Since it's Christmas day (or to some it's christmas day), let's for once say something nice about the game we mostly negatively critique.

I mostly negatively critique Morrowind, I wont say a single bad thing about Morrowind however inviting it might be, and here's the things I really enjoy about the game.

I could name most of the usual stuff that Morrowind does right, like the diverse guilds/weapons, which I enjoy, but we always hear about that, so I'm gonna say some stuff that we don't usually hear but that I really enjoy in Morrowind.

In Morrowind, I can block a magic missile mid-air with an arrow, did you know that? I've never experienced that in OB but it sure was awesome when I did it in Morrowind.

In Morrowind, Argonians actually swim like a crocodile, yeah I know, it's not such a big deal, but I found it nice for roleplaying purposes.

I really enjoy that you could get your own tower, or place, sure you could as well in OB (DLC), but in MO it was a reward, which was nice, you felt you had more respect in the guild.

Here's an obvious one, beast legs, I like playing the beast races, so the beast races made me more unique.

Beast voice acting accents, in OB they still have some accent, but in MO it's stronger, it more foreign, you can almost here the khajiits purring when they say some word with an "R" in it, also with there foreign sayings.

Morrowind did a very good job of crafting a beautiful world with a deep, fascinating background, interesting factions, and an environment that rewarded exploration. As I've mentioned before, it's strongly rooted in traditional fantasy (in this case the Drow of D&D's Forgotten Realms), and its story is, at its core, a traditional "become the hero, save the day" narrative, so it's amazing that it feels so unique and nontraditional. It's powerful and mature, and nearly every aspect of it, from the world itself to the people who inhabit it to the armor on their backs and the weapons in their hands, feel completely new and interesting. It was very pretty (for its time) to look at, and its "click to swing" gameplay was infinitely better than Daggerfall's "wave to swing" gameplay.

Oblivion is funner to pick up and play. And has a less excruciating start.

Thanks, I actually didn't know about the rooting in traditional fantasy and great of you to put some effort in to it, I was afraid a lot would be like "I like the shine on the disc", or some such similar.

I think it'd make more sense to state which elderscrolls game we pick on the most, just so when we say something good about it, it doesn't sound completely biased.

I look down upon Daggerfall the most,i'd say...not because of graphics but because of sophistication.

I enjoyed the fact that you could ask anyone for directions.
I liked the idea of expiring quests..and having to plan your modes of transportation
It was cool how you could climb too

Well, I like and am more biased towards Oblivion so I will say some nice things about Morrowind.

Morrowind has a lot of quests and factions.

It also has Werewolves if you get an expansion.

Morrowinds cliff racers just want to eat!

Morrowind's culture is very prominent.

The story in Morrowind does not make you out to be some errand boy for the most important figure in the history of the empire.

The game in the series I most negatively criticize (not the game I like the least in the series, though) is Morrowind.

I love the city of Vivec.

I love it artifacts and hand-placed unique items.

I find its graphics charming and really still holding up pretty well by modern standards, or mine, anyway.

I love to vehemently destroy Oblivion from time to time, or at least emphasize aspects of the other TES games that have mysteriously vanished by TES IV. Honestly however, I hold it in pretty high regard as far as roleplaying games go. The game was quite polished in some places, and I'm pretty fond of:

• The scenery is really breathtaking in places - honestly the terrain of Solstheim doesn't hold a candle to the Jerall Mountains of Cyrodiil!
  
• Radiant AI's great fun - being able to instigate fights and get others arrested, opens up a plethora of new opportunities for how you manipulate the world.
  
• Archery. Ranged weapons in Morrowind always felt stiff and ineffective to me, ironic considering that game had more of them.
  
• Most of all, I find it's very easy to jump into Oblivion and have fun with it, whether one wants to play for 40 minutes or 4 hours. I have trouble starting new games of Morrowind because I put too much thought into my class and roleplaying options!

Oh, you just reminded me of something I should say. I hold all four Elder Scrolls games in pretty high regard as far as role-playing games go. Among all the criticism, high regard for the games tends not to be very clear, so it's definitely something I think I should say. If Oblivion was the only one that made it pretty high on my best games list, I wouldn't be here anticipating Skyrim more than any other game.

Oblivion is an easier game to learn.

In all next-gen titles, I actually put Oblivion as high as Crysis. Bethesda knows how to create environments and Oblivion is an amazing example. I don't know how many times I looked at some bushes along the roadside(irl) and thought, "Damn, they look exactly like in Oblivion." Many other titles fall under children book categories.

Specular lighting for all materials were tasty which makes it look really good compared to other next-gen games, very few uses specular lighting as good as Bethesda's engine.(I don't see Gamebryo as Gamebryo's, it is Bethesda's.) And it was the first real game to bring true next-gen. It is a shame they couldn't make shadows possible.

AI
Horses
Archery
Physics

These were absent from Morrowind. Very welcome additions. Certainly sets the vision for the future of Elder Scrolls games.

More moddable Elder Scrolls.. What's not to like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMFSjRXqzcY :celebration:

Thanks for contributing Stonefrog, it means a lot coming from you and Happy Holiday!

Speaking of Crysis... my 3yr old niece walked in while I was playing that and she freaked out upon seeing the flying aliens, but she also didn't want to stop watching me shoot them