Morrowind takes us back to the days of solid RPG design with endless quests presented in a beautiful world with profound environmental interactivity. There is so much interactivity between the player and objects in the environment that we are lured into taking items even when guards might spot our thievish attempts. Add interesting NPC’s, well designed structures and buildings, an effective combat system, and the ability for the player to actually create their own areas and unlimited gameplay with the included Elder Scrolls Construction Set, and Morrowind shines in creating a new addiction for the RPG fanatic.

As I started my adventure, I was immediately thrown into the story. You are a slave aboard a ship when you are awakened from your slumber by a strange humanoid that tells you are going to be released when you reach Seyda Neen (the starting town). Within the first five minutes of playing, you will undergo character development in a wonderful presentation, which satisfies the even the most weathered gamer, but also allows the most novice player understanding. Character creation is not only pleasing aesthetically, its design has few revolutionary aspects that have never been seen in RPG’s before, especially concerning the freedom to generate the character you really want to play. This is one of the wonderful surprises Bethesda would like to keep under wraps as much as possible, so you will be unable to realize what I’m talking about until you have the game in your own grubby little hands.

The interaction in this game with the environment is surpassed by no other game I’ve seen as of lately. I cannot exaggerate this point enough. If you need some extra light, grab a candle on a table or a lantern hanging from a post. If you see a small case, open it and take the contents inside. See those mushrooms growing in the swamps? Let’s just say that you can pay my character a visit for all your hallucinogenic needs. Kleptomaniacs are sure to have a grand old time, but remember there are always consequences for your actions, and you should be careful when NPC’s are nearby.

Have you seen those great benchmark programs from Mad Onion? You know the ones that push your machine to its ultimate limits, and leave you wondering why games don’t look like that? Well this game looks that good; they have taken the NetImmerse engine and made it do things I didn’t know were possible (if only Dark Age of Camelot looked that good). The number of polygons being pushed is a leap compared to others games out there. The only thing that doesn’t seem to stand on par is the NPC models. They look high poly but there is just something quirky about them. Maybe the washed out textures, not sure what it is. Don’t let my nit picking discourage you as I can easily overlook this for the amazing gameplay Bethesda have included.

I was only able to visit a few of the many possible locations. I figured unless I pulled many all nighters in front of my PC, there would be no way to touch on the massiveness of the geography. Seyda Neen as I stated earlier is the starting town. There are a few buildings scattered about. Some doors are locked, while others open for your exploration. If you can unlock them and get inside there are lots of goodies for you. Make sure you pick up that lock pick, it is a very handy item throughout the game. Seyda Neen and its immediately surrounding areas are fairly safe to get the hang of combat, spell usage, movement, and learning how to rest.

Balmera is a river town. It climbs the bank of a great river. It seems to be a little more new wave then Seyda Neen. The locals here are a little more, let’s just say, freaky too. Make sure not to aggravate the guards here, they are heavily armed and downright nasty. I made the mistake of stealing in front of a NPC and got my ass handed to me.

Hla Oad seemed to be a small swamp city. At first, it didn’t seem like much of a place at all, until I found the small trap door to the caves underneath. Don’t forget to explore the nooks and crannies and check the crates for lots of items. Oh yeah, make sure you are alert at all times, you may run into bandits on the outskirts of this zone.

After my adventures to these places, I had a good feel for the combat system. Although it felt like a simple point and click combat interaction on the surface, I soon discovered the complexity of statistics that were happening behind the scenes as I watched my combat and character skills increase as I used them more. I also decided to dump some gold into learning how to block with a shield I had found. The impression I got was very clear; you will have the freedom to advance your character’s skills in any way you want.

As far as sound goes, the 3D sound is excellent. I was by this huge crackling fire waiting for a quest to do when I noticed that the slightest turn with my character made the sound of the fire pan from speaker to speaker, matching perfectly with my movement. These nice little touches really helped immerse me more into the game world. The music in the game instantly made me think of a large movie soundtrack, and really kept up with the feel of the game.

Height map terrain: Painting heights maps couldn’t get any easier. Smoothing and flattening sure does come in handy, to get the perfect look desired.

Modular Drag and Drop Building: Everything you find in the game is already built for you to piece together any old way you like. Just imagine you are a kid with your LEGO blocks. A castle wall here, a barn there, anything you like is basically possible. Of course, a sense of design does come in handy here. The number of pieces you have to build with is huge, from as large as a keep tower, to the candles that light your world. I’m not exaggerating at all. You get rocks, plants, plates, books, forks, chest, crates, torches, railings, bookcases, and rugs. When is the last time you saw door and window molding in a game? The available assets are so many; there is no way to touch on all of them, until you have the opportunity to try it yourself.

Enemy Drag and Drop Placement: Just drag and drop the enemy where you want him. Bethesda has also given you the ability to define your own enemy scripts, if you feel so inclined.

Item Drag and Drop Placement: Like the enemies, you just drag and drop the item anywhere you would like.

Ok, don’t get me wrong. The learning curve will take a little bit of work, but I am confident that if you have the desire to learn, it should not be over challenging. Bethesda has already promised extensive documentation with the game, as well as I imagine that mod teams across the globe will be releasing tutorials on a regular basis, to show off their creativity. The TES Construction set is not like most editors that are packed in with games; it is a complete world construction set, from the minutest details, to the simplest changes, and as the developers describe it, it was designed from the ground up to be a complete “Role Playing Operating System”.