by Frederick Kessinger

Created on: December 18, 2008   Last Updated: March 20, 2012

Most people that are truly addicted to Morrowind would readily admit to such, although I am not so sure addicted' is the proper term to use. Perhaps obsessed' or consumed' would be more appropriate, but even those terms have negative connotations. The best comparison that can be made to show a non-gamer, or even a non-Morrowind playing gamer the reason hours upon hours of time can be spent playing Morrowind is to compare it to reading an absolutely incredible book. Actually, it would have to be compared to a series of incredible books that never ends, because the game never truly ends.

More than any other game out there, (even its successor Oblivion,) Morrowind immerses the player in the world of Vvardenfel to such an extent that it is like escaping into a good book, except that you get to control the story line. Even after the completion of the main story quest, there are hours and hours of game play left with all of the areas to explore and the side quests that you may not have completed along the way. And if you do manage to complete everything, there are dozens and dozens of player made add-ons that you can install to keep the adventure going.

The only linear part of the entire game is the first few minutes of character generation. After that, the sky is the limit (at least until you develop enough magical ability to levitate indefinitely.) The main plot quest and the various guild progression quests are set in a definite order, but you can choose not to do them at all if you wish and still explore the entire map.

Most of the thrill of a fantasy game of this genre is the progression of your character and the discovery of new items, skills and places. With many games that progression gets old very fast. Many games turn into the kill monsters, get gold, get equipment, gain levels, kill bigger monsters, get more gold, etc. With Morrowind the level progression is seamless as far as skills are concerned, and the actual character level progression is simply an opportunity to distribute points to your various main attributes. Skills raise in level based on how much you use them, so it really resembles a practice makes perfect' experience.

Because of this seamless leveling system, you don't fall into the routine of level progression, and can instead focus on more important things like does this cuirass look good on me?' I have owned a copy of Morrowind since it came out, and I still play it today on occasion. I am not addicted to the game. I can stop playing at any time, just like I can put a good book down at any time and pick up where I left off later. There are times, though, when you just want to finish that chapter before you put it down. And of course, sometimes that makes you want to read just a little of the next chapter, and, well, you get the picture.

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