Gaming Target - Xbox: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition

Written by Bryan Montford on September 19, 2003

First Impressions: All the Morrowind you can handle and then someЕ

I think it's a really good idea to warn you now. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition is headed towards the Xbox, and when it gets here I might be hard to find for several months.

I spent three months playing the original title and even now have another character I've been playing. Bethesda software is buggier than a box full of cockroaches, but I still love the game. I can only hope they've fixed some of the major problemsЕ.

I'm sure you know the original game. If you don't then you really probably won't care about this anyways, so I'm not going to bother covering the details of the original Morrowind for Xbox. Most likely you either loved it or hated it. I don't know too many gamers who don't have a strong opinion of the title.

One of the biggest questions I have is whether or not you'll be able to use your old character from the previous game. If so, I'm not sure I want to. After spending three months on my character I made items that might shock you and maxed almost every stat. He is a god, more than rivaling Lord Vivc himself. It might be too easy using him. On the other hand, if you can't, I'll be very disappointed. I spent three months making my first guy; I don't want to have to do all of that again! I hope they give us the option. It's a quandary I'd like to worry out on my own instead of being forced to do what Bethesda dictates. Gamers should have choices, especially in matters like this.

The real excitement here is the two expansions that have been released for PC - Tribunal and Bloodmoon. I wanted those packs so badly I considered modding my Xbox so I could run them. (I heard somewhere that some ingenious УhackersФ had managed to get the expansion packs to run on a modded Xbox.) It looks like we're going to get them, though I have no release date as of this writing.

I haven't seen a beta (as some lucky bastards have) but I can make some fairly educated assumptions based on the PC counterparts to these two expansions.

Tribunal alone adds 20-40 hours of game play. It, like the original, has a strong storyline that should suck you in quickly and keep your interest. Bloodmoon is nearly an entirely new game unto itself. I know people that got more than 40 hours of play their first time through it. And if the chance to become a Vampire in the first game wasn't enough, in Bloodmoon you are a Werewolf. Maybe that seems a little hokey, but if you like Morrowind you're almost certain to love this.

If you're hungry for more details about each title visit Bethesda's' site. They have a LOT of information up there about the two expansions. Though I will warn you, you may discover more information there than you care to know.