Previously, this category has been 'Best Shooter' but its winners, Far Cry 4 and 'Splatoon, while deserving, are not what I'd call typical shooter games (think 'Best Heavy Metal Band' and Jethro.

Yakuza, known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku (Japanese: 龍が如く, 'Like a Dragon'), is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2. Yakuza was released in Japan in 2005, and outside Japan in September 2006. The story follows a yakuza named Kazuma Kiryu, who, after spending ten years in jail for a crime he did not commit, learns that 10 billion yen has been stolen from the Tojo clan, which the criminal underworld is searching for. He finds an orphaned girl named Haruka who is being targeted by the clan, as she is believed to have the key for their lost money, and he resolves to protect her. The game takes place in Kamurocho, which is a realistic recreation of Tokyo's Kabukicho.

Yakuza is an open world action-adventure game with role-playing elements: the player gains experience from combat, which can be used to level up Kazuma's stats and increase his fighting capabilities. In order to finance the game's expensive production, Sega contracted a tie-in campaign with famous Japanese companies. A remake of this game, Yakuza Kiwami, was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan in 2016,^[1] and was released in the West for PlayStation 4 in August 2017 and was released for Microsoft Windows in February 2019.^[2]

Critical reception to Yakuza has been positive. Although there was some criticism of its clunky mechanics, the game has been well received for its presentation and story. Yakuza was a commercial success, selling over 1 million units, and spawned an entire franchise of games.

• 3Development
• 4Marketing
• 5Rereleases
• 6Reception

Gameplay[edit]

Yakuza is a third-personaction-adventure video game with role-playing elements, set in an open world environment. The player gains experience from combat, which can be used to level up Kazuma's stats and increase his fighting capabilities.

The game is composed of three distinct yet connected modes called Event, Adventure and Battle. The player controls former yakuza Kazuma Kiryu from a third person camera perspective, through a city full of missions and side quests. The main character randomly encounters foes on his path, in Encounter Battles. Winning the battle nets the player some cash, which can be used to purchase equipment or healing items, and experience, which can be used to buff Kazuma's stats.^[3] Sometimes, defeating the leader of an Encounter Battle will end the fight, even if some henchmen remain. Yakuza utilizes quick time events during the fights.

The Battle Mode includes the Underground Arena (地下闘技場) which is located in Kamurocho's Purgatory area. Cutscenes are enabled after completing specific actions or beating a certain character during the Adventure Mode. They also introduce the chapter's objectives. Various minigames are available within 'Adventure Mode' in the form of arcade machines scattered throughout the game world. These include a claw crane, a batting cage, a casino (baccarat, blackjack and roulette), toba and pachislot.

Plot[edit]

The game follows the story of Kazuma Kiryu (Darryl Kurylo/Takaya Kuroda), a yakuza whose life changes when his boss, Sohei Dojima, attempts to rape Kazuma's childhood friend, Yumi (Eliza Dushku/Miyako Uesaka)).^[4] When Dojima is murdered by Kazuma's best friend and fellow yakuza, Akira Nishikiyama (Michael Rosenbaum/Kazuhiro Nakaya), Kazuma accepts blame for the murder, and is imprisoned for ten years. During his incarceration, Kazuma is expelled from his organization, the Tojo Clan, and Yumi goes missing.^[5] After his release, he learns that ten billion yen has been stolen from the Tojo Clan's private bank, and that the entire Japanese underworld is now searching for the lost wealth.^[6]

Kazuma asks his former captain and adopted father, Shintaro Fuma (Roger L. Jackson/Tetsuya Watari), about Yumi's disappearance, but Nishikiyama, who now controls his own gang, shoots Fuma after he reveals that Yumi was connected to the lost money. Kazuma manages to escape from the Tojo, who now regard him as an enemy and put a contract out on his life.^[7] His escape is aided by a detective named Makoto Date (Bill Farmer/Kazuhiro Yamaji), who had been investigating Kazuma ever since the death of Dojima, and is now investigating the murder of Third Chairman Masaru Sera (Alan Dale/Ryuji Mizuki), the former Tojo Clan leader whose death has triggered a war between Fuma, Nishikiyama, and an ambitious yakuza boss, Futoshi Shimano (Michael Madsen/Naomi Kusumi).^[8]

In his search for Yumi, Kazuma finds an orphan named Haruka Sawamura (Debi Derryberry/Rie Kugimiya) who is searching for her mother, Mizuki, who Date identifies as Yumi's younger sister.^[9] Haruka is also targeted by the yakuza, who believe that her pendant, which Yumi gave to her for safekeeping, is the key to the missing ten billion.^[10] Kazuma is forced to protect her from not just Shimano and Nishikiyama, but also Goro Majima (Mark Hamill/Hidenari Ugaki), Shimano's sadistic lieutenant,^[11][12] as well as the Omi Alliance, a rival yakuza organization, the Snake Flower Triad, led by Kazuma's old enemy Lau Ka Long (James Horan/Shinichi Takizawa), and the MIA, a mysterious group with ties to the Japanese government.

Eventually, Kazuma learns from Fuma that Haruka is actually Yumi's daughter, and that 'Mizuki' is really Yumi under an assumed identity. As Fuma explains, Yumi suffered amnesia after she was attacked by Dojima, but ultimately recovered and married a man named Kyohei Jingu (Robin Atkin Downes/Hiroaki Yoshida), an ambitious politician who allied himself with Sera. After accidentally killing a journalist who had tried to blackmail him with evidence that he had abandoned his family, Jingu asked Sera to have them murdered. Fuma saved Yumi and persuaded Sera to turn on Jingu, having learned that the latter was using the clan to launder the ten billion for his own purposes.^[13] Shimano ambushes them but Kazuma defeats him; however, Shimano mortally wounds Fuma with a grenade and Fuma's ally, Omi Alliance lieutenant Yukio Terada (Gregg Berger/Kenji Nomura), then shoots him dead in revenge. Before dying, Fuma confesses to Kazuma that he killed his parents when he was young and that he in fact operated the Sunflower Orphanage Kazuma grew up in, turning all of the kids there into orphans.^[14]

Armed with the knowledge of the money's location, Kazuma and Haruka head to Millennium Tower, where they meet Yumi, who has recovered her memories and now intends to destroy the money with a bomb.^[15] Jingu arrives with the MIA and the Omi Alliance, revealing that he intends to destroy the Tojo Clan and ally himself with the Alliance to control Japan.^[16] Kazuma subdues him and his men, but Nishikiyama arrives to challenge Kazuma and take the money for himself. After a lengthy battle, Kazuma defeats him. Jingu appears and shoots Yumi before the reformed Nishikiyama stabs him and detonates the bomb, killing them both.^[17] With Yumi, Fuma, and Nishikiyama dead, Kazuma decides to return to prison, but Date talks him out of it by reminding him that he is the only one who can take care of Haruka now.^[18] The Tojo Clan asks Kazuma to assume the role of Fourth Chairman in accordance with Sera's will, but he retires instead and names Terada as the new Chairman to rebuild the clan.^[19] Now free of his past, Kazuma sets out to start a new life with Haruka.

Development[edit]

The game was first hinted at in August 2005 as 'Project J.'^[20] Later that month, details were announced. Producer Toshihiro Nagoshi explained 'For a while now, I've wanted to create a powerful, gritty drama where you feel the sense of humanity,' Nagoshi explained. 'After a lot of thought, this is the product that we've arrived at.'^[21] The budget of the game was 2.4 billion yen (approx. $21 million).

