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Platform: PC |
Developer: Bethesda |
Publisher: ZeniMax |
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Genre: RPG |
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Release Date: Spring 2002 |
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The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Hands-on Preview
So, I got an email the other day asking if the Armchair Empire would like to take the Morrowind beta for a test drive. “Sure,” I think. “It’s topical and it looks like it could be fun.” A response comes back, stating I have to fill out the attached agreement and fax it along with a photocopy of my driver’s license to their head office so they can encode personal information into the demo to “protect their intellectual property.” What the heck, as long I don’t have to provide any DNA samples, I’m up for it.
What I wasn’t prepared for were the suction properties imbued in Morrowind. Even though at times it ran along like a slideshow on my minimum requirements PC (PIII 500) I still sat up a couple of nights playing, exploring, and having fun. (A word to the wise: Upgrade now! Even taking Morrowind for a spin on a 1.6 GHz Athalon with 512 MB RAM and a shiny new ATI card can produce mixed results – it really depends on the graphical setup – but it’s far, far better than using the minimum requirements.)
Graphics do not make the game, but they can only help – and boy, do they ever help Morrowind. Everything is handcrafted and it shows at every turn. Morrowind’s world is alive! NPCs (non-player characters) go about their business, the clouds drift by overhead, the giant Siltstriders (huge fleas with really long legs) twitch their mandibles – everything has some small touch that draws your attention to it. Just go wandering – you’ll stumble across all manner of small touches. (I spent a few hours just collecting mushrooms.) Provided you’ve got the hardware, Morrowind will probably be one of those games you buy to show off the power of your PC to friends and family. (The graphical settings can be tweaked to squeeze out better framerates.)
NPCs are everywhere and they all seem to be unique – I didn’t notice much “same model, different skin.” They all seem to have something to say, too – some piece of advice or a quest to go on. In fact, Bethesda states that there are “6 novels worth of dialogue.” Most of it is text only, with an audio greeting when you initiate conversation and the dialogue consists of hyperlinked subjects that NPCs can be questioned on. These encounters are affected by your appearance but can result in you gaining “friendship” with that NPC. Alternately, you can hack the NPC to death if the mood strikes you. (Just be ready for the consequences.)
Combat reminds me heavily of Jedi Knight’s. Pressing attack and a direction results in different swings with your melee weapon, but goes a step further with stabs and heavy swings. Tapping the attack button produces a stab while holding the button down for second or two (then releasing) allows you to really put your back into the swing. While it can result in more punishing attacks, it also leaves you open to counter-attacks. There is also an extensive variety of spells to be had and create. Managing what weapons you’re using, armor you’re wearing, and magical item you have equipped, is extremely easy. Part of the reason I shy away from RPGs is the seemingly impenetrable inventory systems complete with esoteric spells and plethora of items. But I never had a problem with Morrowind’s inventory system. Point-click-drag-click is the order of the day and it makes everything easy to use. (And changing weapons and putting on different clothes also affect your character’s outward appearance – equipping some bulky armor actually makes your character that much cooler.)
From the very beginning, Morrowind lets the player decided what to do and who they’re going to be. You disembark a prisoner transport ship, and like every illegal alien, you have to go through a naturalization process. There are a few encounters with NPCs to set the ball in motion – picking you race, sex, and face. Then you proceed to the next NPC to work out your class, etc. There are three ways to decide your class, but probably the most enjoyable is the Blade Runner-esque emotive (or moral) questions. The NPC asks a series of multiple-choice questions (none of which relate to tortoises) and you go from there. Incorporated into this naturalization process is the tutorial to give you the bare bones on what you can do, interacting with others, etc.
Another of my reasons for staying away from most RPGs is trying to keep track of what is going on – and I was really anxious to see how I could keep track of everything going on in such a big place as Morrowind populated with so many characters. Thankfully, the journal is right on the money. It keeps track of everything and topics are hyperlinked so there was never a time I was left scratching my head wondering what I could be doing (even as I spent hours collecting mushrooms). The precise end goal isn’t apparent at the outset but after some good ol’ exploring and dungeon encounters (which the designers say players should be able to complete in 30 minutes for most part, so you’re not stuck in protracted uber-quests), the end goal becomes apparent. (And you may still set off to see what else you can do, like joining guilds and factions.)
If that weren’t enough, Morrowind will ship with the Construction Kit the developers used. This will allow users with the motivation to design whole new quests in the Morrowind environs without disturbing the original game. With the fan base the Elder Scrolls series already has, it’s a given that there will be many new quests coming from the community. (Some will be ready nearly the same time the game is released.) While there’s been some criticism of Morrowind’s lack of multiplayer ability, I for one am glad of it – even applaud it. A single-player game can be controlled much more easily than a massively multiplayer online RPG, and with the plug-and-play ability of new user-created creations, Morrowind could spell the new face of game creation. (For the purposes of this preview, the Construction Set will not be covered as there’s just too much to go into.)
But even just playing with the beta for a while convinces me that Betheda’s not relying on the users to make up the action. There’s plenty to do and even more to see – and practically bug free. Betas are called betas for a reason, but Morrowind is strangely stable – no strange crashes, load times (even on my PC) are good to excellent, and the controls are responsive: all the things you expect from a Gold game. Of course, there are few improvements I’d like to see implemented but the aspect that needs the most attention is getting the NPCs to sit in chairs. Even indoors, with plenty of chairs available, they’ll never sit down. They march around the landscape and towns no problem, but they will not sit in chairs.
Aside from the graphics and cool interactivity with practically everything in the game, the standout for me is the music. The score is fantastic! It’s got that epic quality to it but not so much that it sounds plagiarized from every fantasy movie out there. And it never gets old. (I’m hoping they release an official soundtrack.)
While Morrowind feels fairly complete, I have this horrible feeling I only scratched the surface. With so much to explore, character variables to take into account, items to collect and use (yay, lock picks!), and the seemingly infinite expandability of Morrowind’s world, The Elder Scrolls III is going to be one massive game to explore and enjoy – even for non-RPG fans. Even doodling around with the character creation is fun and could be considered the most important part of the game. I don’t want to make any grand sweeping statements because I’ve been wrong before, so I’ll qualify this with the Almighty “IF”. If the developers can deliver a bug free product, since all the other ingredients are present – massive world, mostly conventional RPG elements, a powerful Construction set, great graphics, sound and inventory – Morrowind is likely to capture more than a few imaginations and keep us playing for a long time.
- Omni
Our Interviews with Todd Howard (Project Lead) and Matt Carofano (Lead Artist)
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