PS3 Shocking!

[OckhamsFolly]

Nostalgia, my young, naive, friend.

I don't mean to be overly serious, but that's an almost insulting oversimplification there.

Yes, Skyrim is mechanically better. But it really is the only real strength it has over Morrowind. It's not any larger, and it's not any more detailed in any respect other than how many leaves you can make out on the trees.

Here, look at the House Hlaalu page.

Do you see the sheer number of quests you have there? It's 5 times as many quests as, say, the Companions. And, unlike the Companions, not every quest is "Go to dungeon X and clear it." If you delve into individual quests, there's alternate resolutions to many of them.

Of course, House Hlaalu is a complex political entity and not really equivalent to the Companions. So look at The Fighter's Guild.

31 quests (really 29, as there is a pair of 2-quest sets that are mutually exclusive with each other), still not all "kill people here," also whith alternate solutions. There is also an overarching plotline of war with the thieves' guild, which can get very tricky to navigate if you're also a thief. But you actually can decide how it plays out and your earlier actions in the questline reflect this.

Also remember that you can't fast travel at will or have quest markers, so for those seemingly simpler quests, sometimes getting there is the adventure, exploring and traveling Vvardenfell's unique world.

Morrowind wove a complex tapestry of a narrative, one you directly had a say in. Granted, while I wouldn't call it nostalgia, knowing just how deep the rabbit hole goes does make it easier to accept the technical datedness of the game. Please don't dismiss appreciation and love of this gem as nostalgia, as you're ignoring the many, many merits this game does have.

 

[Crooksin]

I don't mean to be overly serious, but that's an almost insulting oversimplification there.

Yes, Skyrim is mechanically better. But it really is the only real strength it has over Morrowind. It's not any larger, and it's not any more detailed in any respect other than how many leaves you can make out on the trees.

Here, look at the House Hlaalu page.

Do you see the sheer number of quests you have there? It's 5 times as many quests as, say, the Companions. And, unlike the Companions, not every quest is "Go to dungeon X and clear it." If you delve into individual quests, there's alternate resolutions to many of them.

Of course, House Hlaalu is a complex political entity and not really equivalent to the Companions. So look at The Fighter's Guild.

31 quests (really 29, as there is a pair of 2-quest sets that are mutually exclusive with each other), still not all "kill people here," also whith alternate solutions. There is also an overarching plotline of war with the thieves' guild, which can get very tricky to navigate if you're also a thief. But you actually can decide how it plays out and your earlier actions in the questline reflect this.

Also remember that you can't fast travel at will or have quest markers, so for those seemingly simpler quests, sometimes getting there is the adventure, exploring and traveling Vvardenfell's unique world.

Morrowind wove a complex tapestry of a narrative, one you directly had a say in. Granted, while I wouldn't call it nostalgia, knowing just how deep the rabbit hole goes does make it easier to accept the technical datedness of the game. Please don't dismiss appreciation and love of this gem as nostalgia, as you're ignoring the many, many merits this game does have.

When did stating playing an old game out of nostalgia mean what I was actually saying the game sucks so bad that the only reason why it would be played is nostalgia? I think thats an insulting overcomplication there.

I still play Oblivion, and its still a great game gameplay-wise and what not but Skyrim is better in almost every way (minus the skill/level system), as it should be. In fact, I had more fun playing Oblivion the first time around then I did playing Skyrim. I played Morrowind, didn't like it, but probably due to the fact that I never played it until after Skyrim but I can still tell you that its one of the better games of its time and if I had played it in the years around its release I probably would've liked it much better. No reason to jump the gun on me like some fanboy.

 

[Gowsh]

It all depends on what you're looking for.

I've just completed Morrowind (maybe 75% of the quests and spots of interest, maybe more) and I had a wonderful time. It took around 70 hrs and kept me pleasantly immersed in the world of Tamriel, just as Skyrim did. More care and planning was required and the emphasis was on the quest, the roleplay and character development. Despite being mainly a fighter, my final char knew well over 100 different spells, wore 5 or 6 different pieces of armor in several different makes. The journal of his adventures was over 500 (smallish) pages long.