Most of the team members are from different backgrounds, such as developers that have their roots in the arcade with titles such as Virtua Fighter 3 and Super Monkey Ball, as well as team members having experience in novel console titles like Panzer Dragoon and Jet Set Radio. The team members all felt that they went against their careers considering that the new game didn't match anything they had previously done. Nagoshi felt that this was an advantage, making them all play on even playing field. Anything that was done had to go through Nagoshi first, since only he had a concrete idea of how the game is going to end up.^[22]

During development, the team researched hostess clubs, which are prominently featured in the story, even attending hostess clubs themselves, including Roppongi and Kabukicho.^[23] The fictional setting of Kamurocho in the game was closely based on the red-light district of Kabukicho in Tokyo.^[24] The development team wanted to accurately portray yakuza, especially such as their obsession with jingi, their code of honor. Originally the game had scenes where pinky fingers were cut off, a traditional punishment, but these scenes were removed so that CERO would give Yakuza a favorable rating. Though using the gameplay schematics of one of Nagoshi's earlier titles, Spikeout, as basis for the combat, Yakuza utilized an entirely new engine crafted for the game.^[25]

Writing[edit]

The game's development team was divided into two groups: one writing the main plot and the other writing the subplots. Novelist Hase Seishu was the lead writer of the central plot.^[25] Seishu was brought on board two years before the game development started. Seishu had been a gamer since the days of Space Invaders, but over the past four or five years, he had lost interest, as he was less concerned with 3D visuals and gameplay than he was with story. Yakuza caught his attention, and he decided to accept the project even though it came at the busiest point of his professional writing career. Nagoshi wanted players to get enjoyment from merely walking through Kamurocho. Nagoshi reveals that the game's title, which translates to 'Like a Dragon,' was his creation; Nagoshi felt that dragons have a strong image, which would evoke Kazuma's strength and manliness.^[26]

Although Sega did have a plot in mind when they approached Seishu, they hoped that he could add realism and emotional weight to the scenes. Under Seishu's direction, the ages of Makoto Date and Kazuma Kiryu were modified.^[25] Writing the subplots did not prove challenging, as there was not a strict pattern to follow. The team wanted all subplots to keep the feeling from the main storyline. Several ideas did not make it into the game because the staff members found them silly. One subplot that made the final cut, which involves a man who tried to commit suicide when he was rejected by a girl, was nearly removed from this game for this reason.^[27]

Localization[edit]

In localizing the game, Sega funded an aggressive web and print advertising campaign, as well as an English voice cast composed almost entirely of cult performers like Michael Madsen, Eliza Dushku and Mark Hamill. Localization producer Kevin Frane recalls 'When we released the original Yakuza, we knew that the game had been a hit in Japan, and we wanted to make sure that we put our best foot forward in releasing a new and unique product to the Western market that would draw just as much acclaim.' However, technical limitations of the format made it impossible for the team to include both audio tracks on the disc.^[28] Scott A. Steinberg at Sega of America commented 'in bringing the game to the U.S. market, we wanted to ensure that the subtle nuances of the game were brought to life.'^[29]

There were also problems with promoting Yakuza before its English release. Frane added that the first trailer for the game 'was constructed using an old scratch track [an unfinished soundtrack]. This made the rounds fairly quickly across gaming fan sites, highlighting what was considered poor quality, but this trailer actually wasn't at all representative of the voice quality of the finished product. The damage had already been done, though, for the most part, and so a lot of fans probably still don't realize that.'^[30]

Soundtrack[edit]

The Ryū ga Gotoku & Ryū ga Gotoku 2 Original Sound Track (HCV-287) dual-disc boxset was published by Wave Master in Japan on January 25, 2007.^[31] The music was composed by Hidenori Shoji, Sachio Ogawa, Keitaro Hanada, Fumio Ito, Yuri Fukuda. The closing theme is John Newton's rendition of Amazing Grace, a classic hymn sung in English by Eri Kawai; additional performers are Makotch (vocals), Yuri (chorus) and Tomica (chorus).

Marketing[edit]

In order to both support the game's expensive production, including making Kamurocho a realistic recreation of Tokyo's Kabukicho, Sega contracted a tie-in campaign with famous Japanese companies. As a result, some in-game locations, such as the Don Quijote discount store and the Club Sega game centers are modeled after the real life buildings.

Sega also used product placement, and introduced ads within the game. This includes a collaboration with the Japanese Suntory group which advertises in-game with ad banners, Boss Coffee ads and vending machines are also visible in Kamurocho; cans are purchasable within Kamurocho stores. Since the group produces local drinks and is a distributor of foreign alcohols, all brands appearing in Kamurocho's bars and pubs, being Whiskey, Jack Daniel'sBourbon or Carlsberg Beer, are real brands of Suntory. In promoting the game, Sega hired Takashi Miike. A member from the team had previously worked with Toei Company on V-cinema. Sega approached many companies to try to secure product placement, like car companies and fashion companies. But because of the mature nature of the Yakuza game, they were rejected by most of them. The whiskey distributor Suntory accepted, however, since they felt the game's demographic meshed nicely with the whiskey-drinking demographic.^[25]

Other product placements include Shogakukan's Sabra magazine, Fujisankei Communications Group's SPA! magazine and Panini Group's World Club Cup stickers. The latter appears in a TV ad, together with a Suntory drink and a Sega mahjong game, which is displayed in the Kamurocho theater wall screen. Sega's UFO Catchercrane game machines are included as a minigame, and arcade cabinets of Virtua Fighter 4 and SpikeOut can be seen in the Club Sega game centers.

Far Cry 4 Dlc Download

Editions[edit]

As part of the pre-ordering campaign, the Japanese first edition was bundled with two limited items, a Tojo Clanlapel pin replica (特製ピンバッジ, tokusei pin baju, lit. 'deluxe pin badge')^[32] and a monography called Kamutai Magazine (December 2005 issue).^[33] Since then a new issue of Kamutai Magazine is bundled with each franchise episode pre-order.

The original PlayStation 2 the Best edition (SLPM-74234) included a bonus DVD with the trailer of Yakuza 2, while the reprint (SLPM-74253) which was released during the production of the spin-off was repackaged with a rose cover art instead of white (a.k.a. リパッケージ版, ripakkeji han lit. 'repackage edition') and a bonus DVD with the trailer of Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan!, a voice cast message and a 20-minute producer interview.^[34]

There were no special editions of the game released outside Japan, but Sega Europe and America did use online marketing. A flash game, 'CodeYakuza.com', was created and an English subtitled version of the game's 2006 live-action adaption directed by Takashi Miike, Like a Dragon: Prologue, was freely downloadable on the game's official website.^[35]

Rereleases[edit]

The original Japanese version of the game, Ryū Ga Gotoku was later ported to both, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii U consoles. This remastered edition of the first game in the series is bundled with its sequel, Ryū ga Gotoku 2. These HD versions were released only in Japan.

Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD edition[edit]

On November 1, 2012, a PlayStation 3 HD remaster of the Japanese original version of Yakuza and Yakuza 2 titled Ryu Ga Gotoku 1&2 HD edition was released in Japan.^[36] This 'HD edition' features both game remasters bundled in a single Blu-ray disc and later as a downloadable title on the Japanese PlayStation Store.

On December 11, 2014, this 'HD edition' was re-released in the budget range 'PlayStation 3 the Best' dedicated to best sellers on the Japanese domestic market.^[37] Simultaneously to this Blu-ray re-release, an 18.1GB^[38] downloadable version was also made available for purchase on the Japanese PlayStation Store.^[39]

Ryū ga Gotoku 1&2 HD for Wii U[edit]

On August 8, 2013, a Wii U HD remaster of the Japanese original version of Yakuza and Yakuza 2 titled Ryu Ga Gotoku 1&2 HD for Wii U was released in Japan.^[40] This 'HD for Wii U' release features both game remasters bundled in a single disc or in a 19.8GB^[41] file for download. This Wii U release is notable for being the first port of the PlayStation-exclusive Yakuza series on a non-Sony platform.

Yakuza Kiwami[edit]

A remake of Yakuza, titled Ryu ga Gotoku: Kiwami (龍が如く：極), was released on January 21, 2016 in Japan for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.^[42]Kiwami improved the resolution, framerate, textures and loading times compared to the original game, and additional content was added to resolve some of the more confusing plot points and establish connections to the prequel title Yakuza 0.^[43] The remakes for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 were the top two best-selling games in Japan during their release week, selling 103,256 copies for PlayStation 4 and 60,427 for PlayStation 3.^[44]

Sega announced during the PlayStation Experience event in Anaheim, California on December 3, 2016, that Yakuza Kiwami for PlayStation 4 and Yakuza 6 would be released in the West.^[45] They announced a release date of Summer 2017 for Kiwami in the West, ultimately releasing the game on August 29. It also released for Microsoft Windows on February 19, 2019.

