Daggerfall, A True Second Life...
Bugs apart, however, Daggerfall offers a live vibrating world that makes you feel as if you are someone else entirely.
You can own a ship, acquire houses, put your money in banks, own a horse, own a cart, buy and sell goods...hell, you can even indulge in the intellectual hobby of reading the many books included in the vast game world.
The land mass is simply huge, with hundreds of villages, towns and cities and thousands of NPC's you can strike conversations with. You can also join several guilds (mages, knights, fighters, thieves, assassins) and climb through their ranks to obtain wealth, fame and social standing. Dealing with the noble families who rule the cities is an also valuable means of obtaining quests. Well...quests are everywhere, couldn't avoid them if you tried to. You can even become a vampire or a werewolf and go on with the game preying on others while following the plot of the game.
Atmosphere wise, Daggerfall is amazing. The graphics are, of course, very ancient by todays standards, but they do the trick as the environments vary according to the country you are visiting. Some are greener, some more desert like. The dreariness of many of the dungeons and the way sound is used makes Daggerfall a reference in gaming terror and suspense. Doors creack in the distance, monsters growl and moan, wolves howl, critters make crittery noises. You can't see them but you know they are there, nearby, menacing, terrible, invisible until its too late. The music is very atmospheric, always maintaining the right atmosphere. There is a tune for when you visit stores, taverns and for the great outdoors, changing according to the weather and time of day.
The game's many locations are vibranting with NPC life. People go about their lives doing whatever they do. There are local holidays, changes in weather (rain, clear sky, clouds, snow...) and an organized religion ripe with temples and a multitude of deities with their own folclore and associated quests.
A secondary religion composed of demonic beings known has daedras adds to the taste, introducing very interesting quests that give you access to objects of power bestowed by the Daedra Lords themselves.
Daggerfall is a game well worth your time, so vast in scope it becomes easy to forget your real life...and also the main quest, for that matter.