If your emphasis is on straightforward play and good combat, more power to you and Skyrim's your game. Otherwise, the previous TES games can still have a high entertainment value.

 

[Anthrax]

The thing that most people miss, or they don't quite understand is the narrative and sequence of events of the story which is very much apparent here.

Unlike chronicles and movies (e.g. Lord of the Rings, Starwars etc) a trilogy created first before the base story. For instance the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings was created before the Hobbit. Premature followups to the main narrative. In The Elder Scrolls titles we see this is different, it's a sequel process. So in order to truly appreciate the story, or understand it in a way that you are better attuned in the world and you are susceptible to other sequels gives one that capacity to fully understand future titles and speak from a basis that has a fundamental understanding of both story-line and mechanics of the game. It's that gap that most new comers have, not because it's their fault as such, but because like any other thing they new comers in this spectrum, who are playing the latest game, so they conditioned to that level of sophistication and perception of the art/graphics. To look back on the others is a sort of throw back down a by-gone era in a shock at how ancient Morrowind was or out close to tetris was Daggerfall and ho it simulated Minesweeper.

It's natural for people to be like this. But one should not be heavily critical on by-gone titles and state that Skyrim is perfection. Each title is different, like every bird has different coloured feathers. The multiplicity is vast and for someone to say that one is favourable over the other remains an opinion based on no fundamental understanding if that individual hasn't experienced all facets of each title in question.

 

[OckhamsFolly]

When did stating playing an old game out of nostalgia mean what I was actually saying the game sucks so bad that the only reason why it would be played is nostalgia? I think thats an insulting overcomplication there.

I still play Oblivion, and its still a great game gameplay-wise and what not but Skyrim is better in almost every way, as it should be. In fact, I had more fun playing Oblivion the first time around then I did playing Skyrim. I played Morrowind, didn't like it, but probably due to the fact that I never played it until after Skyrim but I can still tell you that its one of the better games of its time and if I had played it in the years around its release I probably would've liked it much better. No reason to jump the gun on me like some fanboy.

I apologize that I gave offense with my post. I was simply trying to make clear how citing nostalgia as a major motivating force is inaccurate, which I felt that you did by using it as the answer to Stormy's question without any qualifiers and exacerbated by the usage of the word "naive." I feel that it is detrimental in describing a great game to someone who has never played it; if someone tells you people love a game because of nostalgia, does that encourage you to give it a shot?

I never said or meant to imply that you meant that Morrowind sucks, merely that reducing why people play it to that particular one sentence does not do it justice, and tried to provide briefly some of my reasons for feeling that is the case. I again apologize that I gave you that implication.

 

[jRi0T68]

Honest question: As I haven't played any previous TES title, do Morrowind and Oblivion have a modding community like Skyrim? It's possible my ancient PCs can run those and I'd be interested, especially if there are graphics mods out there.

Hard to learn when you can't even figure out which public restroom to use (men's or women's)... -Z

 

[OckhamsFolly]

Honest question: As I haven't played any previous TES title, do Morrowind and Oblivion have a modding community like Skyrim? It's possible my ancient PCs can run those and I'd be interested, especially if there are graphics mods out there.

Hard to learn when you can't even figure out which public restroom to use (men's or women's)... -Z

Yes, they both have many mods. Checking out Morrowind Nexus - Morrowind mods and community For Morrowind and Oblivion Nexus - Oblivion mods and community for Oblivion!

 

[Stormy]

Nostalgia, my young, naive, friend.

Naive yes! but i am expressing MY OPINION.. i am claiming nothing and do not understand anthrax's arguement what so ever, Thank for understanding guys and anthrax your name calling and attitude are unwelcome, You clearly don't like the thread so just forget about it, Thanks c:

 

[Subtle]

Man Morrowind was damn awesome! It was just as complex lore wise as Skyrim is now, but the graphics and gameplay was no where near where it is today. You get used to it though, and I don't know about you, but I buy RPG's for the story not so much the gameplay.