On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 22:34:04 -0600, User Chris
Post by User ChrisIs the game any good overall?
I'm putting this first, since
Personally, I'd say its the finest RPG produced in recent years, and
not considering the technology levels for their time, the finest ever
produced, though my experience is mostly limited to American RPGs.
The main strong point of the game is freedom: you can make any type of
character you want, can go anywhere you want once you are in the game,
and have a great deal of freedom in how you develop your character, as
to affiliations, heroism or villiany or anything in between. Your
character isn't a particular guy, with particular personality traits
and particular abilities, who has to to go particular places and play
out a particular story. The only thing the game saddles you with is a
destiny... which you can choose to play out or ignore... and the
necesity of developing your character's abilities.
Creating a character can be as easy or as difficult as you want. You
can simply answer a series of questions (sort of a "personality test")
and let the game assign you a character, you can choose from among a
set of classes, or you can create your own class from the skills and
abilities available. There are races to pick from, and the last part
of the creation process is a "Birthsign," which gives your character
one last set of important strengths and weaknesses. All can be
reviewed and changed before your character is officially created.
Once you've got a character created, you'll be given some direction,
but from there, you can go wherever you want to. You can choose to
obey your orders and head to Balmora. You can go there instantly by
silt strider (local mass transit system, big bug with big saddle), or
you can go on foot, and see everything there is to see in between the
two, including the quaint Imperial town of Pelgiad, a number of caves
and tombs, Moonmoth Garrison, and a bit of local wildlife (which gets
more numerous and more dangerous as you rise in level). OR, you can
head off any other direction you want, whether off into the boondocks
of the Bitter Coast, down to the cosmopolitan city of Vivec, or into
the wilds of the West Gash, or any other destination you wish. (I
enjoy the rocky mountainous area of Molag Amur, myself.) See printed
map for details.
Then there's the factions. There are the public ones: The Fighters
Guild, the Mages Guiild, the Temple of the Nine Divines, the Temple of
the Tribunal, The Imperial Legion, the Three Great Houses. Then there
are the not-so-public ones: the Thieves Guild, the Morag-Tong (a clan
of honorable assasins), the Blades (Imperial Intelligence Service),
and perhaps others. All of these you may join and rise up in ranks in,
gaining access to things you didn't initially have access to, through
service ("Quests") and skill in abilities they value. You pick who you
join, and develop your character accordingly.
Oh, and unlike Japanese RPGs, YOU CAN KILL ANYONE YOU WANT. Well, its
limited by your combat ability, since some characters will kill you if
you try (the guards are tough), and by the criminal justice system
(like I said, the guards are tough), but there are no artificial
limitations. Some characters are important, and if you kill them, you
will break your game. You'll get a warning if they're related to the
main quest. You won't if they're not.
So, the basic advanages are: You can be whoever you want, you can go
wherever you want, you can work with and against whoever you want.
But be warned, this game will not hold your hand through it. Many who
are accustomed to the relatively linear progression of a Japanese RPG
can, and do, get lost in the game, knowing not what to do next. Note
that getting lost is not an impediment to having fun. Even getting
lost in the wilderness isn't bad, since the adventures one can have
trying to find one's way back can be fun (if you take the time to talk
to fellow travelers, explore caves and ruins you happen upon. This is
a game best enjoyed slowly.
Post by User ChrisI'm thinking of picking up the GOTY edition soon, but I keep hearing that the game is
MASSSIVE and that it doesn't resemble the Japanese RPGs at all.
How does it all work?
Note: I tend to ramble, so feel free to skip to the next question when
you feel satisfied I've answered your question.
It is similar to Japanese RPGs only in the sense that it has such
things as hit points, magic points, and ways to reduce them such as
weapons and spells and such.
Japanese games tend to be third person view, from the early games that
had an "overland mode" and a "town mode." This makes travel from town
to town quicker, kind of like how in stories one simply narrates, "And
they traveled from Village A to Town B."
TES games are in first person view (like Doom, Quake, and such),
though Morrowind has a third person view that doesn't work terribly
well. Advantage: turn down the lights and put on some headphones, and
you can get a very immersive experience. Personally, I strongly prefer
first person view, though I am aware that, for RPGs, many don't.
In addition, the space between towns isn't simply passed over; if you
want to simply walk, over the hills, down dusty roads, through swamps,
and, in GOTY on the new island, over snow-covered plains, you can.
There are *many* things that aren't on the map that you may discover
as you explore. But, if you simply want to get there quick, there are
persons in towns who offer quick travel, by silt strider (big bugs
with a seat on them), by boat, or by teleporation (Mages offer this
for a price), during which the screen will simply go black, then
return, with you at your new location.
The only problem, which those of use who enjoy an imersive experience
is not really a problem, but a feature, is that you can't get from any
town to any other town, quickly, that is (you can always walk and/or
swim); you have to travel where the people will take you. In addition,
there are towns you can't reach at all without walking, which is both
cool (it makes these places an exotic place to visit, since you won't
do it all the time) and irritating when you really need to get there
to finish a quest, and would rather not have to walk all that way
(though there are ways to speed up travel, such as the "Wind Walk"
scroll, which will allow any character to fly at incredible speeds
invisibly, which is actually quite fun).
Post by User ChrisWhen is the game over if you can do whatever you like and pursue
anything you like within the game?
Well, the way the game is designed doesn't provide for an "end" in
terms a strictly Japanese RPGer would understand. You get "quests"
from people you talk to, which can range from an old lady asking you
to find her missing guar, to the Fighters Guild asking you to traverse
deep into a dungeon to eliminate some local menace, to the Tribunal
Temple asking you to visit all the sacred sites, gain all the
blessings, and return for your new rank.
Then there's a great big rambling quest we refer to as the Main Quest.
You are given the hook to this quest at the very beginning, and one
could consider completing this quest to be "beating the game."
However, the result of completing this quest isn't a musical cutscene
and then roll credits. There are certiain in-game rewards (which are
considerable) for completing this quest, but when it ends, it's like
any other quest: continue with the game as you see fit. You are known
and revered as a hero in-game but overall, the Main Quest can be
thought of in the same way as any other quest.
- Tarvok