Morrowind

[Lethal]

Must say, I'm really looking forward to this game coming out here on PC and Xbox. Personally I'll get it on the Xbox.
Heres a very good review of it from XBOX Evolved.

This has to be the best RPG to come to the Xbox. We've waited forever for a good RPG, but not only have we gotten one, Bethesda has left us stunned. Everyone should hug a Bethesda employee for giving us Morrowind!

The beginning

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was released on the PC back in May, it stunned the PC universe with compelling gameplay, near perfect graphics, and the ability to keep people busy playing as different characters. This is not a Massive-Multiplayer RPG, this is an Open-Ended RPG. So instead of playing with other human players, you're in a world of your own, with over 2,000 NPC’s (Non Playable Characters).

When you first boot-up Morrowind you will notice a lot of different things such as the stunning Bethesda logo, the breath taking title theme music, and the Morrowind Title screen. As you start you begin as a slave on a ship. You’ll name your character and then proceed to the top of the ship. You then learn that you are to be released and must finish the process by going into the Census Office to sign your release papers. Before you head inside you must choose your race, this is totally up to you.

Once inside, the first person you greet asks you how you would like to choose your class type, etc. This is where is the fun begins. You have three options to choose. You can answer questions and base your character off how you answer the questions, select from a list, or create your own class. I suggest for first time players to choose to answer the questions.

After deciding your characters race and class, you must then choose one other thing for your character. You must choose the symbol he or she was born under. This really just gives you extra abilities for your character. You must choose wisely, Indiana Jones style. After this setup, you must finalize your release, and get the hell out of there! Now you're almost through with the introduction. You must take your papers to the guard, and then gather some orders. You're free, finally! This is where the game starts you off, you have your first mission and now you're ready to tackle the world.

Graphics

The graphics are absolutely stunning! The amount of detail that went into this game is marvelous; everything is 3D. From the papers to the bread, it's all 3D. There are framerate issues in areas which lower the score, but believe me, it's nothing major, just minimal. The world is gigantic, everything looks great, and the transition from PC to Xbox is fabulous. The water actually looks like water, and it's amazingly breathtaking. The third person perspective is barely playable, but, that's just an option. The character models and shadows are superb; when you put clothes on they really appear on your body, a very nice touch. You can notice layers on the characters and it gives you a sense of realism.

Morrowind is a visual stunner, but this does have its draw backs. You must also take into consideration that the game world is massive, maybe even the biggest world to date. The loading of interiors and exteriors is minor, but the loading of the world (in the beginning) is huge. Once it loads, you’re in for one hell of a ride in one hell of a game, but if you happen to die or have to reload, you’ll probably have time to pop some popcorn and watch a short film just in time for the loading to end.

Steves comments- The graphics in this game are a mixed bag in many respects, while the worlds are huge and detailed some of the textures are bland and flat, Bethesda chose to keep this game grounded in some respects, mainly they left out the Xbox specific goodies and took a more laid back approach in the art dept. Animation is also a little sloppy, but you have to remember just how big the world is and how much muscle creating it is taking. Also take into consideration this game was made for mid range PC's in mind, not the almighty Xbox! I'll close this section with a good note, world layout's are stunning with each turn having something different to look at or interact with. Dungeons and caves share the same sense of freedom with excellent design and architecture that is unmatched in any RPG before it.

Sound

The sound department doesn't suffer at all. Everything is there! The voiced acting is great, the ambient sounds are excellent and the music is quite nice. The rain sounds like rain, the crackle of the thunder is loud and deep, the unsheathing of your weapon is loud and sounds authentic. I've included the title screen music, download it here. This game is just a brilliant masterpiece in the sound category.

Steves comments-I cant praise Morrowind enough in this dept., from the sword clangs and magic spells, to the AMAZING musical score. If that's not enough leave here knowing no game makes better use of Dolby 5.1 surround sound on the Xbox!


Gameplay

The general game takes a lot of time to get into. I found myself playing for about three hours before actually getting immersed into Morrowind. It's a small price to pay for such quality. Once you're in, you are hooked! The quests you must undertake with your character are fun and fresh. You can be either good or evil. I found myself being a bit evil. You have options unlike most games. If you get caught by a guard you can choose to flee, fight, or just go to jail. You basically do what you got to do to finish quests, which sounds ridiculous but in the end, it's all fun.

The menu system is easy to navigate while giving you everything you need. You can do whatever you want. If you don't like a mission, then ignore it and find a more suitable quest. If you don't like a town, hop on a silt strife and get out of town. It's your choices that count and Bethesda has done their homework when it comes to giving options.

Steves comments-Evan and Brandon hit the nail on the head with this one. Morrowind is an American RPG, for those that don't know what that means let me tell you. Go anywhere, do anything at anytime you want to. Did a Shopkeeper rip you off? Then kill him, steal everything he had to sell, his money, plus anything you sold him, then steal everything from his house and sleep in his bed! Want to run around naked just to see what people think? Well, you can, take off your clothes and streak through town!This style RPG does have its drawbacks, like what was said above it does take some time to get into the game, for me it took about 5-6 hours to get used to the flow of the game and figure out how everything works, only then did I truly start to enjoy myself. The game may also seem daunting to some, with well over 200 hours of gameplay you may get intimidated by the depth if you grew up on Japanese RPG's like Final Fantasy, but I beg you to stick with it, the reward is great!

Control

The control scheme is good. It feels a lot like Halo, but with the option of switching to a third person perspective. I only chose to do so to look at my character's appearance for I found that third person was unbearable to play with. It just seems as if Morrowind was made for first-person perspective gameplay

Replay

You will start the game with one character and by the time you become more knowledgeable with the game you will be starting new games, with new characters, and expanding your knowledge on what we call Morrowind. You will fall in love with this game and you will play it until you cannot keep your eyes open anymore, it's addictive and even more so than most MMORPGS. I give this part of the game the highest of honors with rating of 10 out of 10.

-Brandon and Evan

Ratings

Graphics 8
Sound 10
Gameplay 9
Control 9
Replay 10
OVERALL (not an average) 9.5

Admitiably the above review is from and Xbox site, but thats because I'm not really interested in getting it on PC as my computer won't run it But IGN did compare the 2 and the PC one did come out the better of the 2 looks wise anyway.

And a couple of pictures for you to gander at.

 

[Blue'n'Gold]

That looks like my kind of game !!!!