Reception[edit]

The game was heavily acclaimed in Japan for combining innovative gameplay with cinema-like story telling and character development on the back of Japan's criminal underground.^[59]Yakuza received generally positive reviews among Western critics earning a 75 out of 100 in Metacritic and a 78% in GameRankings.^[46][47]IGN praised its combat system and sense of style but criticized its tedious gameplay.^[55]Newtype USA called it 'the adult-themed spiritual successor to the Dreamcast's Shenmue series' and found that the fighting system would interest many players.^[60] GamePro similarly compared it with Shenmue based on the amount of subscenarios.^[50]1UP.com saw the potential of the fighting as it often earned the player money which can be used to buy items in the city.^[3]GameRevolution criticized the number of random encounters which resulted in a large amount of loading times. He also criticized the simplicity of the fighting system and few notable issues^[51] with GameTrailers agreeing on the difficulty in centering on an enemy.^[53] The amount of sidequests available received generally favorable response.^[50][53]

The game has been praised for the design of the city and delivery of the English voice acting.^[3] GameRevolution also praised it as 'From an audio/video standpoint, Yakuza is exceptionally well-produced. Although the cut-scenes are all use the in-game engine, the complicated facial expressions are shockingly intricate and colorful, while some of the floral tattoos look too good to be true.'^[51] UGO Networks praised the seriousness of the story as the game 'respects and appreciates yakuza culture and its often forgotten roots in the samurai tradition/bushido code' and thus lamented the lack of the Japanese audio.^[56] GameTrailers also wished for a Japanese audio option, despite noting the English dub did a fine job.^[53] GameZone called it an 'epic story that will keep you exploring the world filled with criminals and Kazuma's only friends who will help him along the way.'^[54]

The game sold 232,650 units in Japan during 2005.^[61] In 2006 it shipped 345,323 units.^[62] Due to its commercial success on the Japanese market, Yakuza had a PlayStation 2 the Best edition on October 26, 2006, and an exceptional reprint on December 6, 2007. In contrast, this Asian long seller title never had a Platinum or Greatest Hits re-release on the western markets. Total sales reached 1 million.^[63]

Legacy[edit]

According to Toshihiro Nagoshi '[Ryu ga Gotoku was successful] because there were only a few titles which directly portray original Japanese culture. Also, there is no other title which attempts to represent such a Japanese world view with a big budget title.'^[64] The game was also recognized for excellence in the 2007 Japan Game Awards.^[57]

A sequel, titled Yakuza 2, was released in Japan on December 7, 2006,^[65] and in North America and Europe on September 9, 2008 and September 19, 2008 respectively.^[66] The game was followed by Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan a PlayStation 3 spin-off where the player controls Miyamoto Musashi, also known as Kiryu. Although this game did not make it to the west, the sequel Yakuza 3 for the PlayStation 3^[67] did. It was then followed by Yakuza 4 which for the first time incorporated multiple playable characters.^[68] The next game, the spin-off Yakuza: Dead Souls, also made it to English releases. Once a Japan-exclusive released in 2012, Yakuza 5 was announced to be released on December 8, 2015 while Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! remains as a Japan-exclusive game.

Live-action adaptations[edit]

In 2006, Takeshi Miyasaka directed a prequel Like a Dragon: Prologue (龍が如く 〜序章〜, ryu ga gotoku -joshou-) with mixed martial artist and puroresu wrestler Masakatsu Funaki as Kazuma Kiryu. A film adaptation Like a Dragon (龍が如く 劇場版, ryu ga gotoku: gekijoban) was directed by Takashi Miike in 2007. Kazuma Kiryu's role is played by actor Kazuki Kitamura, known outside of Japan for his roles in Shohei Imamura's The Eel, Takeshi Miike's Dead or Alive and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.^[69]

References[edit]

1. ^Romano, Sal (September 15, 2015). 'Yakuza: Kiwami and Yakuza 6 announced for PS4'. Gematsu. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
2. ^'Yakuza Kiwami for PS4 coming west in summer 2017'. Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
3. ^ ^abcdMielke, James. 'Yakuza Review for PS2, Game from'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
4. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: Lying in front of me was the corpse of the patriarch of the Dojima family. He had tried to force himself on Yumi.
5. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: I was sentenced to ten years. After going inside I got a letter of expulsion from the Dojima Family and found out Yumi had disappeared.
6. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Akira Nishikiyama: Is it true that 10 billion yen of the clan's money has been stolen?
7. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: I looked for Yumi, taking my father's word that she was connected to the money.
8. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Date: I'm investigating Chairman Sera's murder. Help me out.
9. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: Her name was Haruka. She was just 9 years old. She had come to the city by herself to look for her mother. / Haruka: My mother and Yumi are all I have...
10. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: The Tojo clan believed Haruka was the key to the missing 10 billion yen. I did my best to protect Haruka while looking Yumi and the money.
11. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: My former best friend now changed-- and a group of hardened kills, searching for missing money.
12. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: Many people stood in our way as we continued our investigation. Futoshi Shimano, who was after both the 10 billion and the position of chairman... Goro Majima, lieutenant of the Majima Family.
13. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: A politician had been involved with the stolen 10 billion yen. His name was Kyohei Jingu. He had given the money to the Tojo clan as part of an investment scheme. Jingu had been using the Tojo to make money. The people who had stolen the money had done so to protect the Tojo Clan from Jingu. / Fuma: Kazuma... We stole the money. Me, Yumi and Sera...
14. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: After sacrificing his life to save Haruka, my father told me everything.
15. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: Now aware of the truth, Haruka and I headed to-- where the money lay, Millenimum Tower. We found Yumi waiting for us there.
16. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: Kyohei Jingu had come to take back his 10 billion yen. He had betrayed the Tojo clan and joined with the Omi Alliance from Osaka.
17. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: My best friend sacrificed his life to save Haruka and me.
18. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Date: Snap out of it! You've still got something to fight for! There's someone who needs you! Don't run from your responsibilities!
19. ^Sega. Yakuza 2. Sega. Kazuma: I gave the title of Chairman to Terada who would carry on after my father and left the Tojo Clan.
20. ^'Sega's Project J'. IGN. August 6, 2005. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
21. ^'Sega's Project J Revealed'. IGN. August 23, 2005. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
22. ^'Ryu Encyclopaedia'.
23. ^Gifford, Kevin (October 9, 2008). 'A Heart-To-Heart With Yakuza's Development Team'. 1UP.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 1, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
24. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2017-06-01.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
25. ^ ^abcdGifford, Kevin (October 9, 2008). 'A Heart-To-Heart With Yakuza's Development Team'. 1UP.com. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
26. ^'Ryu Ga Gotoku Update'. IGN. September 11, 2005. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
27. ^Gifford, Kevin (October 9, 2008). 'A Heart-To-Heart With Yakuza's Development Team'. 1UP.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
28. ^Contastine, John. 'Tokyo Beat Down: The Story of Yakuza'. 1UP.com. p. 1. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
29. ^'Yakuza Voice Cast Revealed'. IGN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
30. ^Contastine, John. 'Tokyo Beat Down: The Story of Yakuza'. 1UP.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
31. ^'Ryu Ga Gotoku series soundtrack'. Sega, Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 official website, News. 2007-01-12. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
32. ^'『龍が如く』に2大特典をつけてプレゼント！ 「セガモバ」で発売記念キャンペーン'. Dengeki Online. December 7, 2005. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
33. ^'『龍が如く』予約購入キャンペーンの内容が判明！'. Famitsu website. 2005-11-11. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
34. ^'龍が如く2 PlayStation 2 The Best'. Sega, Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 official website - special page. December 12, 2006. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
35. ^'Official Yakuza Website'. Sega America & Sega Europe. September 2006. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
36. ^龍が如く1＆2 HD EDITION PlayStation®3 the Best, PlayStation official website - JapanArchived 2015-05-08 at the Wayback Machine
37. ^龍が如く1＆2 HD EDITION PlayStation®3 the Best, PlayStation official website - JapanArchived 2015-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
38. ^龍が如く １＆２ ＨＤ EDITION PlayStation®3 the Best, PlayStation Store - JapanArchived 2016-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
39. ^龍が如く1＆2 HD EDITION PlayStation®3 the Best, PlayStation official website - JapanArchived 2015-02-17 at the Wayback Machine
40. ^Ryu Ga Gotoku 1&2 HD for Wii official websiteArchived 2015-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
41. ^龍が如く1＆2 HD for Wii U, Nintendo official website - JapanArchived 2015-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
42. ^Romano, Sal (15 September 2015). 'Yakuza: Kiwami and Yakuza 6 announced for PS4'. Gematsu. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
43. ^Linneman, John (7 February 2016). 'Kiwami is the next best thing to a Shenmue'. EUROGAMER.net. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
44. ^コンシューマソフト週間販売ランキングTop20 (集計期間：2016年1月18日～1月24日) [Consumer software weekly sales ranking Top20 (January 18 to January 24, 2016)]. 4gamer. 27 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
45. ^John Hardin (3 December 2016). 'Yakuza Kiwami: An Extreme Remake on Your PS4'. PlayStation.blog. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
46. ^ ^ab'Yakuza for PlayStation 2'. GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
47. ^ ^ab'Yakuza for PlayStation 2 Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
48. ^Bramwell, Tom (2006-09-20). 'Yakuza PlayStation 2 Review - Page 1'. Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
49. ^'List of Weekly Famitsu software Hall of Fame'. Geimin.net. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
50. ^ ^abc'Yakuza Review'. GamePro. 2008-06-18. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
51. ^ ^abc'Yakuza Review for the PS2'. GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
52. ^'Yakuza Review for PlayStation 2'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
53. ^ ^abcd'Yakuza Video Game'. GameTrailers. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
54. ^ ^ab'Yakuza - PS2 - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010.
55. ^ ^ab'Yakuza Review - PlayStation 2 Review at IGN'. IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
56. ^ ^ab'Yakuza Review'. UGO Networks. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011.
57. ^ ^ab'Wii Sports, Monster Hunter Awarded'. IGN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
58. ^'FAMITSU AWARDS 2005'. famitsu.com. April 21, 2006. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017.
59. ^'Official Yakuza website'. Sega. Archived from the original on August 22, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2006.
60. ^Orlando, Greg (September 2006). 'Yakuza'. Newtype USA. 5 (9). ISSN1541-4817. Archived from the original on November 24, 2006.
61. ^'2005年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP500'. Geimin. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
62. ^'2006年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP500（ファミ通版）'. Geimin. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
63. ^仗桐安 (2009-02-27). '「龍が如く3」レビュー：伝説の極道が、PS3で大暴れ！――東京と沖縄でリアルな街を駆け抜けろ (1/3)'. ITmedia website. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
64. ^'Tokyo Beat Down: The Story of Yakuza'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
65. ^'Ryuga Gotoku 2 [Yakuza 2]'. Sega. Archived from the original on January 15, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2006.
66. ^videogaming247 » Blog Archive » Yakuza 2 for European release
67. ^Gifford, Kevin (October 9, 2008). 'Toshihiro Nagoshi Discusses Yakuza 3'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
68. ^'Interview: Defining Direction, Writing, Art And Music On Yakuza 4'. Gamasutra. June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
69. ^LIKE A DRAGON (Japan, 2007)Archived 2010-04-08 at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an open-worldaction role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, and was released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer (Dark Elf) province of Morrowind, part of the continent of Tamriel. The central quests concern the deity Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign.^[1][2][3]

