Why do some consider Morrowind a better game than Oblivion?

[Orcus The Ultimate]

For me the thing is you can't compare a newer game and an older one, but let's forget about graphics and improvements, for me, Oblivion was more like a typical Medieval fantasy game, Morrowind had Flora and Fauna that were incredibly different and amazing, it was a "world" where you could escape into.

 

[Arbitrary Cidin]

Because Oblivion didn't have jump scrolls and slowfall potions.

 

[Extreme Tazer]

Okay, before I even say anything, I would like to make it very clear that I am not bashing Morrowind. I think it's a good game. (also I apologize if this thread has been done before and recently.)

Anyhow, I notice a lot of people talking about how Oblivion was crappy and that Morrowind was way better. I've played both pretty extensively, and I'm not sure I see what elements of Morrowind make people consider it better. It's an excellent RPG, for sure, but what does it have that Oblivion lacks? Please, Morrowind lovers, offer your opinions on the subject.

OK - I'm a Morrowind fanboy through and through, so I guess I'd be well cut out for this topic. Firstly, the bit where you said 'I notice a lot of people talking about how Oblivion was crappy and that Morrowind was way better' seems kind of flawed to me - I do like Oblivion, and I reckon that most of the hate is in reverse, from Oblivion players saying how bad Morrowind was. Us Morrowinders mostly like Oblivion.

But I do prefer Morrowind, and my reasons are that firstly, it has much more interesting enemies - while Oblivion seemd to rely on real-life animals and generic fantasy characters, Morrowind's repertoire was almost solely unique - they had, for example, nix hounds, kwama, scribs, and cliff racers, all of which were removed in Oblivion and replaced with normal enemies, like imps, wolves, bears, ogres etc.

Secondly, I preferred the layout of Morrowind - while Oblivion had weapon strengths described with single numbers, Morrowind told you the damage.

Thirdly, I'm not sure what it was, but the atmosphere was much better in Morrowind - I always got much more immersed in Morrowind than I ever did in Oblivion.

Finally, Morrowind took a lot longer to complete things in than Oblivion - I completed the Oblivion Mages Guild in a matter of days, Morrowind took me months.

But none of this is to say that Oblivion doesn't have its good points - for example, the graphics and interactivity were improved, but these features seem quite gimmicky compared to the ones in Morrowind.

 

[Extreme Tazer]

because oblivion had damn near NO ROLE PLAY IN IT (bold + underline, no idea how to). morrowind had roleplay, opblivion is just a hack and slack that holds you hand so you dont get a boo boo. you need RPG in your RPG games. you cant just throw in a large world but leave it lifeless. they have repeated that same mistake over and over again.

So, what exactly do you mean by roleplay? Surely not just more dialogue options? I'm curious, as it's a rather broad term when applying to video games.

oblivion puts you on a rail. one way to solve quests. stats mean nothing. you are remembered the same way no matter what you did. your playing by bethesda's view of HOW you should play, and not your own. its just an FPS at that point.

Not to mention the fact that you can't kill vital characters.

 

[TheodoreLuke]

Okay, before I even say anything, I would like to make it very clear that I am not bashing Morrowind. I think it's a good game. (also I apologize if this thread has been done before and recently.)

Anyhow, I notice a lot of people talking about how Oblivion was crappy and that Morrowind was way better. I've played both pretty extensively, and I'm not sure I see what elements of Morrowind make people consider it better. It's an excellent RPG, for sure, but what does it have that Oblivion lacks? Please, Morrowind lovers, offer your opinions on the subject.

I play Morrowind when it first came out and the only problem is combat, everything else is perfect.

 

[Yokai]

I tried playing Morrowind at least 3 times but every time I do I'm driven away by the awful graphics and the shitty combat. If I could somehow upgrade the graphics to Oblivions level and change the combat I would TOTALLY dive right.

NOW that would be epic.. if they released a Morrowwind DLC that used the Oblivion graphics and combat.
That would pwn all the way to the bank.

They could just remake Morrowind and its expansions completely. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

I believe there are some mod projects that plan to do that, but like most overambitious mods, they will probably fall rather short of the goal.

Spoiler: Ahem...

Uh...yeah, that's a Thief conversion for Doom 3. An impressive mod, but it sure as hell isn't Morrowind in the Oblivion engine...
I was thinking something along the lines of this [http://morroblivion.com]. It looks impressive, I just don't see it making it to the level of the original Morrowind.

 

[Arbitrary Cidin]

Because Oblivion didn't have jump scrolls and slowfall potions.

No, because Oblivion didn't have any of the elements that made Morrowind a great RPG. Custom-made potions/spells were awesome, completely absent in Oblivion. That feeling of freedom...besides the guild quests, there were hardly any other side-quests in Oblivion. You were basically on a rail. The sheer complexity of Morrowind was astounding, so many different spells, abilities, class possibilities and potions that could be used in so many different ways. Oblivion essentially had one way to play the game no matter which class you chose. And of course, Morrowind actually FELT like an RPG in the way it was presented. The game was far more tactical than twitch-based. Oblivion felt more like an FPS, redesigned so that even the most idiotic of console kiddies could easily dominate.

No, I just liked the jump scrolls and slowfall potions.

 

[kardar233]

Also, my Oblivion has been crashing a lot lately, so it's frustrating to try and play it.

 

[shadowphade]

Okay, this thread made me reinstall Morrowind. Goodbye weekend.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

It has them pauldrons Oblivion seems to be missing.
And shurikens.

Although I tried to play it, and found it god-awful in comparison to it's successor.
But that is just opinion.

 

[Fappy]

One word: Immersion.

 

[Lineoutt]

It's deeper, the athmosphere is better, it doesn't have that too easy to use quicktravel system.

It's just the whole 'being in another world' aspect is much stronger in my opinion. I'm not sure if enemies level with you, but that really pissed me off in Oblivion.

Alright I know this thread it two years old but I can't take it any more! Where is your avatar from? I've seen it! I know I have! AAAHHH

...sorry

 

[ryanxm]

morrowind has werewolfs enough said

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

Oblivion's combat and animation overall outdo Morrowind with ease, but the sheer amount of detail and content in Morrowind is astounding. One of my favourite games of all time, definitely.

 

[irequirefood]

All this talk of Morrwind is stirring up my nostalgia glands...

In all seriousness, both have good and bad points, and I don't really feel one was 'better' than the other. Morrowind was my very first large-scale sandbox game. But I have sunk more hours into Oblivion than any other game, besides Pokemon. So I'm not sure which I can say is better.

 

[Eponet]

I have to say, the combat seems laughably bad compared to Oblivion.

The combat isn't everything that a game should be judged on. Compared to Dark Messiah: Might and Magic, every game has laughably bad combat, but it definately doesn't make it the best game ever. Whoever wrote the story line and scripts for that game should be fired.

 

[Eponet]

Oblivion is too easy. It has a leveled monster system. Any level 5 character could beat the game. I preferred Morrowind because of the challenge of it (and because I preferred it to Oblivion's plot)

I still play both games but I've enjoyed Morrowind far more.

Actually, Morrowind's main plot was beatable by a level 1 character if you knew what to do.