Morrowind.
Skyrim is a very fun game to play, and I enjoy it. However, it's simply too streamlined and cut down for it to compete. Basically, it's to the point where if I want to play the many-choices RPG, I'll grab Morrowind; if I want to play a more simple, fun action game, I'll grab Skyrim.
You'd be wrong, but whatever.
1. Skyrim
-Following this game pre-release, I knew it'd be better than Oblivion. Being better than Morrowind, I accepted that it could be a possibility, but I didn't expect it. Morrowind was just the gold standard, and did something in a game that I had never experienced before, and didn't think I'd ever experience again.
Then Skyrim finally released, after a long wait. I went to the midnight release at GameStop, and came home and played. I was loving the game, enjoying it greatly, but something was... off. I couldn't put my finger on it. I was liking it, but it didn't "feel" like I expected it to. Again, something I couldn't really explain then, and can't now. The other day my friend tried to ask me "so what was it about those first couple plays that made you feel that?" and I couldn't explain it. It's something I "felt", but couldn't explain.
I was incredibly busy on that Friday, so I wasn't really able to play, but had a full day off on that Saturday. So I popped it in early, and played pretty much all day. 15 hours I think I logged. Again, I was loving it, but something still "felt" off. But I was having a good time, so I kept going with it.
I had heard all the talk around Skyrim of the College of Winterhold. Seeing as how my character is mainly a magic user, I decided to investigate. My companion, Lydia, and I took the carriage from Whiterun to Winterhold. Approaching the College the first time, I was in awe... most of these Elder Scrolls guilds are just a guildhall in town. This was it's own separate entity. After joining the College, and doing some early work for them, it was time to head back to Whiterun. Well I noticed the carriage system didn't run out of Winterhold, so I had to make the walk.
And this is what did it for me. I'm not a believer of fast travel (I only use it in very isolated and specific circumstances), so Lydia and I headed out. The journey through the mountain ranges near Winterhold, traveling back down into the valley that led into White run... That first trek from Winterhold to Whiterun, and all the encounters I faced along the way, was one of the most "immersive" times I've had in an RPG. It was great. From the bandits who tried to ambush me, to the 2 dragon attacks I faced, to discovering the Shrine of Azura, to encountering the Old Orc who wanted me to kill him so he could die an honorable death, and all the other things I can't remember off the top of my head. I finally had that "Morrowind" feel once again. Something I didn't have in Oblivion. The feeling of actually journeying through harsh environments to get from one location to another, and discovering all sorts of mystery, treasure, and danger along the way.
I finally returned to Whiterun. I let Lydia get back to Dragonsreach, while I went off to the Bannered Mare for a late night drink and a sleep. Coincidentally enough, there was a patron there who decided to challenge me to a drinking contest. I accepted - next thing I know, I'm blacking out, and waking up in a temple somewhere. Low and behold, this guy dragged me off to Markarth! While in Markarth, I got caught up in the shady underside of Markarth politics, and soon enough, my character was making actual enemies.
Another experience I haven't had since Morrowind. I see people all the time with their RP's saying their character hates a particular race, or group of people, and it all feels so arbitrary. I feel the best RP's are when those character alliances and feuds come naturally over the course of the game. In Morrowind, my character had no interest in fulfilling the Nerevarine Prophecies... however, he didn't want to live as a fugitive or go back to prison, so he followed the Emperors orders and went to work for Caius Cosades. As he got deeper into the prophecies, and the Sixth House began making attacks on him, his interest in the prophecies became personal. It wasn't so much about fulfilling the prophecies, but rather about seeking out the Sixth House and Dagoth Ur, and taking them out once and for all, in retaliation to their attempts on his life. The same during Tribunal, when the Dark Brotherhood began their attempts on his life, he did what he needed to do to seek out and eliminate the Dark Brotherhood. My character developed 2 rivalries naturally, through the course of playing the game. That was something that was missed in Oblivion, but I felt in Skyrim. Immediately, Thadious developed a dislike and even hatred of both the Silver-Bloods and the Forsworn. Other experiences in the game, he also developed a hatred of the Thalmor.
