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Platform: XBox |
Developer: Bethesda Softworks |
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks |
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Genre: Role-Playing |
ETA: May 2002 |
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The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Console gamers have seen very little of the kind of open-ended, free roaming RPG that is common on the PC. In fact, the majority of console RPG’s are the polar opposite of these games. The Japanese developed RPG’s tend to be very structured and linear, often forcing the player to assume the controls of a central character who already has a name, a personality, and, more importantly, a role. This leaves console RPG’s feeling much more like adventure games than true “role playing” games. The end of the drought is in sight. In May, Bethesda Softworks will be releasing The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on the Xbox. Morrowind promises to be the kind of open-ended RPG that console gamers have heretofore only been able to dream about. Though the game features a long, well thought out story line befitting the sequel to the excellent Arena and Daggerfall, players will be able to stray from that story line a little or a lot depending on their personal wishes. Want to stray from the beaten path and become an outlaw? Go for it. Want to help the inhabitants of the land with their petty problems and squabbles? You can do that too. Tired of these little excursions and ready for some real adventuring? Well then, work your way back into the story-line—it’s still there waiting for you. It is the kind of interactivity and freedom that Shenmue promised but failed to deliver and GTA 3 managed to give a taste of albeit in a much smaller world in which doors could not be opened. Morrowind builds on the excellent character generation system used in the previous Elder Scrolls games, giving each player the ability to create his or her own character just as he or she sees fit. The character’s success and reputation will be based solely on what they do in the world. Commit crimes and you can expect to be arrested when spotted by guards. Rid the outskirts of a small town of a group of bandits and your reputation will increase allowing you access into the inner politics of the town. The default perspective for the Xbox version of the game is third-person, but if a player doesn’t wish to stare at his character’s butt for hours on end, a first person perspective is only one click of a button away. First person might be the preferable way to play the game as it will allow the player to view the visual splendor of Morrowind’s world unobstructed. Though still looking a bit unpolished in screen shots, expect Morrowind to deliver impressive graphics with an amazing attention to detail.
One of customizable elements of Morrowind that I am most eager to get my grubby little hands on is the spell system. Players will be able to mix any spell that they have learned in order to create new spells with appropriate effects. This could mean that hours into the game my character has a spellbook completely different from the one another player’s character has pieced together. This should make each play-through unique and extend what already looks to be nearly infinite replay value. Sadly, despite the presence of a hard drive, Bethesda has decided not to include the construction set with the Xbox version of the game. That feature will be exclusive to the PC, so we should not expect much in the way of mods or new scenarios for the game. Still, Morrowind looks to offer over one hundred hours of gaming goodness for Xbox owners, and that certainly is not too shabby. It all comes down to a simple truth.
If Morrowind can deliver on even half of what it promises, it
looks to be one of the most impressive RPG’s ever released for a home
console. --Tolen Dante
Interview: Morrowind Art Department Interview: Todd Howard Interview
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