space carved in their shells for passengers. You won’t actually have the opportunity to enjoy the scenery on your journey, but you will arrive in Balmora.
Tracking down Cosades proves an easy challenge, but what he reveals to you is part of your reason for venturing to Vvardenfell. You are a Blade, which is basically a spy for the Empire. Your cover is freelance adventurer, and you will need to join a guild.
Not only will Cosades have duties for you to perform, but also so will your guild. For example, you have joined the Mage’s Guild and are assigned to collect mushrooms. Along the way to collect mushrooms, you run into a woman who has become lost in the wilderness while on a pilgrimage to the Fields of Kummu. She offers a reward if you will take her there. Since you have a world map for guidance, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Your journey will take a while, and this is the first introduction to the size of the Morrowind world. There are no shortcuts in the game, and you will have to walk it, fending off any creatures that attack you, while protecting the woman as best as you can. When you finally arrive at Kummu, you will find another person there, who asks you to find his lost friend.
And so it goes, one quest after another.

This game offers one of the biggest free roaming environments for your unique custom character to explore, and you will literally be playing this for weeks on end and still not discover all there is to do. Hands down, this game is better then its sequel, Oblivion, and offers such diversity of play that you wont be satisfied just playing it once. For instance, the first time you play you might choose to be an orc fighter wielding a battle axe and joining the imperial Legion, but the next play though you might build a dark elf wizard that enchants his own weapons and create his own potions, which entails finding ingredients and trapping souls in gems, or how about joining the Thieves Guild and using stealth to acquire the weapons and items you want. This game has it all. Seven races to chose from and literally an endless chose in classes because you can create custom classes. Want to be an abolitionist? Monk? Master Alchemist? Vampire Hunter? You might even get bit and become a vampire yourself. You could easily spend a hundred hours with this and never touch upon the main quest. If you like games that stick to a very strict story line (Final Fantasy, Baldurs Gate)this isn't for you. But if you like games that allow you complete freedom to explore the world without having to follow a little arrow about, then give this a try. You won't be disappointed. There should be more game like this one. It really is a masterpiece.

I have played Morrowind for a long time and I still do. Those who love being able to do whatever they wish, this is the right game for it. No need to follow the main quest, no hurry to rush to the finish line. Morrowind allows you to take your time and do what suits you. For example, become a thief and pickpocket your way into riches and glory, or become a fighter and fight for the imperial cult and become famous and well known throughout Morrowind. But enough of the sweet talk. For those of you who have Morrowind, you must know that you can do whatever you wish or go wherever you please. But what you may not know is that you create your world. People interact differently with you by the way you stand in the world, this is why I love this game so much. Every game does have their downsides though. Morrowind did lack in getting to places quicker, and the fighting style is a little hard at first. The worst thing about Morrowind in my opinion is that the game did not move as quickly as I would have liked it to. Running from place to place takes a long time, and you spent a lot of your game play on just that. But don't get me wrong, it is not like you have nothing to do while running. You can explore mines, or kill roaming creatures. It is up to you. If you have beaten the game, you may notice that some things are a bit different, the most noticeable one is that people treat you differently. They respect you and are grateful for the things you have done. Though it may be a frustrating trip to beat the game, because in order to do that you must be good at fighting. This makes it hard for thieves who spent most of their time sneaking around places stealing things (which is why I cheated to get to the end :).). The mods for this game are great as well, find some good mods for this game and it will add loads of more hours to your game play. I personally enjoy the castles. If your thinking about buying Oblivion (the next elder scrolls game) I would recommend buying it as soon as possible, it fixed all the problems Morrowind had, and adds a great game. I give Morrowind a 9-10.

this game is a rpg which is actually one of the biggest i have ever played.
There is many classes and skills to customize. The side quests and main quests are both fun. The problem i have with this game is that walking is the most annoying thing. you have to take magic routes or ride bugs or boats to travel long distances. Otherwise this is a great game and you can make an ultimate character to destroy them all if thats what you like to do. But you can also become anything you like because this is such and open ended rpg. TO buyers, Buy this game if you are looking for an rpg to rot your mind away in the summer with.

When this game came out a few years ago it won all kinds of awards. Theres a reason why; its a fun game that will keep you interested for a while. Its a first person role playing game where you earn experience, gain levels, choose, weapons/armor, and explore the land. Its for the orginal Xbox and is pretty cheap and easy to find these days. They also made a PC version which was good too. If you like Fable youll like this!