After finishing Arena and Daggerfall, I was excited to enter the first proper 3D main entry Elder Scrolls RPG. I didn't play Morrowind when I was a kid so there's absolutely no nostalgia factor at play here, and I have to say, that in many, MANY categories, Morrowind does reign supreme.

Artstyle is definitely one of them. This game definitely looks the most unique of all Elder Scrolls games. It draws heaps from Eastern cultures, Sumerian mythology, nomad tribes, Western societies, you name it, it's a great and one-of-a-kind mix that I really haven't seen repeated yet. If you want the game to look good in a graphics and post-processing sense, you can either install OpenMW, or install the Morrowind Graphics Extender. After that, the game looks really good. The music is also top-notch, and what little voice acting there is in the form of greetings and a few cutscenes is also great. The sound design is also good, the magic in particular sounds very appropriate to the effects it represents. Top notch presentation.

Gameplay-wise, it's not a game you just pick up and play. If you don't prepare your character well, you will be weak and ineffective. Regardless of what you start with (save for a few specific combinations), you will be SLOW. At least read the manual or watch a video before you start so you understand how leveling and skills work. On the surface it's pretty simple: what you use, you improve, but it's not always completely intuitive which skill is governed by each attribute (for example, Hand-to-hand is governed by Speed, not Strength or Agility; Illusion, despite being a magic discipline, is governed by Personality; Spear, despite being a weapon skill, is governed by Endurance and so on). But that means if you sit around spamming magic all day and not leveling Endurance, you will have a tiny health pool despite being a Destruction master. Likewise, if you level movement skills, you won't have weapon or magic skills high enough to even land a hit or spell on your enemies, let alone kill them.

Leveling quandaries aside, the backbone of any good RPG are the quests, and here, Morrowind knocks it out of the park, especially because it has the most factions of any Elder Scrolls game to date. You have three Great Houses that are mutually exclusive (Redoran, Hlaalu and Telvanni), all the usual Imperial suspects (Mages Guild, Fighter's Guild, Thieves Guild), Imperial and local religious institutions, the Imperial Legion and the Morag Tong, basically a hitman guild (provoked murder is legal in Morrowind, you see). Gone is the procedurally generated filler of Arena and Daggerfall. No more "guard the Guild Hall" 76 times to become Archmage of the Mages Guild. As far as factions go, you can join anyone and everyone (although some questlines, like the Fighters and Thieves guild, contradict each other, which is actually a nice touch), and there are a lot of benefits for doing so. Or you can join no-one and forge your own path. There are even two ways to complete the main quest (one lets you skip almost a third of the game, and is a legit way to finish the game). Be a mage who joins the Fighters guild. Help Hlaalu make money. Or help Telvanni become slightly less xenophobic wizards. Your choice.

And that is what makes Morrowind so great. Like Daggerfall before it, there are so many ways to play it that after two playthroughs (one as a full-on Mage and one as a Thief), I already have two more in mind. There are so many ways to make yourself brokenly overpowered (oh, Alchemy, Alchemy) and so many ways to do pretty much whatever you want it's really no use to try and explain it in words. The systems in this game work in unique, interactive ways and it's fun discovering what exactly works and what works so well it breaks the game.

Lastly, the main story and the lore are infinitely captivating. It explores a lot of topics like the idea of divinity, prophecy, tradition, greed, values, nationalism, and it gives you the reins to navigate this world as you see fit. Role-play as it should be. Nothing is black and white in Morrowind, everyone has an angle and you will really want to play this game at least twice to fully appreciate everything it has to offer. I'm being vague on purpose. I implore you to explore for yourself as much as possible. Who knows, you might find a cave of man-eating Scamps. If you're worried about bang for buck... don't be. The main game is long and large, and there are also two small(er) expansions that are also packed with new locations and quests. And mods. SO MANY mods. The pit is endless.

No game is without fault though, and while Morrowind has many strenghts, stability and polish are not among them. If you want to stay with the vanilla game, you should DEFINITELY install at least the Morrowind Code Patch (without it, some game mechanics, like Pickpocketing simply don't work as described) and I would also recommend the Morrowind Patch Project. Technically, you don't need any of these, but I doubt anyone enjoys the following:
- wrong directions to quest locations in a game with no markers
- game mechanics that don't work
- quests that can't finish
- NPCs falling through the floor
- and many... MANY more bugs.
You can also install OpenMW and while some purists claim it "changes the game too much", I honestly don't notice any drastic changes (but to be fair, I only tried it for a couple of hours).

All in all, although I'm moving on to Oblivion in my quest to finish all the main Elder Scrolls games, I have to say it was hard hitting "Uninstall" on Morrowind. It's a game that just wants you to come back, to try this build, that weapon, that race, this faction, there's so much to do and so many ways to do it it's really limitless. I had a hunch Morrowind would be my favourite ES game, and although Oblivion and Skyrim still await, I think Morrowind has cemented that spot very firmly. Now excuse me while I walk away with virtue.