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Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind Expansion Pack: Bloodmoon

Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind Expansion Pack: Bloodmoon

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $17.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow!
Review: Morrowind is hailed as the best RPG of the year for good reasons. It defines open-endedness. Your character arrives on the island of Vvardenfell, which is populated by 10 interesting races of humans, elves, orcs, and more. The majority of the population are Dark Elves, since they are native to the area, but they have a hugely detailed culture and history, from the powerful Great Houses bickering over things like the drug trade, to the ashlanders living in yurts out in the deserts plotting to overthrow the imperial colonists.
Your character can be one of 21 classes, although I expect most people chose to design their own, picking what type of skills you like and how to use them. Unlike in most RPGs, certain classes like theives aren't useless: your character, if you wish, can become rich by breaking into mansions and cleaning them out.
There is a 'main quest' but in my opinion it's far more interesting to wander around the island hacking up interesting monsters from Alits to Zombies, and everything in between. The land is peppered with towns ranging from Imperial fortresses to camps of huts, to buildings made from giant insect shells, and many more interesting sorts of architecture that I'll leave you to find for yourself. There are also Dwarven ruins about which are left over from the Dwarves who vanished for no apparent reason several hundred years ago. These look very cool, and have these high towers that appear ominously over the horizon. But even cooler are the Daedric shrines here and there, full of cultists that summon nasty monsters, all sorts of zombies and crocodile things, and of course incredible loot.
There are a variety of factions you can join and do quests for, and even advance to the position of their leader. Some of the quests get repepetive, though, mostly consisting of going to get an item, or kill someone/something or both.
The only real downsides to this game are that the AI leaves a lot to be desired, you need a very powerful computer to play it, and there are some rather exploitable bugs that allow your character to become ridiculously rich and powerful at a low level. But the island is so huge that you can just start a new game and take a different path in life. There are two expansion packs that add a lot to the game, and an editor is included which allows you to change a lot of things about the game with no technical knowledge at all, and create vastly different mods if you knwo how to script. For me, the main use of the editor was to get rid of those freakin' cliff racers (a harmless nuisance that attacks you every two and a half seconds in the ashlands). And of course there are a million user-made mods out there that you can install to change the game or uninstall if they're causing problems.
Morrowind is worth the money it cost at its release, easily, and now you can grab it for about 30 dollars which is a real steal. Don't hesitate.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: One of the most overrated games of all time
Review: I honestly do not see what everyone else does in this game. I bought it based on the all the tremendous hype it received. I was really excited about the game when I first played it, but within a week of installing it, I realized that it just wasn't all it was made up to be by all the hype.

The world is expansive, yes. In fact, its overwhelming. The landscapes look great and the enviornmental and weather effects are amazing. The problem with this gigantic world is that it is sparsely populated. You only see signs of life when you go into towns or dungeons. Most of the time the wilderness is uninhabited. And that makes the game lonely. In fact, this game is like playing Ever Quests and other similar massive online games...except you are the only player. There is no one else. And that gets lonely. Why a multi-player option was not included is beyond comprehension.

The character models are quite possibly the ugliest character models I have ever seen in a game. The faces are hideous, and all the models look deformed and blocky. This is not because of a system configuration (my computer running top of the line hardware), it is just horrible character design. Further adding to the feeling of repetition, there are only about 5 or 6 different faces per race, further split up between gender. So, with hundreds of NPC's in the game, you see the same faces repeated...ALOT. Not only are all the faces and character models virtually identical, but they all repeat the same text over and over. Although there is a long and involved story in the game, I could never follow it. I didn't find it interesting at all, and frankly, since every character said virtually the same thing, after a while I just found myself not really caring what NPC's said. I ignored them completely. That made the game utterly boring. Maybe its my own fault, but I honestly just got sick of reading the same text over and over from the repetetive NPCs.

Creating your character is probably the only entertaining thing about this game. You have the option to pick a pre-existing class, have a custom class created for you by answering questions, or creating your very own class, mixing any abilities that you wish. There are multiple races to choose from, each having unique abilities that set them apart from one another. Picking your appearence is pointless, simply because there aren't many choices, and they all look the same. Plus, you'll see whatever face you pick for yourself repeated over and over in the game on the NPCs, as I mentioned earlier.

Upping your skills in the game is simple enough, though it takes hours and hours. If you have the time--and high boredom threshold--you could stand in one spot using your skills over and over and get them up. Using your skills over and over is the only way to advance them, and until you find heavy combat areas, you wont advance much at all.

