Why Morrowind is Better Than Oblivion

With the announcement of The Elder Scrolls V and some gentle prodding from a certain Jeff Grubb, I decided now was a good time to put down in words something I've felt strongly about for a number of years. To be clear, I played Oblivion for just shy of 100 hours, starting on the day it came out. I had been frothing at the mouth to get my hands on it, since Morrowind was, and still remains, my favorite game of all time. I enjoyed Oblivion at the time, but my memory of it has since soured. I can't say the same for Morrowind; here's why:

[lugia 4000]

"I Will Not Play The Elder Scrolls V". I don´t care.

[RogueCheddar]

That's not the whole article obviously

[I_find_it_funny]

Of course Morrowind is better, everybody knows that

[tacosRcool]

So I have heard that Morrowind is a better game than Oblivion in many ways. But I want to see some of the innovation from Morrowind in Elder Scrolls V. Who knows, that might happen since many people complained about Oblivion

[JsonHenry]

TES: DaggerFall was the best of the series. Biggest open world EVER. Doing things like flying, climbing walls, and turning into things like werewolves and wereboards was just awesome at the time. :)

[Jacobite]

"I Will Not Play The Elder Scrolls V". I don´t care. So why comment ?

[RogueCheddar]

Anyone who reports this as "lame" is obviously missing the point. This is an article about past Elder Scrolls games and why they don't bode well for the next one. Grow up.

[palaeomerus]

Okay. I must have missed the point then because it comes off as both shrill and lame.

Grow up yourself.

[Danniel1]

Its unbelieveably condescending to say anyone who does'nt approve of your article needs to "grow up". The reason some people are taking issue with what you've written is because many of us (myself included) have same type of great memories about Oblivion as you do about Morrowind. On top of that you are openly stating that you wont buy the next game without knowing anything about it apart from the setting.

You are a writer when you submit something to a public forum don't attack people for not liking what you write, criticism is part of writing.

[life doomer]

morrowind is better than oblivion because it has more variaty

[RogueCheddar]

Yeah, that's one of the many reasons. (ps. please approve?)

[RedDead]

I agree with your article mostly, if you change your title I will be happy, I mean come on, what if Skyrm is a cross over of Morrorwind and Oblivion?

I have morrowind and i've had it for a long time, but I just can't get into it from the start. This article has given me a bit of incentive to play it.

They are the things I don't like about Oblivion, the exploration is just sort of the same thing over and over. And the leveling system is terrible, there's mods out to change that though(the leveling system and game world level up). But don't right off SKyrim yet, atleast wait for the game informer news. Biut there are things I also love about Oblivion, the battle system for one, Oblivion isn't bad, it's a great game. It just caught the next gen Rpg flu.

Next gen rpg flu= the first outing of any sequel on a next gen console will not be as good as the previous installment.

[RogueCheddar]

Fair enough, title changed. I was always planning on waiting for the reviews anyway.

[SpadedAgent007]

I think Oblivion is better. Just my opinion of course. Morrowind is def a good game though I give ya that but I dont think Oblivion was a terrible game at all.

[palaeomerus]

Oblivion improved the actual combat (not the skills related to combat and weapons) and the new tomb dungeons were fantastic. it did have less variety in designs. But so what? Buy Shivering Isles and you can have a lot of your crazy tree-fort buildings back.

Morrowind was awesome and so was its add ons, but that does not mean that Oblivion sucked. Far from it. The physics that made stuff bounce around and roll down hill was good. Sure, I miss the airwalk and jump spells. But there was a lot to like about Oblivion including the oblivion gates which I learned to speed run.

[Kamikaze8]

Wow, nice article up until the end where he just says that he wont be playing Skyrim. How can you judge a game that isnt out yet? Wait until the reviews if you're pessimistic, but dont rule it entirely out.

[pr0digyZA]

I will give you your view because I have friends who say the same thing, they say its deeper and harder, more complex, some even say more love was put in (due to the studio nearly going under, which it then ended up saving them.)I personally could only do around 60 hours of it, compared to the 300 plus hours I put in oblivion. maybe it's because I got spoilt by newer graphics and physics that made me feel that morrowind was old school. I also just preferred the combat in oblivion, when it was up to random hits that made me miss the birds 10 times in a row even though i was aiming at them, frustrated me to no end. In oblivion if you aimed and blocked it would actually do those corresponding moves.

These are all just opinions though because some other friends have preferred daggerfall over morrowind. I'm more just wondering if the next game ill be following in oblivion's medieval footsteps or morrowinds fantasy setting. It could be totally new though, will have to wait and see.

[rlm41]

Any hardcore Elders Scrolls fan will say Morrowind is better

[emekcrash]

Nope. I'm a "hardcore" TES fan and I think the following:

Oblivion > Daggerfall > Morrowind.

[Captain Tuttle]

Morrowind is infinitely better than Oblivion and I liked Oblivion. Morrowind is just more interesting in every way, art, story, politics of the world etc.

[Xusuyzus]

Morrowind is way better,.. Oblivion was more dumbed-down as Fallout 3,. an that says a lot,..

[rybobales]

Agreed, they removed the parts from Morrowind that seperated it from other games when they made Oblivion, or so it would seem. Fast travel to anywhere, leveled opponents, and IMO... bad expansions compared to Morrowind's. Though the map was massive, the fast travel shrunk it down. I enjoyed Oblivion mainly for the mods, Morrowind didn't need mods to increase its replay value. The only reason Shivering Isles was good, was because it looked similar to areas found in Vvardenfell.

[AssassinHD]

I will play The Elder Scrolls V. That is all I have to say on the subject.

[palaeomerus]

Yep. They'll have to do a lot of bad bad things to alienate me.

[GrilledCheeseBook]

next article, why Daggerfall is better than Morrowind

[Hozi89]

I agree that Morrowind had more to offer in terms of exploring and leveling but I liked Oblivion too. Maybe it's cuz I felt the controls to be more user friendly in Oblivion. I think if they go back to some of the formula from Morrowind and add it to Skyrim but at the same time keep some of the great things from Oblivion, then it will be a great game.

[soundslike]

Better than oblivion...yes. Better than oblivion with mods? ehhh that's getting into a gray area.

[batterystrength]

Lame article IMO. Basically, in the authors opinion Morrowind is better than Oblivion... so what? Will TES V be an awful game because of that ? No. Is Oblivion a "...terrible game even when you're not comparing it with its predecessor" ? Even to think that is absolute nonsense. It is not a terrible game because it doesn't suit everybodys tastes. I don't like Call of Duty, does that make those games bad ? No, they're still great shooters. Oblivion is still a great RPG even if we assume that is not as good as it predecessors.

I never played the other games, I'm sure they are great, but the authors preferences don't make Oblivion a bad game. Maybe there will be a few things that I won't like in TES V but I'm open for new things even if they don't suit my taste. If the author is so in love with Morrowind than he should probably stop complaining and go play it for the rest of his life.

He'd better written an article about what Skyrim should have to be a great game, instead of saying bla bla oblivion has generic towns so Skyrim will be a bad game.

[RogueCheddar]

Never said Skyrim will be a bad game, but I have definitely lost faith in Bethesda. I said I PROBABLY won't play it. I do think Oblivion is a terrible game. I guess my next article will be what Skyrim needs to change for Bethesda to win me back - thanks for the idea.

[Jacobite]

Morrowind or Oblivion whats the best "FIGHT" lol TV Burp joke each to their own. I thought Oblivion was a great game only marred by the enimies that level up when you level up and Im looking forward to Skyrim.