The Elder Scrolls series

[Havantgottaclue]

Okay, I got hold of Morrowind and Oblivion GOTY version in this weekends id/Bethesda Steam Sale. I already had Oblivion on the 360 but having started it on the back of having played Dragon Age a lot and Fallout 3 a fair bit, I think I may have been "RPGed out". I didn't really pay attention to what I was supposed to be doing, and although I kept coming back to it here I just ended up wandering around a bit, getting bored and switching it off. Now that I've started out again on the PC I'm starting to really get into it. I have gone for the "safe" option of being a Nordic warrior because I've heard that later on there are quests where a bit of muscle is needed. Is that the case or not?

Morrowind looks pretty antiquated now. It's obviously graphically outdated, but I was also struck by how rudimentary the interface looked, with all those windows looking archaic next to Oblivion's slick menus. No doubt those of you who played it at the time though will say that a bit of perseverance will pay off, I'm sure. But for the time being I'm going to plough on with Oblivion then perhaps have another look at Morrowind afterward. I may end up looking forward to Skyrim a bit more than I thought I would.

So, tell us all about your experiences with the Elder Scrolls series, what you've played, what you liked best, whether you're looking forward to Skyrim, etc.

[nakamura]

ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

But Skyrim looks really damn good.

[Rinoa]

Back in my college days I used to watch my friend play Morrowind and always fancied having a go myself, but having lost all interest in PC gaming at the time and not owning a Xbox meant that never happened. Bought Oblivion when I got the PS3 and quite enjoyed it for the most part. I did find the game a bit too vast though, I was always forgetting the main storyline as I was spending too much time on other quests. Unfortunately the whole being bitten by a vampire saga put me off continuing with the game. I think I'm best sticking with JRPGs in future!

[HalcyonDaze00]

I have bought Oblivion twice for the 360 but have failed both times to get into it.

My experience was very similar to yours, wander around, get bored, switch off.

It's a game I should enjoy, I loved Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and have recently played through and enjoyed ME and ME2, but Oblivion just doesnt grab me.

I think the orcs and wizards setting just doesnt appeal to me anywhere near as much as the sci-fi/post apocalyptic settings of ME and Fallout, it's unlikely I will buy it for a 3rd time.

[Psychedelicious]

Morrowind antiquated?! Perhaps you can find some interface mods somewhere, not sure. Most RPG people would say Morrowind is better, and that's what I would play and in fact am playing every now and then.

I don't recommend going for cookie cutter builds, reading up on the game beforehand is also not advised. Just go with what you feel useful or fun and try to cope with it. That's how RPG's are played, min-maxing and cookie cutter builds are way to boredom, unless you are trying to discover them yourself. The nature of the game perhaps also requires a bit time to get into, and doesn't really work when you have only 15 mins time to play. I haven't played newer Bioware RPG's, but I'm guessing you get bunch of cut-scenes, story and action to get you going right from the start. Morrowind is much more open-ended RPG where you should enjoy wandering around doing bit this and that and concentrate less on the main quest. If you particularly don't like this, then Oblivion might be better choice.

[Havantgottaclue]

Morrowind antiquated?! ... Most RPG people would say Morrowind is better.

It wasn't my intent to suggest that because Morrowind is of an earlier vintage it was the lesser game! It's just that having all these little windows coming up when you press RMB reminded me of days gone by, from a presentational point of view. That's not to say that it doesn't function well, I'm sure it does. Perhaps it's easier to have lots of windows than having to scroll through separate screens - something that's probably the result of games being designed with console play in mind.

Anyway, there's no need for posters to pay much, if any, attention to my original post. It was very much a case of early impressions (on the PC version at least) and no doubt I'll not have much a better idea as to the merits of each game until I've played them both a lot. It was more a case of wanting to read other peoples' experiences and opinions on the series. No doubt some of you have been playing the series from the beginning but I've not heard much about it pre-Morrowind. Anyone with any thoughts on those earlier games?

[ShadowNeku]

I cant say anything for the pre Morrowind Elder Scrolls games but Morrowind is one of my all time favourite games and is better than Oblivion in my opinion.
Morrowind has much more freedom in terms of where you can go, what you can do and holds your hand a lot less (for better and worse) which is why i prefer it. You're given vague directions as to where to go like a character telling you "northeast from the town of sedya neen" rather than just giving you a pinpoint location on your interface which i feel is much less immersive. You can kill anyone, levitate miles into the sky, create spells that practically engulf entire towns in flame and the legendary weapons are hidden throughout the world rather than being rewards for quests, which makes it much more satisfying when you stumble across them.

That said, combat was arguably better in Oblivion rather than everything being based on a percentage chance of hitting/working.

