Morrowind for the Xbox is nearly identical to Morrowind for the PC, and yet the PC version of the game has a much more storied history. Morrowind started its development for the PC, and this game will be the third installment in a series that spans nearly a decade. So the stakes don't get much higher: Morrowind is the follow-up to Daggerfall, a 1996 role-playing game that is as famous for its incredibly ambitious size and scope as it is infamous for its bug-ridden release.

　　Morrowind is filled with thousands of colorful characters, all of whom you can talk to. Daggerfall is one of the best examples of love-it-or-hate-it gaming. Some players, either by luck or by willpower, overlooked the game's flaws and found in it one of the most immersive, longest-lasting role-playing games (RPGs) to date. Yet others were disappointed and couldn't get past Daggerfall's problems. Given all the tumult over Daggerfall, you'd expect that Bethesda, the developer and publisher of the game, would narrow its sights for the next sequel in the Elder Scrolls series. It would be so much easier to make a simpler game. But rather than take the easy route, Bethesda sought to one-up itself with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a game whose size and scope rival even that of Daggerfall. It's this game that will be the very first true role-playing game for the Xbox. Considering the system has already set some very high standards for itself, and by now lacks only a great RPG to round out its software library, perhaps the stakes are high for the console version of Morrowind too.

　　2622653We covered the PC version of Morrowind extensively almost two years ago. Surprisingly or not, the game's design has remained almost fully intact since then. Now the game is close to completion and we've gotten our hands on a playable build, so we're bringing you some more important details on what you can expect. Is Morrowind going to be all it's cracked up to be--is this truly the RPG to end them all? Perhaps more importantly, is it buggy? You'll soon find out.

　　There's plenty of detail in the scenery, though there's some pop-up on the horizon. Morrowind's production values are great, though less striking on the Xbox than on a high-end PC. Currently, the game's frame rate isn't completely smooth, and some of the character models look a bit awkward. However, the game's visual design is original, and its level of detail is rather amazing. The game's detailed 3D characters and environments aren't just for show--they're what make you feel like you're actually in the game's fantasy world. The entire game can be played from your character's first-person perspective (though you can optionally switch to a third-person viewpoint too). You control a single character throughout the game, and the game never takes you out of the central role. In Morrowind you'll spend equal amounts of time exploring, conversing with nonplayer characters (NPCs), and fighting--either with weapons or with magic.

　　That's putting it simply. Then again, Morrowind is perhaps a simple game at heart. It doesn't necessarily try to reinvent any of the fantasy role-playing conventions you may already be familiar with. In fact, if you've ever played a role-playing game for the PC, let alone the Xbox's own Halo, then you'll probably find Morrowind to be highly accessible. This is clearly one of the game's strong suits--it does a fine job of getting you started and integrates some very simple yet effective lessons on how to play into the first few minutes of the game. Morrowind may bear similarities to other RPGs, but it's far more ambitious than most. Read on to find out how.

　　It doesn't take very long to realize that Morrowind is a huge game. Though you have a clear objective early on in the game, you soon realize that there's no particular reason why you need to get to it right away. You could opt instead to explore the town or head north, south, east, or west and see where the roads take you. It's a startling realization: Morrowind's scope is not typical of a single-player role-playing game but is instead more like what you'd find in one of the PC's massively multiplayer RPGs like EverQuest or Ultima Online--games people have been playing for years, partly due to the size of the gameworlds. Yet unlike in those games, none of the scenery in Morrowind is filler--it's all rich with detail down to the unique species of plant life that grow throughout the land's lush regions. Early on, you may be commissioned to bring back samples of local fungus or flowers--that's one occasion when it might dawn on you just how rich Morrowind's world really is. Morrowind has more types of mushrooms in it than some RPGs have weapons.

　　Beware of venturing too far off the beaten path--enemies abound. The details aren't all so mundane. Bethesda cites that the game includes more than 3,000 NPCs, more than 300 dungeons, more than 500 basic spells, and more than 200 types of creatures. The NPCs are mostly all unique, with their own faces, personalities, affiliations, and dialogue. Though most conversation in Morrowind is in text--no surprise, considering the game contains thousands of pages' worth of dialogue--the game does make effective use of some speech to give you a better sense of the characters' personalities.

