[Starflux]

I have been addicted on and off to the inimitable PC-RPG Morrowind for the last few years. I recently started again, for the third time no less, with a thief skilled in archery. What strikes me is how diverse the game is; even after all this time I still stumble upon new quests and new bits of information. This time I especially began to dig into the whole culture of the world of the Elder Scrolls, and became totally fascinated by the epic scale of everything. Morrowind itself is superbly rich in its depiction of the different cultures and tribes on the continent, but the astounding truth that Morrowind itself is only a small part of the giant world of Tamriel is staggering.

Thrilled I was then, when I found that the first game in the series, Arena, is now freely downloadable from the Bethesda website (http://www.morrowind.com). At a hefty 8 Mb, it shows its age through the size alone. Of course, the game is barely playable. The dosbox it plays in reduces its speed to a stuttering heap of choppiness. I've not played very far or long, but the game does radiate an amount of charm.

I fear, however, that unlike a game like Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos, Arena hasn't aged very well, to say the least. But I'm afraid I'll have to play some more, if only to investigate whether the game offers the richness I can find in Morrowind.

[Erkki]

I played Daggerfall a bit, but the lack of direction and personality didn't appeal to me (not to mention the bugs).

Recently tried Morrowind and it seems almost the same. It begins nicely, but loses direction very soon. And the NPC are so inpersonal. I liked Gothic much more. I think I have to approach this game somehow differently if I want to play it.

Or maybe I should just wait for Gothic III

[Starflux]

Strangely enough, I had no problems whatsoever with the free-roaming system of Morrowind. I quickly got lost in direction when playing Arcanum, but Morrowind... I don't know, maybe it's because you are always covered in quests, that you always have somewhere to go to and someone to see, that I never felt lost. And from the safe position of having quests waiting for you, Morrowind does a nice job presenting you with an increasing wealth of things to do.