Why do some say Morrowind is better than Oblivion, besides the graphics?

Just wondering. I think Oblivion is the superior game, but some say that Morrowind feels more inspired and alive, making it a better game.

I'm just wondering how everyone else feels about this? Is Morrowind the better game even though Oblivion is obviously bigger and has better graphics?

Your thoughts.

Variety. There was just more to do in Morrowind, more interesting places to visit, more items to acquire. Plus, you didn't have to deal with the level scaling silliness, though that's part of what made Oblivion more accessible in comparison.

The guild quest chains were much more interesting in Morrowind, too, and the Houses you could join, and there were actual limitations, meaning you couldn't run around and become the head of everything.

The architecture of the various cities is still something that stands out to me, though. Balmora is vastly different looking than Vivec, which is different from Sadrith Mora or that city in the desert (the one with the central building fashioned out of a giant crab shell), or the northern city from Bloodmoon, etc. In contrast Oblivion is one giant forest and all of the cities look basically the same with a few visual tweaks.

The combat is much better in Oblivion, though, and the graphics are no contest. Morrowind is also a lot more unforgiving, mostly due to the unceremonious way it dumps you into the world with nothing but a dagger and a really bad journal function.

Overall Oblivion is the better game really, but there're still a few things in Morrowind that stand out as better. For one, the setting! The vast deserts and swamps, robotic dwarven ruins and volcanic caves, underwater pirate caverns and forgotten tombs hidden in giant mushroom forests... just made Morrowind a much less typical fantasy cliche rpg. Whereas in Oblivion you've got yer pick of forest, wet forest and snowy forest, and yer pick of A: Fort B: Cave C: elven ruin. That's about it really. And the level scaling, god that was horrible. Look, I like a feel of progression in my games. It's stupid that at level bajillion I'll be walking down the street and getting mugged by equal bajillion level poor street thugs, that's not badass at all plus it takes the edge of caution out of exploring when you know no matter what you encounter you'll be able to beat it and it a chance at beating you! They better not have that stupid feature in Fallout 3.

And finally there's the entire "everything is open to you" thing in oblivion, where your character can be the honorable crusader champion, savior of the world as well as baby killing secret assasin and thief extraordinaire. I'm all for freedom, but that's almost as annoying as enemy scaling. I like how in morrowind it was a challenge to become a high rank in a house or guild, and that by doing so you're making enemies in the world. Morrowind may not have had "Radiant AI" but it still managed to feel more alive in that respect.

Naturally there are mods that try and fix all these, but they do so clumsily at best when you consider the typical polish Bethesda puts in their games. But atleast by installing mods I'm adding a bit of life to the game, as it is now... it's boring out of the box! No challenge, no real threat!

They say it's better because morrowind has a much better personality, uniqueness in levels, and actually some sense of story. Not only that but the whole atmosphere of the game just blows oblivion out of the water. In morrowind you actually feel a part of this fantasy type world.

IMO oblivion is by far the most over-rated in existence. Everything about the game just screams shallow. No story, repetitive comabt(Although it is better than morrowinds point and click combat style) generic looking gameworld,(Oh great, another oblivion gate that looks exactly the same!) bad voice acting, mostly due to the fact that there were only 4 or so voice actors within the entire game.

In general the game isn`t as good a successor to the TES name

Well, a lot of the negatives of Oblivion (many which Morrowind didn't have) can be found in this thoroughly written piece.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=129

I think with the exception of graphics and physics (obviously due to the time Morrowind was made in), Oblivion is completely outclassed by its predecessor. Like I said, look at the link, but for me, I can sum of the difference into one idea: in Morrowind, you were in another world- that world would exist with or without you. But in Oblivion, the world is made around you- the changes made in the game were often not direct results of your actions, but simply because you "levelled up." Why did wolves disappear in favor of mountain lions? Because you levelled up, not because there was a logical reason for it happening.

Well, a lot of the negatives of Oblivion (many which Morrowind didn't have) can be found in this thoroughly written piece.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=129

I think with the exception of graphics and physics (obviously due to the time Morrowind was made in), Oblivion is completely outclassed by its predecessor. Like I said, look at the link, but for me, I can sum of the difference into one idea: in Morrowind, you were in another world- that world would exist with or without you. But in Oblivion, the world is made around you- the changes made in the game were often not direct results of your actions, but simply because you "levelled up." Why did wolves disappear in favor of mountain lions? Because you levelled up, not because there was a logical reason for it happening.

Vampyronight

You know what the funny thing is, Right after they posted that review, bethesda did everything within their power to take the review or the site down.(More info about it can be found here) Ironically that is pretty much the only review which gives you a true sense of what to expect within the world of oblivion.

