OS-neutral: What to Play ?

[Washac]

I have Morrowind Game of the Year, Oblivion Game of the Year and Skyrim, but which to play first, or should I just go for them in order ?

Which one do people prefer ?

[Huntn]

Hmm, if you can stand the dated graphics I'd do them in order. Otherwise Oblivion first, and after immersed in the environment, then go back and see if you can stomach Morrowind. I tried it, but after playing Oblivion could not take it.

[Washac]

Originally Posted by Huntn

Hmm, if you can stand the dated graphics I'd do them in order. Otherwise Oblivion first, and after immersed in the environment, then go back and see if you can stomach Morrowind. I tried it, but after playing Oblivion could not take it.

Yes, I know what you mean, I played quite a bit of Oblivion sometime back on its release on a PS3, just back into it again in a wrapper on the Mac and in Bootcamp, think I will stay with Oblivion for now

I just had to get it into my head that there was no need to play them in any particular order.

[antonis]

Morrowind is a way better RPG in terms of gameplay and storyline than Oblivion, although its graphics are outdated. Personally, I'd choose Morrowind between those 2.

Stories are independent among the games so you may play them in any order you feel like.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by Washac

Yes, I know what you mean, I played quite a bit of Oblivion sometime back on its release on a PS3, just back into it again in a wrapper on the Mac and in Bootcamp, think I will stay with Oblivion for now

I just had to get it into my head that there was no need to play them in any particular order.

There is over-riding lore which you can find online. For Skyrim, I found a bunch of stuff about the Thalmore and the ancient Great War. Interesting to know, but not required to enjoy each installment as stand alone.

[cluthz]

Might just be me, but I think Oblivion is pretty much the worst RPG ever made.
I've tried to like it, I've made a few different chars and tried to mod it, and even using close to 20 hours on it, I still hate it.

Morrowind's graphics are a bit dated, but the game is fun.

Skyrim is also great fun, I spent around 100 hours to beat it, and i guess i could extend that even further.

The games are not that story driven, and more driven on the basis of exploring and develop your skills, so you will have no problems playing them in any order you want. Also there are so many elder scrolls games that you can never play them all, unless you can wait a year or two to play Skyrim..

[Thraun]

I'd just ignore Oblivion completely, though the expansion content was pretty neat.

I don't think the graphics of Morrowind are really that dated, what I don't like about that game is a lot of the gameplay mechanics. Spellcasting is a nuisance and I always avoided it, and even melee combat could be very frustrating if your weapon skill was anything below 50 or 60. That being said, it probably has the best storyline, the biggest wealth of quests, the best environment, music, and general feel. And dunmer that sounded like dunmer.

Skyrim is also an excellent game, obviously with the newest and nicest graphics of the series, and a lot of the gameplay elements that were annoying in Morrowind have been fixed. I also like the perk system for skills. However, as amazing of a game as Skyrim is, it somehow cant match the haunting and enchanting allure that was Morrowind.

If you could take Morrowind and apply many of the gameplay changes that evolved through Oblivion and Skyrim, now that would be a PERFECT game.

[TedM]

Originally Posted by Huntn

Hmm, if you can stand the dated graphics I'd do them in order. Otherwise Oblivion first, and after immersed in the environment, then go back and see if you can stomach Morrowind. I tried it, but after playing Oblivion could not take it.

There is a huge modding community for Oblivion and Skyrim. Do you think there are graphic enhancement mods for Morrowind? I feel like there would be.

[Huntn]

Originally Posted by TedM

There is a huge modding community for Oblivion and Skyrim. Do you think there are graphic enhancement mods for Morrowind? I feel like there would be.

There are mod enhancements that make the skin of characters look better, but with Morrowind you are dealing with an older game engine and programing which has it's limits. Also a very big difference in combat mechanics. In Morrowind very mechanical. In Oblivion and Skyrim much more fluid. Morrowind characters tend to look like robots marching around. In Oblivion and Skyrim, the character enhancers make a stunning visual difference. It's still a mystery why Bethesda insists on churning out butt ugly characters.

[Dirtyharry50]

Originally Posted by TedM

There is a huge modding community for Oblivion and Skyrim. Do you think there are graphic enhancement mods for Morrowind? I feel like there would be.

I believe there are multiple graphics mods for Morrowind. Here is some video showcasing one of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d69wYi3_LWo&feature=plcp

I would highly recommend starting with Morrowind. You might install and try it out without mods and see how you personally like it as is. It is such a fun, immersive gameplay experience. It really draws you into its world and in my opinion, still looks good but that is a subjective thing of course.

I'd also recommend playing them in order and drawing your own conclusions. I would be very surprised if you like open world RPGs and did not enjoy Morrowind though. To me it is one of the better games I have ever played.