Although primarily a fantasy game, with many gameplay elements and Western medieval and fantasy fiction tropes inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and previous RPGs, it also features some steampunk elements and drew much inspiration from Middle Eastern and East Asian art, architecture, and cultures. Morrowind was designed with an open-ended, freeform style of gameplay in mind, with less of an emphasis on the main plot than its predecessors. This choice received mixed reviews by some members of the gaming press, though such feelings were tempered by reviewers' appreciation of Morrowind's expansive, detailed game world.

Morrowind achieved both critical and commercial success, winning various awards including Game of the Year and selling over four million copies worldwide by 2005.^[4] The game spawned two expansion packs: Tribunal and Bloodmoon. Both were repackaged into a full set (along with several minor add-ons) and titled Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition, which was released in October 2003.^[5] The open-source, free software alternative game engine OpenMW permits users of Linux and macOS, as well as Windows, to play the game natively, and with support for optional higher-end graphics than the original Bethesda engine. It requires an installation of the original game, as it uses the Bethesda game data files, and supports many third-party mods.

• 1Gameplay
• 4Development
• 5Reception
• 6Expansions and compilations

Gameplay[edit]

Character creation[edit]

Morrowind begins with the player's character, having been imprisoned, arriving in Morrowind by boat to be pardoned. This is a common introductory segment throughout the main installments of the series. A tutorial depicting the prisoner's release moves the player through the process of character creation.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} The player is successively asked questions by a fellow prisoner, an officer, and a bureaucrat as the player is registered as a free citizen; choosing, in the process, the player character's name, race, gender, class, and birthsign. These affect the player's starting attributes, skills, and abilities. The player then determines their class in one of three ways: Picking from a class list, randomly generating a class via questions, or creating a custom class themselves.^[6][7][11]

Skill system[edit]

The player character's proficiency with a skill is increased through practice, training, and study. Practice involves performing the specific actions associated with a given skill, which gradually raises the character's proficiency in that skill. Raising weapon skills requires striking an enemy with the appropriate weapon; raising armor skills requires being struck while wearing the appropriate type of armor; etc. Training involves paying cash to non-player characters (NPCs) in exchange for immediate proficiency increases in that skill. Study requires reading books found in the game, some of which will immediately raise a skill when read. Weaponry skills affect the character's chance to hit. Armor skills affect the defensive strength of the armor. Other skills affect proficiency in other actions such as potion-making, running, lockpicking, etc.

Morrowind, like its predecessor Daggerfall, makes a distinction between 'attributes' and 'skills'; skills being those individual proficiencies in particular schools of battle or with particular armor classes, and attributes being broader proficiencies, such as 'strength' and 'endurance', which are either tied to important features unconnected to any skill, (health, evasion chance, etc.) or improve the efficiency of a wide variety of skills. Strength, for example, improves the damage of any physical blow dealt by the player character. Attributes, however, are improved only when the player levels up.

The player levels up their character by gaining levels in ten pre-determined skills, listed as 'major' and 'minor' skills. Each time the player levels up their character, they can select three attributes to augment as well. The player is better able to augment attributes related to their skill set, as each level gained in a particular skill adds to the multiplier by which the skill's governing attribute is augmented.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Combat[edit]

The simplest melee attack is a chop action. The slightly more complex slash and thrust attacks are performed by clicking in unison with tapping a directional key,^[15] though by turning on the 'always use best attack' option, players can eliminate the moving element, freeing them to focus on the combat. A melee weapon's damage potential is rated for each of these attacks. Reviewers found little value in choosing between the three types of attacks for most weapons and recommended the 'always use best attack' option.^[15][16] Hidden arithmetic modifiers, applied to each combatant's skills, determines whether or not the attack hits. In the game's original release, the player was given no indication of the amount of health left in their enemies and no indication of the strength of the player's attacks. Reviewers took the absence badly, wishing for more visible feedback.^[11][15][17] Bethesda added enemy health bars in patch 1.1.0605, released one month after Morrowind's initial publication.^[18]

Free-form design[edit]

Morrowind, following the tradition established by its predecessors in The Elder Scrolls series,^[19] is a free-form world, with few constricting boundaries on the player's actions. From the beginning of the game, players are put in a world where they are left to roam, steal, quest, and explore, without necessarily following the main quest.^[20] Lead designer Ken Rolston, when asked before Morrowind's release what he thought were the 'core, untouchable design elements' of the Elder Scrolls series which 'set them apart from other games,' responded immediately: 'Free-form experience.'^[21] In Rolston's view, the game's central plot is a chance to introduce the player to a cross-current of conflicting factions, background themes, and the characters of the game, rather than the primary focus of the player's experience.^[22] 'Every [The Elder Scrolls] game has to let you create the kind of character you want, and then do the things you want. We would never have a [The Elder Scrolls] role-playing game force you to be a certain character or go down a certain path.'^[21]

To allow for this behavior, Morrowind, in addition to creating an extensive main quest, provides detailed discursive quests for a variety of factions, including various guilds, religious organizations, and aristocratic houses, in addition to side-quests found by exploration.^[23][24] The main plot itself may be undertaken in many ways. There are, in the words of critic Craig Lindley, 'a very specific set of central plot points within this main plot. But the plot points are partially ordered: seven high-level tasks must be completed, but their constituent sub-tasks...can be accomplished in any order, and this is repeated for the sub-tasks involved in those sub-tasks.' The choices the player makes in their performance of these tasks thus become methods of character interpretation; a set of dramatic tools establishing the player's newly created self-identity.^[25]

According to Gamasutra's Matt Barton, some have argued that these changes put Morrowind closer in spirit to the original Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game, where players take a more creative role in their play, and where players are left to decide for themselves the 'right' action.^[26] This is a view paralleled by Rolston, who has stated that 'The goal of every [The Elder Scrolls] game is to create something that resembles a pen and paper RPG on the computer.'^[21] The sheer number of quest possibilities, combined with what developer Ken Rolston identified as a lack of 'narrative urgency', left many critics dissatisfied with the main plot. Ken Rolston later stated that the main quest might have been presented with greater force, in the style of the game's successor, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, without losing the free-form design of the series, but such concerns were not addressed before Morrowind's release.^[27]

Plot[edit]