It may look dated now but i dont think it takes anything away from the experiance. Or maybe im just a fanboy...

[Crunchy]

I cant say anything for the pre Morrowind Elder Scrolls games but Morrowind is one of my all time favourite games and is better than Oblivion in my opinion.
Morrowind has much more freedom in terms of where you can go, what you can do and holds your hand a lot less (for better and worse) which is why i prefer it.

Same for me.
Oblivion is very good but it's Morrowind on a smaller scale. Oblivion is probably the better game, pretty graphics and nicely accessible etc, but Morrowind is definitely the better rpg.

[SoupDragon]

Elder Scrolls was one of the first games I bought on PS3 and it impressed me no end. Then got Morrowind on Xbox (after getting GOTY on 360) and currently getting into it. I wasnt into rpg's but I enjoy these and looking forward to Skyrim.

[Neilos626]

Yes Morrowind can seem a bit of a slog to play through by todays standards. But stick with it and you will find it is miles better than Oblivion. Much more exploration, hidden areas, variation, better characters, customisation, spells (have never understodd why they removed the levitate spell from Oblivion). I'm currently on my 4th play through of Morrowind so far having played nearly 700hrs total across all playthroughs. Did you buy the GOTY edition of Morrowind? The added areas are superb.

[slacey1070]

I have bought Oblivion twice for the 360 but have failed both times to get into it.

My experience was very similar to yours, wander around, get bored, switch off.

It's a game I should enjoy, I loved Fallout 3 and New Vegas, and have recently played through and enjoyed ME and ME2, but Oblivion just doesnt grab me.

I think the orcs and wizards setting just doesnt appeal to me anywhere near as much as the sci-fi/post apocalyptic settings of ME and Fallout, it's unlikely I will buy it for a 3rd time.

I'm pretty much with this - I wanted to love Oblivion but got bored very quickly. Wandering around was quite good fun, but there is only so much of it you can do . . .

Skyrim does look good though . . .

[Havantgottaclue]

Neilos, I got GOTY versions of both, yes.

I had a quick go of the earlier two games this morning. Both have been released freeware and are available in nicely-packaged DOSBox versions via the links below:

Arena
Daggerfall

They are somewhat unforgiving but I don't suppose they will faze anyone who played RPGs in the olden days (I didn't). I like the atmosphere of the games though - the sparseness of the graphics somehow make it much more brooding than the tunnels of the opening section of Oblivion.

[StickHead]

I plowed hundreds of hours into Oblivion and it's a great game, but it didn't quite have the same magic of Morrowind.

It might have something to do with the lack of expectation when approaching Morrowind and the massive expectation when approaching Oblivion, or it might have something to do with Oblivion being cleaned up, and nicely packaged for the masses. I don't know, it's hard to put my finger on it, but Morrowind's story and atmosphere was incredible.

[Freestyler]

Hundreds of hours spent on both Morrowind and Oblivion. All the expansions for both!

I love the Lore aspect of these games, plus the fact that you really can play them the way you want. Also, unlike other so-called "RPG's" it is entirely possible to screw your character up as you level them. Make some mindless decisions along the way and you'll get called out for it. Killed that Shopkeeper you wanted to buy stuff from? Tough. Levelled up by "cheesing" it and just made potion after potion? Now even the bloody WILDLIFE can kill you!

As I said I love the free aspect of it. All through Morrowind I played as a Spell-flinging Uber-Alchemist, who had Potions and Enchanted items for every possible outcome. Then all through Oblivion I played as an ultra-sneaky Bow-equipped assassin that could quite literally one-shot humanoids from deep in the shadows. If they were lucky enough to survive then I'd instantly melt back into the darkness, leaving them all scratching their heads, wondering where I was. Until I removed it with the next arrow!

Spell-flinging Berserker in Full Plate armour? Possible.
Sneaky poison-coated dagger user? Possible.
Scroll-making Hunter with a speciality in summoning creatures to help you? Possible.
Idiot Bookworm Enchanter with full Mastery of cooking, but gets killed by anything larger than a rat? Entirely possible too!

Oh, and Skyrim's mine by default! But only after the first patch lands.

[StickHead]

Spell-flinging Berserker in Full Plate armour? Possible.
Sneaky poison-coated dagger user? Possible.
Scroll-making Hunter with a speciality in summoning creatures to help you? Possible.
Idiot Bookworm Enchanter with full Mastery of cooking, but gets killed by anything larger than a rat? Entirely possible too!

I love this. It speaks volumes about the appeal of these games: possibility. In Morrowind I even had one playthrough as a pacifist monk, charming and sneaking my way out of fights and always looking for the peaceful option. Very difficult, but possible. If only more games offered us so much choice. Elite did it decades ago, why not modern games?