Is Morrowind worth buying?

[Rastrelly]

Of course Morrowind worth buying...
1) It's deep. As a guy, who lives on one of Russian TES communities, I can inform you that there are 100-page threads discussing Morrowind storyline.
2) It's original. While Cyrodiil is quite generic post-medieval image, Morrowind draws interesting and wery different from usual culture of Dunmers. Ashlander tribes, Great Houses, the Temple... Architecture, creatures, landscapes are all unforgettable.
3) Graphics. Even basic morrowind still looks good. After using MGE with grass mods and texture/model replacers you can get a picture BETTER then Oblivion.
4) "Tamriel Rebuilt" project is getting close for finishing. This lore-based plugin restores ALL the territory of province Morrowind, adding about FIVE original territories size to explore.

I've summarized what I like in Morrowind in this video. It's not the best, but it's the only cummulative MGE-Morrowind video I've found on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy6cl4lY9Fs

Morrowind requires more, but it pays off. You have much more freedom in your actions, you have more integrated organizations (in Oblivion Guilds do not interact, in Morrowind - they do), you have more visible effect of growing up character due to much more adequate leveling, and the game is actually CHALLENGING. And that's great.

 

[bliebblob]

If going from whatever you usually play to oblivion was a hurdle than going from oblivion to morrowind may be nothing short of a shock.

Overall I think it was way better. For one it's way more expansive: dozens of towns, the main quest takes ages, joinable vampire clans,... Just to name a few things.
But you are gonna have to bear with it's odd perks: there's some serious balance issues with some skills, no quick travel (wich is not such a bad thing because it makes things more immersive but you WILL curse it), enchanting is way more complicated than it should be, the graphics are meh even with mods,... Oblivion may have gotten a lot of things wrong but it fixed just as many of morrowind's problems.

And finally: for better or for worse, it's "realistic" compared to oblivion. Stuff doesn't level up with you so you can and will run into monsters that can 2-hit you (quicksave is your friend). Especially when you are low level. And deadric/glass/ebony stuff will not only appear when you are high level yourself, it can be found at any level. Sometimes you will even find it just laying about on a shelf or something. In fact, I know of a way to get yourself 1 deadric weapon of your choice and a small fortune without fighting a single monster, wich can be done at any level.

Note: personally I find the balance issues not such a big deal. In a multiplayer game it would be a serious problem because everyone would flock to certain skillbuilds but in a single player game it just adds realism. After all, not all skills are equally usefull and figuring this out is part of becoming stronger.

Final tip: don't make a pure magic guy for your first character. Making a good mage in morrowind isn't impossible, but it's nearly a science.

EDIT: ohohohohoh you want details eh? Ok, buckle up!
-Non-generic setting: the first time I saw their local mode of transportation I thought it was a bossmonster
-Have your own castle/town built
-Memorable locations: from swamptowns to huge cities to mushroomtowers.
-Tons of factions, most of them joinable, some secret. All of them have loads of quests and becoming their leader or whatever takes an actual effort. They also have rivalries going on so sometimes you will have to pick a side.
-Way more weapon types: For marksmen oblivion just has bows while morrowind has bows, crossbows, throwing stars and darts. There's also an entirely new weapon type: spears.
-over the top magic: it's hard to get into but given some research you will eventually find yourself nuking cities with one spell and crossing the map in a single jump.

Honestly I can go on all day

 

[Hazard12]

Also, stay away from Solstheim for the first few levels for best results. That place will kick your face in faster than you can imagine.

Yeah, this. Faster than you think possible. Don't even blink. Although I might be getting confused with a TV show I saw once...

 

[Gorilla Gunk]

No, it's out there for Xbox as well (just Xbox though, and I don't know if it's backwards compatible or not)

It is. I play it on 360.

I mean, I could play it on my netbook but the video cards in these things suck. Game runs but graphical hiccups galore. It also makes my computer run hot. Netbooks suck for gaming.

 

[Rastrelly]

Ah, yes! Console version... Morrowind is a purely PC game, so, I suppose, playing it on xbox is thrice less interesting, and, in addition, you loose all the mods.

 

[Omnific One]

Yes, for the PC; the gameplay and visuals are archaic.

 

[Nightmare-Child]

Um, I can think of a year of my life that seams to think Morrowind is worth playing.

 

[Futurenerd]

No. Buy Oblivion, or wait for Skyrim. Morrowind was total shit. Unfortunately, it was made especially bad by the fact that it was so CLOSE to being good, that the fact that it wasn't became extremely noticable.

 

[bliebblob]

I've summarized what I like in Morrowind in this video. It's not the best, but it's the only cummulative MGE-Morrowind video I've found on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy6cl4lY9Fs

If there had also been a silt strider's "nrrrrrrrrrrrrru....... nyuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" in there I might actually have cried a little.
The very manliest of cries ofcourse *ahem*

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I'm a late entry to The Elder Scrolls' fanbase. A friend of mine introduced me to Oblivion, and I was skeptical at first.
'The graphics are terrible! Why is that guy in the other cell yelling at me? Why is the king here? Why aren't I shooting stuff?!'
But I was drawn in. I haven't completed the main quest yet, but that's mainly because I got caught up in the side-quests.
Now, I ask, is Morrowind worth buying? I've heard a lot of people saying Oblivion is 'dumbed down' and isn't as great as Morrowind. I have a regular, none-gaming PC, but Morrowind pretty old so I think I can run it.
What makes it better than Oblivion? Is there more content? Give me details, people!