While Morrowind contains many quests and storylines, the central plot revolves around The Tribunal, a triumvirate of god-like beings ruling over Morrowind, and their struggle against a former ally, the deity Dagoth Ur and his Sixth House – a cult of followers stretching out from Red Mountain, the volcanic center of Vvardenfell, the island on which the game is set. Dagoth Ur has used the Heart of Lorkhan, an artifact of great power, to make himself immortal and now seeks to drive the Imperial Legion occupiers from Morrowind using his network of spies, as well as Akulakhan, an enormous mechanical golem powered by the Heart of Lorkhan.^[3][28]

Far Cry 4 Dlc Weapons

After a storm and a strange dream vision, the player character (PC) begins in a town called Seyda Neen, fresh off a boat from a mainland prison, freed by the string-pulling of the current ruler of the Tamrielic Empire, Emperor Uriel Septim VII. The PC is given the task of meeting Caius Cosades, a member of the Blades, a secret group of spies and agents working for the Emperor and the Empire.^[10]

Cosades inducts the player into the Blades on the Emperor's orders and sets the player on various quests to uncover the mysterious disappearances and revelations that the citizens of Vvardenfell have experienced, particularly the Sixth House and the Ashlander prophecies of the Nerevarine. It is later revealed that the induction under Cosades, and the player's release from prison, was due to the Emperor's suspicion that the player might be the Nerevarine – a reincarnation of the legendary Dunmer hero Indoril Nerevar – or at least someone who would make a convincing imposter to use for political gain. The PC is tasked with uncovering the prophecies regarding the Nerevarine and to fulfill them to finally defeat Dagoth Ur and his Sixth House cult.

Prophecies from the nomadic Dunmer people living in the Ashlands, the Ashlanders, predict that Nerevar's incarnate will fulfill a set of seven prophecies. The first two prophecies are that the Nerevarine will be born on a certain day to uncertain parents, and will be immune to Corprus disease, a Divine disease created by Dagoth Ur. The player has already fulfilled the first; hence, he/she was chosen for the task. The player becomes immune to Corprus by contracting the disease and surviving an experimental cure. Fulfilling these, the player seeks to complete the third prophecy, a test to find the Moon-and-Star (also called One-Clan-Under-Moon-And-Star), the symbolic ring originally worn by Nerevar, which has the power to instantly kill anyone, apart from himself (and by extension, the Nerevarine), who tries to wear it. Upon finding and equipping the ring, the player receives a vision from Azura, the ancient Daedric Prince of the Dawn and Dusk, who confirms that the player is Nerevar's incarnate. The Nerevarine completes the fourth and fifth trials, which are to rally the Great Houses of the Dunmer and Ashlanders of Vvardenfell under one banner. After receiving the support and being declared 'Hortator' by every Great House and 'Nerevarine' by all nomadic Ashlander tribes, the player is officially, albeit reluctantly, called 'Nerevarine' by the Tribunal Temple, who normally persecute anyone who claims to be the Nerevarine and sentences them to death.

The Nerevarine is invited to the palace of the poet god-king Vivec, one of the three deities that form the basis of Morrowind's religion, known as the Tribunal, to discuss the assault on Dagoth Ur's stronghold in the heart of Red Mountain. Vivec presents the player with the gauntlet 'Wraithguard', an ancient Dwemer artifact that allows the use of the tools Sunder and Keening. These ancient weapons were created by the Dwemer to tap into the power of the fabled Heart of Lorkhan, which they found beneath Red Mountain - and these same tools have been used by the Tribunal and Dagoth Ur to reach their god-like status.The tools can, however, also destroy the fabled Heart of Lorkhan, but without having the Wraithguard equipped, they will deal a fatal blow to whoever wields them.^[29]

The player travels into Red Mountain to Dagoth Ur's citadel. After talking with Dagoth Ur, who attempts to sway the player to his side with the claim that he is merely following Nerevar's final orders, the player and Dagoth Ur fight. Besting Dagoth Ur, the Nerevarine soon discovers that while the Heart of Lorkhan is still intact, Dagoth Ur remains immortal and he soon returns from death. Making his way to the very heart of the mountain, the Nerevarine finds the Heart of Lorkhan and destroys it, severing Dagoth Ur from his power and ultimately killing him. Akulakhan's Chamber, where Lorkhan's heart resided, is destroyed in the process as the cavern collapses, and in turn, Red Mountain is cleared of blight and The Sixth House falls. Upon escaping from the chamber, the Nerevarine is congratulated by Azura, who comes to reward the player's efforts of fulfilling the prophecy.^[30]

The game does not end upon the completion of the main quest, but the game world Vvardenfell is affected in many different ways. The Blight Storms cease to plague the land, and the weak-minded followers of the Sixth House are reawakened, remembering nothing of their ordeal. The Dreamers who harassed the Nerevarine fall silent, and the Nerevarine becomes widely known as the savior of Vvardenfell. The quintessential consequence of defeating Dagoth Ur was the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan. Due to their immortality linked to the heart, Vivec and the Tribunal become mortal again, leaving Vivec's future in question and up to the player to determine his fate. The loss of divinity among the Tribunal is the main plot point of the game's first expansion, Tribunal.

Setting[edit]

Morrowind takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer-dominated province of Morrowind, far from the typically European-inspired lands to the west and south depicted in Daggerfall and Arena. Along with graphical improvements, one of the most apparent differences between Morrowind and the earlier games in the series is that Morrowind takes place in a much smaller area than the previous games. While Arena featured the entirety of Tamriel as an explorable area, and Daggerfall featured sizeable portions of two provinces of Tamriel, Hammerfell, and High Rock, Morrowind includes only the 'relatively small' island of Vvardenfell within the province of Morrowind.^[15] The change was a result of a conscious choice on the part of the developers to feature more detail and variety in the game. Whereas Daggerfall and Arena's dungeons were randomly generated, each area in Morrowind was specifically detailed, and each item individually placed. As a result, reviewers were generally impressed with the game world's variety, as this maintained the perception of an 'enormous' game-world.^[15] The game area expands to the walled city of Mournhold on Morrowind's mainland in the Tribunal expansion, and the island of Solstheim to the northwest of Vvardenfell in the Bloodmoon expansion.

Morrowind's developers, rather than developing the typical Medieval European setting of fantasy games, chose a more eclectic route, taking elements from Egyptian, early Japanese, and Middle Eastern cultures,^[31] with Islamic architecture cited in particular for its significant influence on Balmora's Hlaalu architecture.^[32] Executive Producer Todd Howard felt that the use of Morrowind as a backdrop was integral in the development of the game's style. While admitting some elements of the partially medieval Imperial culture more typical of fantasy to retain familiarity with the earlier installments of the series, Morrowind's Dark Elven setting 'opened huge new avenues for creating cultures and sites that are not traditionally seen in a fantasy setting'.^[33] The development team also gave particular credit to the Ridley Scott film Gladiator, high fantasy, The Dark Crystal, and Conan the Barbarian as influences.^[34]

The game has over 300 books (not counting spell scrolls). One particular compilation of the text was 1,241 sheets of 8.25 × 11 inch paper.^[35]PC Gamer weighted the in-game text as equal to six typical-size novels.^[20] Many of these books provide long, serial stories, and provide hints as to the background and history of the game.^[7] One critic, Phillip Scuderi, remembered Morrowind for its great literary richness. To him, the in-game literature and its integration within the game were Morrowind's 'most original and lasting contribution to the history of games', one that would place it beside Planescape: Torment as one of the most important games of all time.^[36] Such themes are echoed in other responses to the game, such as that of RPGamer's Joseph Witham, who found the story 'discreet' in its progression, with a dungeon-crawling feel, standing alongside a 'whole world of unique history' with books forming the greater part of the player's interaction with that world.^[37] Most of the books were reused in Oblivion.

The game has a great deal of geographic variation in climate, flora, and, to some extent, fauna as well. Besides that, there is also some variety in politics and culture among the in-game populations, the combination of which adds to the uniqueness of different parts of the island. On top of that, there is an archaeological aspect to the game, which gives a certain degree of depth to the story as well as the option for further exploration. Additionally, there are various kinds of limits in visibility such as fog and dust, which are countered with 'clear day/night' effects that also enhance visibility to some extent.

The in-game exploration is chiefly based on walking and running; however, there are instances when swimming and sometimes levitation is involved. Transportation of other kinds, such as teleportation, and traveling by boat or on the back of giant flea-like creatures called silt striders, is available for a fee when moving between the various settlements on Vvardenfell.

