Skyrim vs Oblivion vs Morrowind

[tmx]

Morrowind is special for me. Mainly because it has such a different and mysterious atmosphere, I guess its beside the point for most gamers who won't be reading into Elder Scroll lores. I can understand why people dislike the bleak landscape, but it appeal to me. Oblivion saw a departure to the conventional and related to the general topic of dungeon and dragons and lord of the rings, same as Skyrim, its stuff I've already seen, so it didn't have the same charm. The same goes with Jeremy Soule composing, he really expanded and improves over time. The newer scores are easier to appeal to the emotions, while Morrowind required a bit of imagination. That is not to say I'm not loving the Skyrim scores as well. I guess it's a game that required more input so its less appealing on that aspect. Edited November 18, 2011 by tmx

[Merkvah]

I started playing Morrowind twice. Both times I ended up very deep in some area where everything had many, MANY levels on me. And while those uber orcs or birds or whatever were quite happy to let me come INTO their land, they refused to let me leave. So I ended up dying a hundred times and quitting both attempts. I'm thinking I may have to have another go at it, though... all of your comments on how great it was make me think I was missing something integral.

 

I played Oblivion for 5 years. It actually overtook The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as my favorite game ever. It was my first real entry into the Elder Scrolls, though, so I have the nostalgia for Oblivion that most of you have for Morrowind. I played through all of the Oblivion quest-lines I could find, and each of the faction quests many times. The Thieves guild quest in Oblivion was absolutely EPIC, and the main questline was almost as brilliant. The night before Skyrim launched, I was playing Oblivion.

 

That said, once I got my Skyrim disk, I've put nothing else into my Xbox. I have no desire to play Halo: Reach or Portal 2 or even my beloved Oblivion, and I haven't logged into EverQuest 2 in so long my guild leader is sending me texts and e-cards hoping I get better. I wish Skyrim had been pushed back a few months to fix some of the bugs and glitches, but Bethesda has already promised to patch it soon. I can't really vote against Oblivion right now, because of all that history, but I'm becoming convinced that Skyrim is a better game. I only have 30 or so hours in Skyrim, but I can definitely see it lasting as long as Oblivion did for me.

[Karasuman]

Morrowind>Oblivion=Skyrim.

 

Even without a technology facelift I still think Morrowind is best for a few reasons, with Skyrim and Oblivion trading shots with each other because while I think Skyrim does some things better than Oblivion, I also think it does some things worse. If Morrowind *did* get a complete engine overhaul, it would murder Skyrim and Oblivion both.

 

Why? Because Morrowind simply gave you more options than the other two. Many more. In Morrowind, I can choose to specialize in many specific weapon types, even spears. Did the people in Skyrim and Cyrodiil forget there was such a thing as a spear? I suppose so. Did the Dwemer run out of crossbows after Morrowind? I think I'll specialize in Mysticism in Skyrim! Wait, no i won't, because it disappeared too. I am not crazy about attribute removal in Skyrim either. In the previous games, you could craft a very specific type of character and there was almost no end to the possibilities. Even without perks, I still felt Morrowind's (and Oblivion's, for that matter) character development was deeper because there was more variety and more choices you could make. Another example: Once upon a time, I had 3 clans of vampires to choose from, each with their own distinct advantages/bonuses. It goes on and on.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Skyrim's still a really good game. I think Oblivion is too. But Morrowind had so much going for it. It was/is truly unique from a stylistic sense, gave you way more options, and character development was deeper imo. If Morrowind had today's tech behind it, it wouldn't even be close. That is just my opinion.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Karasuman

[doddibot]

Oblivion: 231 quests

 

231? That seems a bit too high of a number to be right? Source?

It's the number of pages here: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Category:Oblivion-Quests

[thecatsme0w]

I hate the new UI :( I never played Morrowind but I played Oblivion to death and I loved the UI for it. This new one is going to take a LOT of getting used to - and while I'd consider letting my 10 year old play Oblivion, the intro scene for Skyrim makes this one totally off limits for her.

[TomMerritt]

I certainly spent the most hours in Morrowind with it's two expansion packs. If you remember, however, a lot of these hours were spent running long distances to get somewhere. Morrowind really "beefed out" the Imperial Codex, and Bethesta has been remarkably consistent with it. I'm loving Skyrim, and it remains to be seen how "deep" it is. From everyting I've read, I'm not going to be disapointed.

 

They're all fantastic, and it would be tough to put them in order. Right now, for depth, I'd say MW, SK, OB. For beauty, OB, SK, MW although if MW had today's graphics, it might have been the best. For the UI, I'd say OB, MW, SK. I really hate Skyrim's user interface.

 

Talk to me again it a week or two, and I may have changed my mind.

[smogy]

Skyrim is a close second to Morrowind, it does some things better, but it also has taken steps backward in other places. Aside from the Shivering Isles Oblivion doesn't get much in the way of consideration--this is especially true since with a texture overhaul my version of Morrowind looks almost, if not as good as vanilla Oblivion. I have been pretty impressed with the cities in Skyrim, they are also more populated a definite point in Skyrim's favor, but I haven't quite had that coming out of the rain and fog to see the first canton of Vivec moment yet, though seeing Whiterun for the first time came close as have a couple of other discoveries.

[Martin126X]

Morrowind is the best of course, every one who doesn't agree is simply wrong :P

Skyrim is surprisingly good, even as a console port. I'm loving it and I can't wait for mod tools to come out.

And Oblivion.... Well, let's be honest, it sucks big gorilla bolls. I is terrible, the level scaling, shitty generated world, uninteresting main storyline. I could go on forever. Of course with FCOM, UL, MM and a couple other big mods it turns into an amazing game but as vanilla it's still absolutely s***.

Beth did a good job with Skyrim, the dumbing down hurts but it's worth the awesome world and atmosphere they created.

[f3nex]

Morrowind by far.

 

The whole Telvanni style with mages living in giant mushrooms, Vivec architecture, Silt Striders and so on gave it a truly unique flair. There was a strong fantasy vibe in Morrowind, something both Oblivion and Skyrim don't have as much of.

[smogy]

Daggerfall: 248 quests

Morrowind: 426 quests

Oblivion: 231 quests

Skyrim: 189 quests (including major and miscelleaneous)

 

Morrowind: 1195 NPCs

Oblivion: 992 NPCs

Skyrim: 1078 NPCs

 

Morrowind: Cliff racers

Skyrim: Big cliff racers (i.e. dragons).

 

Somehow I just knew they wouldn't be able to measure up with quest numbers. Sigh... and here I was hoping I would get to really feel a part of the companions like I did the fighters guild in Morrowind.