Story: When you first start the game, you don't really find out many things. You find yourself a prisoner to the Imperials, which uphold the law and justice in the land of Morrowind, and all you do know is you shall play an important part in the nations history. The moment you step pass the opening cut scene, you're awakened inside an Imperial prison ship with another NPC. Right away you speak with him, and right away you begin to learn the controls and feel of the game. There are only a few more things told to you. The emperor has requested you be brought to Morrowind, for unknown reasons. You must deliver a package to Cauis Cassades, an old man addicted to a drug known as Skooma, and begin a new life in Morrowind. You're a free man, with no money. For starters, you'll notice there isn't much of a story to the game at all at first. All you're told to do is obey your orders, as Cauis is the Spymaster of the Imperial Spy Legion, known as the Blades. This can be found as a serious flaw in the game. Don't worry though, the story truly rewards you. As you continue, you learn of the Nerevarine Prophecies. You learn that the Emperor, Uriel Septim believes that you may fulfill these prophecies. This is when it gets VERY interesting, to say the least.

You learn of the devil himself, Dagoth Ur. A God who has plagued and blighted the land of Morrowind for many years. You learn that, no matter what anybody has been able to do, Dagoth Ur cannot fall. Of course, then you find out that you're everyone's' last hope. That's nice to know, isn't it?! You will learn of the many people who had been also once thought of as the Nerevarine, but whom had all failed. You meet with many important people at this time in the game, who initially begin to prepare you for what could be a War with Dagoth Ur and his army. Dagoth Ur has been caged inside of Red Mountain, where he cannot escape. As you continue, you find out that what is known as the Ghostfence, is not working to fully protect Morrowind from the blight. The blight, which are those storms of annoying red dust from Red Mountain, cause a special disease. An incurable disease. The disease is known as Corprus, and it distorts your bones, forming you into a hideous evil looking thing. Really, you don't want to mess with these guys. Finally, you will be given special items, and the directions to Ghostgate and Red Mountain. There, after what are known as the Seven Trials, you will face Dagoth Ur. Only after you've proven yourself to the people of Morrowind, only then may you venture off into this evil infested mountain. He who was once your friend, Dagoth Ur, is now your enemy. You have to destroy him, and you have to find out his ultimate plan... Just when the story could not get any more compelling as it has, it throws a curveball right at you... Putting in the many hours you will to get to the final stages of this engrossing story, you will learn to love and cherish it. You will hang on the edge of your seat, waiting for your chance to not only strike, but unravel the many mysteries of Dagoth Ur and his plans. Bethesda delivers something quite more original than most console RPGs in this game, and something many may or may not love.

Gameplay: One of, if not the single most important aspect of any video game is it's Gameplay. Without gameplay, even with the best graphics, the best story and sound, you cannot have a truly epic adventure without good gameplay. To put in a nutshell, Bethesda delivers a truly easy set of controls and gameplay style that anyone can easily get accustomed to the game in a matter of thirty minutes, tops. When you begin the game, from the get-go you're given the controls step by step. If you're familiar with Bungie's critically acclaimed Halo, then you'll realize how similar both games control from the first person view. That should easily make it a snap to get the hang of the game. The flow of the game is very well done, as the NPCs ask you questions pertaining to your character. These make the game more believable and realistic, and help you customize your character to the way you chose. Of course, that doesn't go to say the game lacks quite a bit at the beginning. You may get VERY frustrated with many things in the game. As you may have already known, this isn't the typical RPG like many are accustomed to. I.e. The Final Fantasy series.

To begin with, the fighting system of the game is very different. It's more of an hack 'n' slash type fighting system, where you just throw those punches or swing your sword, axe or whathaveyou to enemy. To hit said enemy is a different story. The damage you do and, more importantly, if you can even hit the enemy comes into play very early on. You'll notice yourself seemingly hitting a monster or person, yet said enemy will show no signs of pain at all. Then, after a few shots maybe you'll see some blood shed off the enemy when you attack. Thankfully, once you train the skill, which may or may take long; depending on the individual you'll see how easy the fighting system is. It may get repetitive, but then again, always mashing the X button in other RPGs is a little boring after a while as well, doesn't it?

You might also get very annoyed with the speed of your characters. You'll see how when your character runs, some NPCs may WALK faster than you can run! It'll take you nearly an eternity to get from point A to point B at first. However, as with the fighting system, you must gain your levels and train, and it won't take you as long anymore. These minor things may turn people off from the game, but if you give it time, it rewards you. After about two-four hours of playing, the bad gameplay at the beginning of the game becomes a thing of the past, and you're already too busy exploring an old Dwemer ruin to remember the frustration from the beginning.

Visuals: This game is HUGE. If you take a look at the big picture, you can see it would be difficult for a developer to be able to make such visually magnificent and outstanding graphics for a huge game to be rather difficult. The landscapes however in this game are extremely well done, and Bethesda gives us an awe striking game when it comes to this part. The water shimmers, the sun slowly moves across the sky. The mountains, trees and the many other things found in the beautiful and large world of Morrowind are tremendously well done. You can notice the little things. There is the random weather changes. One moment, you could be getting ready to heal your character on a sunny day in the hills. You awake to find the clouds have blocked out the sun and that it is heavily raining down onto the ground. Please, take a look at the rivers while it's raining. You can see just exactly how realistic Bethesda has made this. Each droplet of rain can be seen striking the calm river waters below. It's as if you're outside in the rain, and you see the many drops of rain pounding the puddles and such. You can go from one, sunny and vibrant town to another which is in the midst of a blight storm. The dust and ash is all over the place. And you can notice how it slowly fades after a while. It's these little things which make Morrowind a perfectly neat little package. Then again, that doesn't mean the game is perfect.

For instance, you'll notice as you travel from town to town, speaking from NPC to NPC that many of them are mostly generic. Especially the Imperial guards. Many have the same faces, which makes it a little awkward. Yet, there really isn't much to gripe about. Where Bethesda had such small errors, they are all taken away when you take a look at the entire NPC. Some may be extremely poor, living in shacks with rags for clothes. Some may have huge manors, and the most extravagant and exquisite clothing in the game. Some may be wearing all the many different types of armor, whether they be from the rare Ebony armor to the generic Imperial armor seen throughout the game. The game has the occasional slowdown, which make the characters and graphics look a little weird and distorted. By no means does Morrowind truly grasp the real power of the Xbox, by any means. Of course the game will look better on the PC version, as well, but Bethesda has not let us Xbox fans down when it comes to visuals.

Sound: Possibly the biggest downfall in this wonderful game, is the sound. It doesn't seem like a bad game as far as sound is concerned from the beginning. The peaceful and soothing music at the beginning begins to give you a feel for the game already. However, playing through the game you'll notice little to no music at all. You'll get the occasional ambient music playing lightly in the background, but that's about it. Some NPC voices are terrifically done, and others not so well. The voice acting of most NPCs really helps out the game, but enough as to really make this as good as the other aspects of the game. Then again, all you got to do is pop in a CD in your CD Player, or a CD in your Discman or whathaveyou, and you're fine.

Conclusion: Bethesda Softworks delivered to the Xbox its' first RPG. It delivered not only that, but delivered a truly fine piece of work which will keep you busy for hours upon hours. There are just a million and one things to do in Morrowind. You can be a thief in one game, a Warrior in another. You can be a Mage in one, or a peaceful man or woman who never lays his/her hand on anything unless provoked. The vastness of this game is mind boggling, and it is definitely worth your $50(or about $70 if you're Canadian like me).This is one of the killer apps for the Xbox, which is definitely a must own. Not only that, it is as well one of the greatest RPGs to be conceived in a very long time.