Development[edit]

A third title in the Elder Scrolls series was first conceived during the development of Daggerfall, though it was initially to be set in the Summerset Isles and called Tribunal. Following the release of Daggerfall, it was set up around an SVGA version of XnGine, which Bethesda later used in Battlespire, and set in the province of Morrowind. The game was 'much closer to Daggerfall in scope', encompassing the whole province of Morrowind, rather than the isle of Vvardenfell, and allowing the player to join all five Dunmer Great Houses. The blight was conceived as a dynamic force, progressively expanding and destroying cities in its wake. It was finally decided that the scope of the original design was too grand given the technology current at the time.^[38] According to Ken Rolston, something was said approximating 'We're not ready for it, we don't want to jump into this and fail'.^[31] The project was put on hold in 1997, as Bethesda went on to develop Redguard and Battlespire,^[38] though the project remained in the back of the developers' minds throughout this period.^[31]

The completion of Redguard in 1998 led to a return to the Morrowind project, as the developers felt a yearning in their audience to return to the classically epic forms of the earlier titles. Finding that the gaps between their technical capacities and those of rival companies had grown in the interim, Bethesda sought to revitalize itself and return to the forefront of the industry,^[38] an effort spearheaded by project leader Todd Howard.^[39] The XnGine was scrapped and replaced with a licensed copy of NetImmerse, a Direct3D powered engine, with transform and lighting capacity,^[31] 32-bit textures and skeletal animation.^[24] During their promotional campaign, Bethesda deliberately paralleled their screenshot releases with the announcement of NVIDIA's GeForce 4, as 'being indicative of the outstanding water effects the technology is capable of'.^[40]

The scale of the game was much reduced from the earlier concept, focusing primarily on Dagoth Ur and a smaller area of land. It was decided that the game world would be populated using the methods the team had developed in Redguard; that is, the game objects would be crafted by hand, rather than generated using the random algorithmic methods of Arena and Daggerfall. By 2000, Morrowind was to be unequivocally a single-player game, with no chance of multiplayer extension. In the words of Pete Hines, Bethesda's Director of Marketing and PR: 'No. Not on release, not three months after, no no no.'^[34] The project, despite the reduced scale, became a massive investment. According to the team's reasoning, the endeavor took 'close to 100 man-years to create'. To accomplish this feat, Bethesda tripled their staff and spent their first year of development on The Elder Scrolls Construction Set, allowing the game staff to easily balance the game and to modify it in small increments rather than large.^[38] According to project leader Todd Howard, the Construction Set came as the result of a collective yearning to develop a 'role-playing operating system', capable of extension and modification, rather than a particular type of game.^[41] Despite the additional staff, designer Ken Rolston would later state that, compared to Oblivion, Morrowind had a small design team.^[27]

In May 2000, Bethesda set the first expected PC release date in late 2001.^[42] On May 5, 2001, Bethesda announced an additional Morrowind release for Microsoft's Xbox. The project was, according to the same release, something that Bethesda had been working on with Microsoft since they had first known of the console.^[43]Morrowind had an impressive showing at E32001,^[44] demonstrating a beta build to the public. The same beta build was demonstrated to the staff of PC Gamer for another preview and was kept around the office as late as June 19 as the subject of later previews, while another test build was developed alongside.^[32] Later order forms, such as those by Electronics Boutique, set the date in November. On October 10, 2001, GameSpot reported that Morrowind's release date had been set back to March 2002.^[45] On October 12, a press release from Bethesda gave the date of 'Spring 2002',^[46] confirming GameSpot's supposition of delay without agreeing on the more specific date of 'March'.^[47] Though no rationale behind the delay was given at the time, developer Pete Hines later attributed the delay to a need for game testing and balancing.^[48] Although the PC version of Morrowind had gone gold by April 23, 2002,^[49] and was released on May 1 in North America,^[50] the Xbox release was delayed further. On April 15, GameSpot suggested an Xbox release date sometime in May and a scheduled 'going gold' date for the Xbox version in the first week of the same month.^[51] In contradiction of GameSpot's supposition, a June 4 Bethesda press release set June 7 as the Xbox release date.^[52]

On January 3, 2002, Bethesda announced that game publisher Ubisoft would take control of the European distribution of Morrowind and eight other Bethesda games.^[53] Under Ubisoft's supervision, Morrowind's European release took place in two stages. A 'semi-localized' version of the game was released in May, containing a translated manual but leaving the game's text in untranslated English. A fully localized version of the game, with translated versions of both, was released in August. Ubisoft group brand manager Thomas Petersen described the difficulties of translating a 'universe featuring more than a million words' as 'quite a task'.^[54]

In a break from standard industry practice, Bethesda decided to publish its strategy guide in-house, rather than contracting it out to a third-party publisher like BradyGames or Prima Games. The decision resulted from a belief among Bethesda staff that they believed in and understood Morrowind more than any external agency and deserved more royalties than were commonly rewarded. Bethesda hired Peter Olafson, a noted game journalist and friend of the company, and they began work on the guide in January 2002, four months before release. The resulting product, Morrowind Prophecies Strategy Guide, sold over 200,000 copies as of September 24, 2003. Although the royalties from most third-party game publishers approach 25% to 30% only infrequently, Bethesda managed a 70% profit margin on their own.^[55] In spite of this success, Bethesda decided to allow Prima Games to publish the 'official' game guide for the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.^[56]

Audio[edit]

Morrowind's soundtrack was composed by Jeremy Soule, a video game composer whose previous soundtracks for Total Annihilation and Icewind Dale had earned some acclaim from the gaming press. In a Bethesda press release, Soule stated that the 'epic quality' of the Elder Scrolls series was 'particularly compatible with the grand, orchestral style of music' that Soule enjoys composing 'the most'.^[57] Outside Bethesda press releases, some have criticized Morrowind's soundtrack. In their reviews of the game, both GameSpot and GameSpy criticized the length of the game's soundtrack and praised its general production quality.^[11][58] In the words of GameSpot's Greg Kasavin: 'The very first time you boot up Morrowind, you'll be treated to a memorable, stirring theme filled with soaring strings and booming percussion. You'll proceed to hear it literally every five minutes or so during play.'^[11] Soule was aware of the problem and chose to create a soft and minimalist score so as not to wear out players' ears.^[59]

In a feature for Gamasutra, Scott B. Morton, although praising the music itself, declared that Morrowind's soundtrack did not work effectively with the game's gameplay, accomplishing little as an emotional device. Morrowind's soundtrack is ambient, with cues only for battle encounters. In Morton's view, the lack of variation, response to the game's action, and the short length leave players detached from the game world.^[60]Alexander Brandon, in another Gamasutra feature, praised Morrowind's soundtrack for its innovative instrumentation. In Brandon's opinion, its use of orchestral elements in conjunction with synthesized ones, and the use of what Brandon termed 'the 'Bolero' approach', left the game's soundtrack feeling 'incredibly dramatic'.^[61] In February 2003, Morrowind was nominated for the category of 'Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition' at the 6th Annual Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Interactive Achievement Awards but lost to Medal of Honor: Frontline.^[62]

Morrowind also contained a fair bit of voiced dialogue; an aspect somewhat better received by the gaming press. Of note is Lynda Carter, television's Wonder Woman, promoted by Bethesda for her role in voicing the female Nords in the game.^[63]Morrowind's race-specific voice acting received praise from some reviewers,^[64][65] though was met with disdain from others, who disliked the discord between a culturally inflected voice spoken in an alien dialect and the grammatically flawless dialogue printed in the dialogue boxes.^[15] The Special Edition Soundtrack was released over DirectSong as a digital release.