　　The design philosophy behind Morrowind is therefore apparent. It is to have all of Daggerfall's best qualities--that game's complete open-endedness should be retained intact in every aspect of the design. Yet Morrowind is also to be far more accessible and approachable than Daggerfall ever was. Daggerfall was a very intimidating game, after all. And to be fair, Morrowind doesn't exactly hold your hand either. Minutes into the game, you're all alone and free to do whatever you want. But you do have a concise journal describing those tasks that have been set forth for you, and it's easy to get your bearings using the game's automap feature or the numerous signposts that you'll find throughout the world. Morrowind is also very easy to control. Anytime a dialogue window or inventory display pops up, the interface will clearly label how to do what. Meanwhile, movement in Morrowind is the same as in Halo or Max Payne--chances are you'll pick it right up. Considering the game's magnitude, it's remarkably accessible.

　　You can alternately play from a third-person perspective. Bethesda doesn't yet wish to divulge the specifics of how you create your character, but suffice it to say that there's massive variety in Morrowind in terms of the types of characters you can choose to play as. There are dozens of different skills that you can learn and improve, either by paying to train in them or just by using them repeatedly. To balance this out, Morrowind essentially places characters into one of three standard RPG character classes: fighters, thieves, and magic users. Depending on which of these basic templates you adopt, you'll be more or less capable at different skills, and you'll be able to approach the game's innumerable challenges in different ways. Expect multiple solutions to every situation--brute force is generally an option, but so is persuasion or subterfuge. Can Morrowind truly live up to all this? Find out next.

　　Morrowind has an undeniably ambitious design that rivals that of most other games in existence. Ambitious is one thing, though, and execution is another. While we've known about the lofty intentions of the Morrowind design team for years, we've only recently been able to spend a considerable amount of time with the fruits of their labors--and in a word, we're impressed. But the game isn't finished yet. Though Morrowind is scheduled to ship in the weeks to come, the build we played includes a written addendum that has a laundry list of known issues currently in the game--and those are only the known issues. Given a game as vast and open-ended as Morrowind, one can only imagine how much of a painstaking task it must be to uncover all of the possible bugs and glitches that could crop up. For our part, we've experienced glitches with this beta build, although by and large, it's been highly playable.

　　The game's interface is easy to get used to. Equipping and trading items is simple. For Bethesda's part, the company makes every assurance that it will continue to work on Morrowind until it's ready. What else would you expect? Given that Morrowind has spent years and years in the making, it seems only reasonable that Bethesda would make absolutely certain that the game was in perfect shape before it shipped, especially since, unlike on the PC, on the Xbox the company won't have the luxury of being able to issue patches to correct any problems that crop up post-release. This assurance, along with the quality already evident in what we've seen of Morrowind, makes us hopeful that Bethesda will follow through with Morrowind all the way to the end.

　　The PC version of Morrowind will ship with a construction set that will let players build or customize any aspect of the game--a substantial bonus, one that Xbox owners will unfortunately have to live without. A version of the construction set just wouldn't be practical on a console. The good news is, Morrowind doesn't need a construction set to be a great game--it's shaping up to be a truly massive RPG just as it is. In fact, if you've been holding off on buying an Xbox, biding your time until its first great RPG, then Morrowind may well have what it takes to convince you that the system truly does have it all.

　　Morrowind promises countless hours of role-playing. That's some bold prophesying, but Morrowind deserves it. The game is clearly in its homestretch--it's feature-complete and already filled with countless great sights and sounds. All that's left is that all-important stage of fine-tuning, which has made or broken countless games in the past. Bethesda is no stranger to the fine-tuning process. Though Daggerfall gained some notoriety due to some of the serious bugs that affected the initial release, in the end, Bethesda fixed it up in a series of patches. And now Daggerfall is remembered with fondness--and the fact that it's remembered at all already speaks volumes. There's every reason to be excited about Morrowind, but on the PC side, a lot of people are excited about it because it's the sequel to Daggerfall. When you put that in perspective, and when you consider that Morrowind now stands poised to completely supersede its predecessor, it's hard to imagine just how much impact the game will have if it ends up like it's supposed to. But impact is one thing--we're excited about Morrowind not because it might just set a new high-water mark for open-ended role-playing gaming, but because it's shaping up to be a truly remarkable game in its own right.