Despite the amazing environmental graphics and weather effects, great ambient sound and sense of exploration, Morrowind just doesn't really cut it. I found the music to be repetetive and dull. There is alot to do in the game, but quests just seem so empty. Of the few quests that I did, I never once got a feeling of satisfaction upon completion. In the end it just felt like more mundane tasks to do, and that made it boring.

The heavily touted World Editor allows you to do all types of things, editing almost anything about the game. You could build your very own world if you had the time and patience. Oh, and did I mention you need a degree in Quantum Physics to even comprehend how complex the editor is? Only die-hard, heavily devoted users who would forsake everything else in their life and spend countless hours, days, even weeks trying to learn and master the editor should bother with it. It is definitely not for the casual editor, or someone with a remote interest in tinkering with the game.

If you have countless hours to devote to this game, then you might find it enjoyable. Frankly, I just do not have the time or patience to devote to the game...and it quite simply does not live up in any way to the tremendous hype it received. If the game DID live up to its hype, then I would enjoy it...then I would find the time to devote to this game. In the end, I found it to be nothing more than a repetetive, boring, and dreary gameplay experience. Morrowind should only be played by fanatic, hardcore RPG players. Casual gamers should stay away.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great add on to Vvardenfell
Review: To begin, Bloodmoon ads a new Large Island named Solstheim to the North West of the main continent Vvardenfell. To get to this island you need to take a boat from the docks in Khuul or swim there. Once reaching Solstheim you start off at a fort where there are two factions you can start working for. The local captain has a some missions as well as the leader of the local mining colony which you have a part in designing.

To the north of the island is where the tribal Nords live. The island is patched with snow in the south and covered in the north with very nice blizzards happening now and then.

Bloodmoon's story is suppose to allow you to become a werewolf which is a new experience in and of its self and I recommend each player try it out at least once. The quests well take you all over the island and eventually you well have discovered everything about the island. This expansion is better then Tribunal in my opinion and well make a great addition to anyones adventure. Thanks Amanda.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Morrowind rocks
Review: his game has got to be the best 1st player rpg i have EVER played!!! Rave reviews here!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Elder Scrolls series continues...
Review: "Morrowind" is the third installment in the classic Elder Scrolls series of PC roleplaying games from Bethesda Softworks, which began with "Arena," and was followed thereafter by "Daggerfall." "Morrowind" continues the sprawling tradition of its forebears, and provides a massive, open world for you to explore - not to mention a wealth of character creating options. This time around, bugs are fairly few and far between (unlike "Daggerfall," which was one of the buggiest games ever made), but the experience suffers from a few significant, if not at all crucial, faults.

The Elder Scrolls series has always had one thing above all else in its favor: depth. "Morrowind" is no exception, though it somehow feels shallower than "Arena." To anyone unfamiliar with the series at large, though, the world may appear so vast that, initially, it's downright confounding. Without the official Bethesda guide, you stand no chance whatsoever of discovering everything that the game has to offer, and even then you may miss a few things here and there. I dare say the developers themselves could be surprised every now and again if you were to set them down in front of the game. It's so huge you have to see it to believe it. Freedom is the name of this particular game, and you are limited only by Morrowind's surrounding seas and your own statistics. If you want a game to last you a year or more, even if you play it constantly, then "Morrowind" is the one to get.

However, despite all of its successes, "Morrowind" has its fair share of problems - especially if, like me, you are an avid fan of the series, and have been playing it these past ten years. For starters, though the game's graphics are generally excellent, the whole province of Morrowind is lacking in diversity. Many of the game's villages and cities look much like one another in all but their layout (with a few exceptions), and even the game's dungeons are difficult to distinguish from one another. To make matters worse, there are few vivid colors. Everything has a drab, washed out look to it, which further subdues any variety in the scenery. The more one plays, the more annoying this becomes - particularly if you're an Elder Scrolls vet. I miss the varied landscapes of "Arena" and even "Daggerfall." I miss traversing the marshlands and deserts and snowscapes of Tamriel, and delighting in that variety. "Morrowind" just sticks you in one dusty province and leaves you there. The weather effects do provide some nice ambience, but don't expect to see the seasons change in the "Arena" or "Daggerfall" mold. You may have just as much freedom to roam, but it's not as exciting as it used to be.