Reception[edit]

Worldwide sales of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind reached almost 95,000 units by the end of June 2002,^[72] and rose to 200,000 copies by the end of September.^[73] By August 2005, the game had surpassed 4 million copies sold.^[74] In the United States, Morrowind's computer version sold 300,000 copies and earned $11.7 million by August 2006, after its release in April 2002. It was the country's 62nd best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Elder Scrolls computer games released between those dates had reached 990,000 units in the United States by August 2006.^[75]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was well received by critics. It was congratulated most frequently for its breadth of scope, the richness of its visuals, and the freedom it worked into its design. Alongside the compliments, however, came criticism that the game designers had overstretched themselves, leaving glitches in various spots, and made a game too taxing to be run on an average machine, with one reviewer calling it 'a resource pig'.^[58] In a retrospective by 1Up, the breadth and open-endedness of Morrowind are suggested to have contributed to the decline of single-player RPGs on home computers by leading customers to MMORPGs, where they could have a similar experience.^[76]

In spite of this, reviewers generally felt that the drawbacks of the game were minor in comparison to its strengths. IGN concluded that 'Morrowind isn't perfect and its system requirements are huge; but its accomplishments outweigh any reservations.'^[71] GameSpot's review concluded with a similar summation. 'Morrowind does have numerous drawbacks ... But they're all generally minor enough that most anyone should be able to look past them ... They'll otherwise find that Morrowind fulfills its many ambitious intentions. It's a beautiful-looking, sprawling, and completely open-ended game that allows you to play pretty much however you like'.^[11]

The game environment of Morrowind was applauded as large and richly detailed, particularly for its real-time weather effects, day/night cycle,^[77] and its great variety of plant and animal life.^{[6][11][14][58]}Xbox Nation commended the game for its 'sheer scope', and credited that aspect as the game's 'biggest selling point', though it criticized the slowdowns, travel times and questing complexities that resulted from it.^[78] In contrast to the 'generic'^[15] nature of Daggerfall's design, reviewers found Morrowind's design spectacular, varied,^[58] and stunning.^[11] GameSpot stated that 'Simply exploring Morrowind is possibly the best thing about it.'^[11]

The mildly complex reciprocal skill system was generally praised, with a few exceptions. IGN, though finding the manual's description of the system unclear, found the classes well balanced and well designed for all play styles.^[12] GameSpot found the system trasnparent and sensible.^[11]PC Gamer, by contrast, found the system unbalanced, with combat privileged over other features.^[20]Computer Gaming World felt the system's privileging of combinations of single-handed combat weapons and shields over double-handed weapons unnecessarily exploitable, but appreciated the freedom offered by the broad skillset and action-dependent leveling.^[8]GameSpy gave strong commendation to the system, stating that 'The advancement system makes so much sense that it makes other games, even games set in the D&D world such as Baldur's Gate, look silly by comparison'.^[79]Morrowind's combat system was poorly received by the gaming press. GameSpot characterized it as one of the game's major weak points,^[11] and GameSpy devoted the majority of their review's minor complaints to it.^[17] The system was disparaged for its simplicity^[15] and tendency to bore.^[80]

One element about Morrowind that received particular, and near-universal, criticism, was the game's journal system. In Morrowind, the player has a journal which is automatically updated with information from time to time following conversations with NPCs and important developments in the plot, each new entry following all those previous. Though IGN and GamePro commended the general interface for its relative ease of use,^[12][70] the journal was almost universally reviled. The journal was found to quickly become a 'muddled mess',^[17] 'hundreds of pages long',^[11] without any useful method of organization by quest title or completion level.^[20]Computer Gaming World called the feature an 'anal-retentive nightmare of confusion', and called it one of the game's two greatest shortcomings.^[8] However, Bethesda remedied the complaints to some extent in the subsequent expansion Tribunal. There, the journal was organized by quests and could be more easily navigated.

Despite being Bethesda's first major title to be produced for a console, Morrowind's Xbox release was well received in the gaming press.^[38] The inability to use add-on modifications on the Xbox version was unhappily felt,^[81] as was the non-native resolution,^[82] but the qualities of detail and open-endedness which had similarly graced the PC release made good the Xbox release's faults.^[81]Morrowind's Xbox release sold very well; it continued to rank among the top 10 sellers on the console one year after its initial release—a feat matched only by Halo: Combat Evolved.^[83] In spite of its critical and commercial success, Morrowind did not win any end-of-year press awards for its Xbox release.

Awards[edit]

The editors of Computer Games Magazine named Morrowind the third-best computer game of 2002, and wrote, 'Unlike its ambitious but ultimately flawed predecessors, this is Herculean role-playing that works.'^[84] It was a nominee for PC Gamer US's '2002 Best Roleplaying Game' award, which ultimately went to Neverwinter Nights.^[85]Morrowind won GameSpy's PC RPG of the Year Award,^[86] though it lost to Neverwinter Nights in reader polls, ranking 24% against Neverwinter's 34.9% popular support.^[87] It won IGN's RPG Vault's Game of the Year Award,^[88] IGN's PC Roleplaying Game of the Year Award in both its editorial and popular forms,^[89] RPG Vault's Game of the Year Award 2002,^[88] and was IGN's reader's choice for Best Story.^[90]Morrowind lost GameSpot's best PC RPG of 2002 award to Neverwinter Nights,^[91] but won best Xbox RPG.^[92]Morrowind, in addition to its nomination in music composition, was also nominated in the category of 'Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year' at the 2003 Interactive Achievement Awards, but lost, again, to Neverwinter Nights.^[62]

In 2003, Morrowind received the dubious honor of ranking 21st on GameSpy's '25 Most Overrated Games' list, for its 'buggy, repetitive, and dull gameplay'.^[93] In 2010, IGN ranked Dagoth Ur 90th in 'Top 100 Videogames Villains'.^[94]

Expansions and compilations[edit]

Tribunal[edit]

The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal, announced on September 2, 2002, and scheduled for a PC-only release,^[95] went gold on November 1^[96] and was released, with little fanfare,^[97] on November 6.^[98]Tribunal puts the player in the self-contained, walled city of Mournhold, the capital of the province of Morrowind; the new city is not connected to Morrowind's landmass, Vvardenfell, and the player must teleport to it. The storyline continues the story of the Tribunal deities.^[95]

The choice to produce the expansion was primarily inspired by the success of Morrowind's release, as well as a general feeling that Elder Scrolls series games are ongoing experiences that merit new things for their players to do.^[99] Development on the game began immediately after Morrowind shipped, giving the developers a mere five-month development cycle to release the game—a very fast cycle for the industry. The prior existence of the Construction Set, however, meant that the team 'already had the tools in place to add content and features very quickly.'^[100]

Interface improvements—specifically, an overhaul of Morrowind's journal system—were among the key goals for Tribunal's release. The new journal allowed the player to sort quests individually and by completion, reducing the confusion caused by the original's jumbling together of every quest into a single chronological stream. The game's reviewers took well to the change, although some criticized the incomplete implementation of the system, and others found the system continued to be 'a bit unwieldy.'^{[101][102][103]}

Reviews of Tribunal were generally positive, though to lesser amounts than was the case for Morrowind. Aggregate scoring sites gave the game generally favorable scores: Metacritic, a score of 80;^[104]GameRankings, a score of 82.^[105] Most critics commented on the higher linearity of the experience, combined with a reduction in the total size of the play area, giving the changes mixed reviews. GameSpot reported sullenly on the change: 'it's somewhat surprising that the Tribunal expansion confines your adventures to the relatively small setting of the municipality Mournhold,'^[103] and that, in light of this change, 'Tribunal doesn't have many of the features that made Morrowind so appealing.'^[103] IGN stated that although 'you'll rarely lose sight of what you're doing or why,' a fact that may make the game more 'comprehensible' for some players, 'the lack of interaction with the rest of the world is pretty depressing.'^[102] RPGamer, by contrast, was unequivocally positive about the change: 'Bethesda ... neatly sidesteps two of the most difficult atmospheric flaws of Morrowind—the constant sense of emptiness, and the bland outdoor landscapes—by having the story take place entirely within the city of Mournhold ... This smaller, tighter playing field ensures that every minor detail can and does get attention.'^[106]

Bloodmoon[edit]

The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, announced on February 14, 2003, and scheduled for release in May of the same year,^[107][108] went gold by May 23,^[109] and was released on June 6.^[110] Bethesda began work on the expansion immediately following the release of Tribunal in November 2002. Bloodmoon is a larger expansion than Tribunal, in terms of area covered and content created;^[111] it expands the game's main map to include the untamed island of Solstheim located to the northwest of Vvardenfell, a frigid northern tundra sprinkled with forests, and many new varieties of creatures, such as the short but tough rieklings. These additions marked a return to the 'open-ended gameplay' and 'free-form exploration' of the original, in contrast to the linearity and confinement of Tribunal.^[112] Reviews for Bloodmoon were, again, generally positive. Aggregate scoring sites gave the game generally favorable scores: Metacritic, a score of 85;^[113] GameRankings, a score of 83.^[114]

One of the key selling points of Bloodmoon was its reintegration of werewolves, a feature that had been included in Daggerfall, but was absent in Morrowind,^[115] despite being a feature prominently advertised in previews before the game's release.^[107][111]Morrowind instead included vampirism, which was almost an 'Easter egg' in terms of how many players remained unfamiliar with the feature.^[116] Players become werewolves by catching the lycanthropic disease 'Sanies Lupinus' and letting three days pass without getting it cured. Once the disease has been fully integrated, the player transforms every night, regardless of the lunar cycle.^[117] Being a werewolf provides ability increases, though their strength was reduced relative to the major bonuses offered by lycanthropy in Daggerfall.^[115] Some reviewers found the addition to be a welcome challenge,^{[116][117][118]} but others thought it frustrating and poorly implemented.^[115][119]

Game of the Year Edition[edit]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition was announced May 12, 2003, and released October 31 of the same year.^[5] It compiled both the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions, along with patches available only for the PC release, plus a variety of minor quest and item add-ons, and offered them up in one single package for both PC and Xbox platforms. This provided Xbox players with most of the game content they had not previously had access to.^[120] Absent, however, from the Xbox version was the improved journal included in Bethesda's Bloodmoon and Tribunal releases, as well as the later patched editions of Morrowind's original release. Reviewers responded to the absence negatively.^[121]

Nonetheless, reviews for the GotY set were generally positive – more so than for all previous releases of the game. Metacritic gave the edition a score of 89;^[122] GameRankings, an 88.^[123]PC Gamer redistributed this version under their 'PC Gamer Presents' line.