Later on in the game, I finally decided on choosing sides in the Skyrim civil war. Not because of a pre-determined notion of "this character is an Imperial!", but because naturally, over the course of the game, my character learned about both sides, and decided that he needed to fight off Ulfric Stormcloak and his band of rebels. Whiterun had become my home, and after overhearing that Ulfric was planning on attacking Whiterun, I decided to take up arms to defend my new home.
The immersion factor of this game is much greater than it was in Morrowind. My character actually develops as a -character-, not just a bunch of skills (which I love developing also). As I play deeper and deeper in the game, I feel as my character is actually growing, and becoming a more defined person. Yes, I have made some RP mistakes with my character - killing the priest at the command of Molag Bal, and receiving his mace. Turning Saadia over to the Alik'r warriors. But while I may have made some choices that are out of character for Thadious, that's also part of life - people make bad decisions and out of character decisions, and it's not exactly a rare occurrence. The experience that I am having with Skyrim from an immersion point of view, matches, and even surpasses that of Morrowind. The gameplay experience is far better than Morrowind, and dare I say the skill system of perks is superior to Morrowind. There may be a few minor things here or there that Morrowind (and even Oblivion) do better than Skyrim, but as far as the entire package, and the entire experience goes, I believe it has to go to Skyrim. Quite possibly my new favorite game ever.
2. Morrowind
-For so long, this was #1 on my list of games, and for good reason. I've already explained some of the experiences I'd had with the game. Never before had I experienced a game world so open, so immersive. The ability to literally "live another life" was such a hook for me. Finally, I had found an RPG that didn't have race and class restrictions, you didn't need to be a certain level to find and use a certain item, you didn't have to be a certain race to play a certain class - hell, there weren't even really
classes anymore because you could define your own by customizing your own group of skills! I fell in love with it immediately. All in all, I may not have had the most unique of character builds, but it was tweaked just enough to give it just the right personality that I loved. And loved, I did. Morrowind set the gold standard of what an RPG is, and forever should be. When Morrowind came out, I was stuck in a cesspool of PS2 jRPG's and anime [censored]. I was beginning to despise the RPG genre thanks to the garbage that is jRPG. Morrowind came when I needed it most, and it did just what I needed it to do.
3. Oblivion
-No, it's not Morrowind. When it comes right down to it, Oblivion is not as good as Morrowind. But I get rather annoyed by the constant "dumbed down" talk in regards to Oblivion. There is nothing "dumb" about the game. It didn't do some things as good as Morrowind, and in other areas, it blows Morrowind out of the water. Gameplay is infinitely improved, however it does lack in some of the character development areas. There aren't as many guilds, but the guilds that are there are better. The world doesn't feel as detailed or as mysterious as Morrowind, but it's a beautiful world. Some of the sense of journey and adventure is gone, considering the map is so wide open. If I don't follow the beaten path, I can run from one end of the map to the other in a very short amount of time. But all in all there is still something magical about Oblivion. I can still venture into the same ruins, forts, and caves that I have been in thousands of times, and still feel a sense of "danger". I've played the game for hundreds of hours over different characters, and still, basic game content is still new to me. There is still so much in the game. And while the character development process may be the least of the 3 (I haven't played Arena or Daggerfall - at least not extensively - so I cannot give an opinion on them), I still feel I may have created my best character yet in Oblivion. The RP elements are still there, and they are there in force. Little elements of the game that most people may not even think twice about gave me HUGE RP elements to play around with for my character, and made my character something that I felt was truly unique.
In all, all 3 of these games are my 3 favorite games of all time, with Fallout 3 rounding out as #4. I never have, and I doubt I ever will, find a game better than Bethesda's open world design. It's exactly what I am looking for in a game, and as far as I'm concerned, Bethesda does it to perfection.