A tighter main storyline would certainly have helped the game to gel a little better. There is very little story to speak of here, and too often you will find yourself playing errand boy instead of adventurer. Personally, I would rather the main story's quests involve more combat and less banter with NPCs - and I would certainly rather not spend as much of the game running from point A all the way to point B, which may or may not be half-way across the province. On top of that, most of what you will find between point A and point B is predictable, and leaves little room for excitement, or the thrill of discovery which was so prevalent in the earlier Elder Scrolls games. And why do you have to READ all the text in a modern PC game? I understand that if an actor were hired to voice every NPC in the game, the game would never be finished, given the extent and variety of the stuff, but there is no reason why pivotal characters in the main quest should not be voiced. That would make the story more compelling, certainly - because I don't play PC games to read thousands upon thousands of words of text. If I wanted that, I would go buy a novel. If "Knights of the Old Republic" can voice virtually every character in the game, then "Morrowind" can certainly voice its primary players.

The real fun to be had in "Morrowind," oddly enough, does not come from completing the primary storyline (which is not even required). No, the real fun comes from joining guilds and performing quests for them as you rise in their ranks - or from doing your very own thing. If you want to simply wander the province, explore dungeons, and kill lots and lots of monsters, you can do that, and it's quite fun. The combat is not very involved, but some of the more powerful and well-modeled enemies will certainly give you a thrill. Besides that, there is more than enough loot in Morrowind to satisfy any would-be treasure hunter. If you're looking for a fantasy roleplaying game that's all about a tight, cinematic story, you had better look elsewhere. If it's freedom you crave, then you'll have it with "Morrowind." You can even become a vampire and stalk the living. How is that for freedom?

All in all, "Morrowind" is a fantastic game, though it can sometimes feel more like work than play. Still, it does not hold a candle to "Arena," though its predecessor is nearly ten years old - but few roleplaying games do, to be quite honest. For all its disappointments, "Morrowind" is certainly worth the effort, and will provide a nice escape from the mundane.

Final Score: B-

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I wanted to like this game. I really, really wanted to like this game. I was a huge fan of Daggerfall and spent countless hours playing that game. I expected more of this game.
* The world graphics are amazingly realistic, but are drab in color.
* The NPC's are lifeless and drone like. The world feels very empty and dark.
* Soo many things seem to be randomly generated or at least created with no uniqueness. Names, dungeons, items.
* The Character models are all ugly. When I say ugly I do not mean bad artwork, I mean (If I met this guy on the street I would jump)ugly. They also all seem to suffer from bolemia or anarexia.
* Missions and quests are uninspiring

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: *snore* Wake me when it's over.
Review: People are raving about this game because the graphics are fantastic, the world is huge, and the gameplay is open-ended.

Okay, but it's still not working for me.

1. "The graphics are lovely!" Right. Well, I don't buy computer games for the cool graphics. I really kind of want to play an interesting GAME. :p

2. "The world is huge!" Huge and boooorrrringggg. Look, it's all well and good to say the world is massive, but it's populated with the same annoying monsters, the same dungeons (only their tongue-twister names set them apart), the same boring tombs, and many many towns and villages populated with drone-like NPCs.

3. "The gameplay is so open-ended! There are a bizillion quests!" Yeah, and most of them are errands that have you trudging back and forth across the massive, grey/tan world fetching this or delivering that. *yawn* I actually found myself stopping to put in a load of laundry or vacuum the carpet, and not going back to the game at all. When housework is more interesting and challenging than the game, it's not a good sign.

4. So... I guess what I'm saying is, it just didn't capture my imagination or hold my attention. I've been dawdling around with this thing for weeks trying to finish it, but I always seem to have something better to do. I give up. If this is the future of RPGs, I guess I'm going to have to start reading more. Ohh, no cool graphics though! ;)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Overhyped Monotony
Review: The first 9 or 10 hours playing Morrowind will keep you entranced and interested. The graphics are great (although for the system requirements, the maximum view / clipping is disapointing, even with all video options maxxed out), and there are some neat features. But before long, the bugs and quirks of this game get absolutely frusturating. They pile up and pile up, until all these little things turn into a huge problem. Here's a short list of the flaws:

1.) NO QUEST LOG. There are hundreds of quests, and no way to efficently keep track of them. This was mended in the expansion sets, which you have to be High level and pay another 30 bucks for, but why bother.
2.) RIDICULOUS NAMES. Quests become convoluted and confusing because the people you need to see and the places you need to go have names that were created by someone slamming on the keyboard and running 5 syllables of consonants together. After the hundredth "Erabenimsum," "Assarnibibi," "Nchfulgenbengrog," and "Shazbolg mun-Ngrobozsl" you just don't care anymore.
3.) CRASH BOOM CRASH. The game is filled with technical bugs, including crashing to desktop just by loading a game, picking up certain items, etc., and this is AFTER I downloaded the HUGE patch off the official website.
4.) SHUT UP, PEOPLE! Just walking past people makes them talk to you, saying things like "Yes? What? What do you want, Outlander? Make it Quick! Say what you want!" This sounds small, but after you hear the same things 1000 times over and over again, you're compelled to slay entire towns. Characters really shouldn't engage you unless you engage them first.
5.) MONOTONY. All ruins look the same, all mines, all forests, all landscapes. Does not have the interesting diversity of, say, EVERQUEST. All areas are repetitious and therefore eventually dull and boring. All side quests are esentially the same: "find item, give it to someone" or "defeat this enemy, then come back to me." BORING!
6.) THAT'S ALL? By level 10 you're able to obtain armor and weapons that enable you to face and defeat anything, especially with a few potions. Nevertheless, every rat and bird ("cliff racer") will attack you at every step. Poor combat system and design.
7.) FREEDOM? NO. You DON'T get to do anything you want. Even if no one sees you slay someone or steal from them, somehow everyone in the world instantly knows what you've done and the game freezes... you can't travel anywhere or buy and sell. Do it enough and you can't even pay a fine; you're attacked by all guards, esentially making you start the game over. Not so non-linear after all.
8.) HARD WORK FOR NOTHING. I climbed to the rank of GuildMaster of the Fighter's Guild, but you don't get to send people on missions, travel with them, give orders or anything. You can't even unlock locked doors in your own guild! Or you're thrown out of the guild entirely! LAME and POINTLESS.

That's just a short list. The game has some merits, and some interesting factions and story, but I think people have been praising this game for its ambitions rather than its acomplishments. Someday someone will perfect a single-player "EverQuest" non-linear game, but Morrowind is far, far from perfect, sadly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Genius
Review: This game is wonderful. I bought it several months ago and still play it. There are just so many different "lifestyles" that beating the main quest once means your only about 1% done with the game. The map is HUUUUUUUGGEEEE and you'll often stop your travels to admire the landscapes. There are a huge variety of races in Morrowind each with different advantages. When you create your character, you can choose the race, the class (sort of like your "specilaty" you can also make your own class) and your birthsign. These all effect which path you will take in Morrowind. The Main quest assigns you as a member of the Blades, an elite orginazation of adventurers that do the Emperor's dirty work. Throughout your journey you'll find hundreds of pieces of armor, thousands of weapons, and millions of spells (you can also hire a spellmaker to make a spell for you). Two things that really add to the game are enchanting and alchemy. There are several varieties of "ingredients" in morrowind that you can combine to make potions. These ingredients can be anything from rat meat to mold to bonedust to Daedric hearts to diamonds. If your skilled in alchemy, you can make very effective potions that sell for quite a pretty penny. Enchanting is great also. You can enchant a weapon wiht a spell (for example) so the spell is automatically cast when the weapon strikes an enemy. you can enchant an article of clothing with constant effect chameleon for an invisibility advantage. Simply put, there are so many things to do in this game, I cannot describe them in one review. Every character in the game is interactive, you can talk to them, or kill them. Its up to you. There is a law system too. You will be punished for stealing (you can steal annnnnnything except furniture.) or killing or attacking or any other threat to the public just like in real life. You dont even have to follow the main story line. I dont. You can join a guild and do their jobs (there are several guilds including fighters guild, theives guild, mages guild, house hllau, house televanni, house rederan, the Morag Tong, etc) You can do freelance work and just tour the island for people who need help. You can make decisions too. For example, you find a women who says she will give you the boots of blinding speed, a pair of boots that increase your speed by 200 points if you escort her to a far away town. Do you live the life of honor and escort her or do you live the life of greed and kill her and loot her body of the boots? Its up to you. The game never ends. There are regular creatures like rats and bugs, there are evil spirits called Daedra. There are ghosts there are cult worshipers there are greedy theives. There is everything. This game is fantastic with astronomical replay value.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great expansion to Vvardenfell
Review: I found this to be a lot more fun than the Tribunal expansion for Morrowind. You get a new continenent (smallish) to explore that's a refreshing change for the sometimes gloomy Vvardenfell -- there's snowy weather and a Nordic theme to everything. Also, there are tons of places to explore, some great new weapons and armor, and I felt the side quests were a lot more engaging than Tribunal's. You can play the Bloodmoon main quest parallel to the Nerevarine main quest or afterward since the plot lines are completely independent. Finally, I found the game to be more stable (the core version changes to 1.5.1629) than the patched version of original Morrowind, and if you are nevertheless having crash-to-desktop problems you should check some of the many Morrowind sites out there for some tweaks to the game that may help. Altogether a good buy and plenty of fun :)


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