[QUOTE="Vampyronight"]

Well, a lot of the negatives of Oblivion (many which Morrowind didn't have) can be found in this thoroughly written piece.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=129

I think with the exception of graphics and physics (obviously due to the time Morrowind was made in), Oblivion is completely outclassed by its predecessor. Like I said, look at the link, but for me, I can sum of the difference into one idea: in Morrowind, you were in another world- that world would exist with or without you. But in Oblivion, the world is made around you- the changes made in the game were often not direct results of your actions, but simply because you "levelled up." Why did wolves disappear in favor of mountain lions? Because you levelled up, not because there was a logical reason for it happening.

onemic

You know what the funny thing is, Right after they posted that review, bethesda did everything within their power to take the review or the site down.(More info about it can be found here) Ironically that is pretty much the only review which gives you a true sense of what to expect within the world of oblivion.

Wow- I will never buy a Bethesda product until Pete Hines and Todd Howard are dismissed from the company and they stop blacklisting sites that post bad reviews of their games.

And yeah, that is the only review that really seems to explain how the gameworld REALLY is. I mean, I can understand the high reviews to a degree- reviewers only have a limited time to play the game and get a review written. For the first 10 to 20 hours, yeah, Oblivion is impressive...but it's somewhere in there you begin to realize you're not making any progress and all the other problems with the game. Shame on the other sites who didn't look at the game with a critical eye and didn't spend the appropriate amount of time with the game.

For those of you who clicked on the link provided and got confused quickly, I understand- it's the lack of formatting. The original source (with MUCH better formatting) is here:

http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=34770

Gameplay>Graphics

No level scaling, so much more to see, tons of monsters, lots of NPCs, lots of weapons, even more skills, plus there was no fast travel, cos that pretty much ruined Oblivion for me. I didn't need to check any of the caves or mines because they were all the same with the same level creatures as me. Plus the two expansions adding even more greatness.

Just wondering. I think Oblivion is the superior game, but some say that Morrowind feels more inspired and alive, making it a better game.

I'm just wondering how everyone else feels about this? Is Morrowind the better game even though Oblivion is obviously bigger and has better graphics?

Your thoughts.

ASK_Story

Its fairly simple, people have opinions that differs from others plain and simple, Oblivion imo is a far superior game.

Oblivion was very linear in is quest lines... I missed the variety of quests and solutions from Morrowind... that your choice in how you completed the quests would affect other characters reactions to you, and availability of other quests and availability of solutions for quests...

for example, if you chose to complete a certain quest by killinga dude and taking whatever it was you needed, instead of doing his quest and being rewarded with whatever it was you needed... that choice might close other quests to you later on, or eliminate using him later on to help complete a second quest, or turn his whole guild against you... most times it would mean you would have to find another way to solve the quest, but sometimes it would dead end you...

but, that being said, everything else about Oblivion is superior to Morrowind...

Morrowind had a very open world and had major differences in landscapes. From deserts, to open farm land, to swamps, to volcanic plains, to craggy shorelines. It felt larger even if Oblivion was bigger. It also didn't hold your hand the entire way through (in fact it never held your hand) and there was a real danger of running into a level 20 while you're level 2 if wandered too far into the wilderness. It felt more fantasy too. The buildings and landscapes looked like they were out of a book. Really in Oblivion I felt like I was in England the entire time.

You could also hover and get the super ultra jumping spell to kill yourself with :P

I've said this before, but I don't know if I got my point across - the problem with Oblivion is that it is a more action-oriented RPG than Morrowind. As such, the target audience is different... but they're in the same series, so Morrowind fans are buying Oblivion and (reasonably) expecting it to satisfy them.Funkyhamster

Yop yop

I wouldnt even call it an RPG... maybe... To me, after 10 hours, Oblivion played like an Action-Adventure game where certain things could be leveled up. Just like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a sand box-driving-shooter thing with leveling up some weapon skills.

I found Morrowind to be more boring actually. Some say Oblivion is a giant forest, well Morrowind is a giant Volcano and swamp, everything is grey, the graphics are c'est horrible, there is no mission log, the combat sucks...etc etc. Oblivion improves upon Morrowind in every single way, and Morrowind is perhaps the biggest, most grossly overated game in the history of gaming. I played through it and had fun spending about 300 hours in it... but Morrowind is completly dated and trumped by Oblivion nowadays.GodModeEnabled

Great Game non the less

Morrowind was more comprehensive, and a fancy armor and weapons were unique. Not everyone had them like in Oblivion. Exploration in morrowind leads to awesome loot. Oblivion exploration leads to the same old things: gold, lockpicks, and whatever leveled item any other dungeon had.