» Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:14 pm
Seems about right in my case at least.
If it isn't your favourite, it most likely colours your expectations and standards for the other games in the series.
Oblivion was my first ES title, as well as my first true open world western RPG. Needless to say I was blown away the day I played it and I've loved those kind of games since because of it.
I eventually bought Morrowind for my laptop and while I loved it, I wasn't quite so staggered by it as I was by Oblivion. While the game had more depth than Oblivion, it had less life, things felt very static, the lack of any schedules for NPCs like there were in Oblivion made it irritating for me to fully enjoy it. If I wanted to burgle a place, I'd find the store owner or dweller awake at at 3am stood exactly where they were during the day and the fact NPCs didn't really move all that much made everything feel, well dead. Morrowind was rich in depth, lore and content, every inch of it was oozing with atmosphere which I loved.
But the damn thing played like a sack of crap. Combat was an absolute joke, and the magic system was frustrating to use at the best of times. Morrowind may have been amazing for its time, but by modern standards it's awful gameplay-wise and its age definitely shows without any mods being used to improve it. I expected more of the game, despite its age because Oblivion amazed me as much as it did. Morrowind wins in terms of lore, atmosphere and story, without a shadow of a doubt. But creating a believable fantasy landscape with characters that don't feel like slabs of cardboard was one area it fell completely flat. Yes the characters were interesting and had depth, something the later ESs lack, but they didn't have the same life as the NPCs in Oblivion did.
This of course brings me on to Skyrim, I enjoy it for what it is but I have huge issues with the game. I won't go into detail, I'll be here all night.