Do not play Morrowind without mods and expansions. Trust me you won't enjoy it without some of the mods. It has not aged well. Saying that yes it is better than Oblivion in the way that you have more options for example shuriken and darts for marksmanship. I wish that they still had those and spears in future TES instalments as just having the bow for marksmanship is pretty shitty. Although the combat is awful.

 

[Elfgore]

Take Oblivion add more content, take away the compass and mission tracker thing, get rid of a free fast travel system, and make the graphics worse. You have Morrowind. Bur to answer your question, Yes buy it the expansions make it amazing.

 

[WaysideMaze]

Final tip: don't make a pure magic guy for your first character. Making a good mage in morrowind isn't impossible, but it's nearly a science.

My first character in Morrowind was a pure mage. Well, with heavy armour.
Found it really easy. Breton Mage, I just went around annihilating everything in my path with no problems.
I really like magic wielding though.

On topic, yeah the games well worth getting. If you can get past the now dated graphics it's a fantastic experience that is well worth your time.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

I would highly suggest it, and for the low price you'll pay, you can dump thousands of hours into it. If you have any interest at all in it, buy it.

I have it for Xbox, and I'm still contemplating buying it for computer as well simply because it's that good.

 

[Futurenerd]

Yesyesyesyesyesyes. It's my favourite game of all time, but if you start and fail/hate it, DON'T GIVE UP. Look up a tutorial, work out your class skills, but do not give up on this 500 hour epic in the first 5 minutes. Well, technically everyone quits after half an hour, but whatever

Morrowind was total shit. Unfortunately, it was made especially bad by the fact that it was so CLOSE to being good, that the fact that it wasn't became extremely noticable.

I'd say that about Oblivion, not Morrowind... both of them are good games, but the problems with Oblivion were worse, and more noticeable, than the ones in Morrowind.

Which did you play first? And for how long did you play them?

I haven't even played Oblivion. I just know that I hate Morrowind, and Oblivion looks awesome. Morrowind just had so many little problems that I could never really enjoy the game.

 

[Snotnarok]

Morrowind for PC is very interesting, has a lot better settings than Oblivion that's for sure. The only thing that keeps me from playing it is the awful combat. The combat is so bad, so very bad, all based on numbers and rolls despite you swinging your sword wildly at the guy, or arrows going into them you won't hit.

Though it doesn't do a lot of scaling in areas so that's a plus, I like when areas are off limits just because there's enemies far too strong. Makes it seem like you're struggling rather than the king of the world.

 

[Retal19]

Yes. Yes. Do it. Do it. Buy it. Get it GOTY. Buy it. It'll only drain you of around £5 and that is not paying Bethesda enough for the Masterpiece. Do it, buy it, get it.

 

[Signa]

I'm a late entry to The Elder Scrolls' fanbase. A friend of mine introduced me to Oblivion, and I was skeptical at first.
'The graphics are terrible! Why is that guy in the other cell yelling at me? Why is the king here? Why aren't I shooting stuff?!'
But I was drawn in. I haven't completed the main quest yet, but that's mainly because I got caught up in the side-quests.
Now, I ask, is Morrowind worth buying? I've heard a lot of people saying Oblivion is 'dumbed down' and isn't as great as Morrowind. I have a regular, none-gaming PC, but Morrowind pretty old so I think I can run it.
What makes it better than Oblivion? Is there more content? Give me details, people!

The biggest hurdle in the game is understanding and appreciating the combat system. If you played Oblivion, then you are going to be used to what is a very standard hack-'n'-slash system where hitting your target means hitting your target. In Morrowind, you as a player are limited by the stats of your character. If you try to attack something, you won't always hit it because you may not be skilled enough with the weapon you are using. This is a HUGE turn-off for new players, because every arrow shot and sword strike looks like it hits, but it deals no damage. The thing is, after playing Oblivion, I can't help but feel this system was better, because you actually got to feel your skills increase: you would go from sucking to not sucking to fucking awesome. Oblivion's system just meant you would deal more damage as you leveled, meaning a skill increase was the same as finding a better weapon.

Also, you have to watch your Fatigue meter a lot in the early levels, because a low fatigue stat would mean massive penalties in landing those blows. There are times starting out where you have to decide between running to your next destination, or just walking because exhausting yourself from the jog could mean life of death from that next surprise encounter.

Bottom line: Morrowind DOES NOT HOLD YOUR HAND. But damnit, if you find you can deal with that, it's the best game I have ever played. As mentioned, the lore and environment is amazing, and the enchantment system is fun to abuse. I started the game back in '03, and I've never considered it beat or off my back burner since. It's always been fun for me to pick up and play every so often.

You also might want to check this out:
http://knotstheinane.blogspot.com/p/morrowind-modding-guide.html
You didn't mention your video card, so I don't know how much you can use from these mods, but it makes the game rival Crysis in terms of graphics.

EDIT: I should add in reference to your OP, I bought Oblivion when it came out and just beat the main quest last week. Holy shit was it one of the worst endings I've ever seen. Not spoiling much, but you just walk into a building to beat the final boss. WTF?!

 

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Most people I have talked to that have played both games say that Morrowind is way better.