Graphics
Graphics
The graphics in Morrowind are some of the best I’ve ever seen in a video game. The attention to detail is astounding. When NPCs are speaking to you, their mouth movements are in sync with the dialog. The NPCs all have a distinctive, individual look, even though the same basic models are used to create them. The number of objects that can be interacted with is staggering. If you want to steal all of the silverware in Morrowind, you can.
Sounds
The music and sound effects in Morrowind are absolutely wonderful. I have turned the sound up while I play so I can tell when something is coming and get ready to deal with it. The whispering voices when you are near burial sites are incredible! You can almost make out what they are saying, but the voices fade in and out, keeping the words just out of reach. The music is phenomenal, which explains why there is a soundtrack CD included in the Collector’s Edition of Morrowind.
Bugs
Unfortunately, no game comes out without a few issues. Morrowind has a few that I have run in to, none of them show stoppers by any stretch of the imagination. The first is a Crash To Desktop (CTD) issue that occurs, for me, after playing for at least a couple of hours. My only workaround is to save often.
The next couple of issues are minor annoyances, but they do take a bit from the Morrowind experience. First of the annoyances is Safedisc. I understand that Bethesda wants to protect its intellectual property, and deservedly so. However, Safedisc increases load times by four to five times on my machine. There are ‘no-CD fixes’ available on the Internet, and they do work, but there will probably be issues with applying patches to Morrowind when they become available. I would rather see a different type of copy-protection scheme used, one that does not impact the play of the game to the same extent that Safedisc does.
The last issue, more of a pet peeve of mine, is that of clipping images where they shouldn’t be clipped. There are several instances of creatures and adversaries having parts of their bodies submerged into the landscape and, in some instances, disappearing all together. The only time this really interferes with game play is when you can’t loot the body because it has disappeared.
Mods/Patches/Upgrades
Morrowind has a thriving user community, as well as ongoing support from Bethesda Softworks. Official patches and mods/plugins can be found at the main Morrowind web site, www.elderscrolls.com. There you will also find links to the highly active user community.
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