Modifications[edit]

Bethesda Softworks, the developer of Morrowind, offers the ability to change the game via plugins (often referred to as modifications, or mods for short) using The Elder Scrolls Construction Set, which comes with the PC version of the game. The Construction Set, and a variety of third-party mod-making tools, allow the modder to create and edit different objects, places, characters, dialogues, races, birthsigns, abilities, and skills.^[124] Characters can be made as strong or as fast as the user wants, and allows the player to experience the game in a way that would not normally be possible within the game's mechanics.^[125]

These plugins are usually easy to install and can change almost everything in the game.^[126] Plugins can include new creatures, weapons, armor, quests, people, playable species, Easter eggs, stores, player-owned houses, cities, expand on the size of cities, and introduce new plotlines, and entire landmasses with some or all of the above. Organized projects, such as Tamriel Rebuilt and Project: Tamriel, attempt to recreate the originally envisioned Morrowind province and other parties of Tamriel, as seen in other The Elder Scrolls games.^[127] For example, there are interpretations of both Cyrodiil^[128] and Skyrim,^[129] the settings of later The Elder Scrolls games.

Many mods create powerful 'god items' and place them in convenient locations. Others change or enhance the graphical aspects of the game, such as lighting, 3D models, colors, and textures.^[130] There are also official mods made by Bethesda, such as Siege at Firemoth, which can be found at the official site^[131] and which are all included in the Game of the Year Edition. It does not include any third-party mods.

OpenMW[edit]

OpenMW is an open-source, free-softwarereplacement game engine that supports playing the original and add-on Morrowind content natively (without emulation or a virtual machine) on Linux, macOS, and Windows.^[132] It supports higher-resolution graphics (installed as mods) than the original Bethesda engine, but requires a copy of the original game, in any edition, for its data files. Most third-party mods that are not dependent on any MS Windows executables and which are free of serious scripting syntax errors are also compatible with OpenMW. Since 2016, all of the quests, classes, races, and other character choices of Morrowind and its official expansions and add-ons are fully playable in OpenMW, though it remains in extended beta testing as of 2017. OpenMW is also the basis for TES3MP, an attempt to develop a networked, multiplayer version of the game, in early alpha testing as of 2017.

Remasters as add-ons for later TES games[edit]

Far Cry 4 Dlc Review

Another fan labor effort, The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project, has been working on remasteringMorrowind to run as add-ons for later games in The Elder Scrolls franchise (as Morroblivion for Oblivion,^[133][134] and Skywind for Skyrim). The project is also working on a remaster of Oblivion to run within Skyrim.^[135]

References[edit]

All Far Cry 4 Dlc

1. ^'Intro to Morrowind'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
2. ^'The Story of Morrowind'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
3. ^ ^ab'Dagoth Ur's Plans'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
4. ^'Lynda Carter Joins the Voice Cast of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. August 17, 2005. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
5. ^ ^abThorsen, Tor (October 30, 2003). 'Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition Ships'. GameSpot. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
   'Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition ships'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
6. ^ ^abcBrenesal, Barry (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. IGN. p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
7. ^ ^abcFalcon, Jonah. 'Morrowind Review'. UGO. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007.
8. ^ ^abcSanders, Kathleen (August 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. Computer Gaming World. Ziff Davis Media.
9. ^Gee, James Paul (March 24, 2004). 'Learning by Design: Games as Learning Machines'. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 11, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
10. ^ ^ab'Arriving in Seyda Neen'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
11. ^ ^{abcdefghijklm}Kasavin, Greg (May 10, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
12. ^ ^abcBrenesal, Barry (May 10, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. IGN. p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
13. ^Desslock (September 13, 2002). 'Desslock's Guide to Morrowind: Attributes and Leveling'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 5, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
14. ^ ^abAnderson, Chris (June 13, 2002). 'PC Review: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
15. ^ ^abcdefghBrenesal, Barry (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. IGN. p. 3. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
16. ^Desslock (September 13, 2002). 'Desslock's Guide to Morrowind: Combat Tips'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 5, 2002. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
17. ^ ^abcdAbner, William (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. GameSpy. p. 3. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
18. ^Walker, Trey (June 19, 2002). 'New Morrowind patch available'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
19. ^'E3 2001 Preshow Report: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. GameSpot. May 12, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
20. ^ ^abcdeKlett, Steve (Jul. 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. PC Gamer US, p. 76–7.
21. ^ ^abc'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Interview'. IGN. June 8, 2000. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
22. ^Aihoshi, Richard (November 20, 2003). 'RPG Roundtable No. 3, Part 1'. IGN. Archived from the original on September 24, 2006. Retrieved October 2, 2006.
23. ^Chandler, Raphael (October 30, 2005). 'Soapbox: Active Storytelling in Games'. Gamasutra. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
24. ^ ^ab'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Interview 2'. IGN. October 27, 2000. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
25. ^Lindley, Craig A. (October 2005). 'The Semiotics of Time Structure in Ludic Space As a Foundation for Analysis and Design'. Game Studies. 5 (1).
26. ^Barton, Matt (April 11, 2007). 'The History of Computer Role-playing Games Part III: The Platinum and Modern Ages (1994-2004)'. Gamasutra. 'The Dawn of the Platinum Age; Bethesda and The Elder Scrolls', p. 5. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
27. ^ ^abVarney, Allen (May 23, 2006). 'Oblivion's Ken Rolston Speaks'. HardOCP. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
28. ^'Introduction to Morrowind'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
29. ^'House Hlaalu'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'House Redoran'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'House Telvanni'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Ahemmusa Tribe'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Zaniab Tribe'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Erabenimsun Tribe'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Meeting Preparation'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Meeting With Vivec'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
30. ^'Assault Dagoth Ur'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
    'Assault Dagoth Ur (alternate path)'. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Bethesda Softworks. May 1, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
31. ^ ^abcdQwerty (July 2001). 'The Interviews: Interview with Morrowind Developers'. Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
32. ^ ^abDalin (June 19, 2001). 'One Man's Journey to Rockville'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
33. ^Howard, Todd (June 30, 2003). 'RPG Roundtable No. 1, Part 1'. RPG Vault. IGN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
34. ^ ^ab'VoodooExtreme: Development Team Chat No. 1'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. July 19, 2000. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
35. ^Zeph (2005). 'The Elder Scrolls Treasury, Volume I'(PDF). Zeph's TES Treasury (3rd ed.). Dortmund: Bethesda Softworks. Retrieved October 18, 2010 – via The Imperial Library.
36. ^Scuderi, Phillip (March 10, 2006). 'The Literary Achievement of Morrowind'. Gamers with Jobs. Retrieved November 5, 2006.
37. ^Witham, Joseph. 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Review'. RPGamer. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
38. ^ ^abcde'The Elder Scrolls Tenth Anniversary: Morrowind, Behind the Scenes'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. 2004. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
39. ^Eidolon (July 2000). 'Development Team chat'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2006.
40. ^Sulic, Ivan (February 8, 2002). 'The Water of Morrowind'. IGN. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
41. ^'Morrowind Construction Set Announced'. GameRankings. June 9, 2000. Archived from the original on October 13, 2003. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
42. ^'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. GameSpot. May 12, 2000. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
43. ^'Bethesda Softworks Announces The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind For Xbox'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. May 5, 2001. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
44. ^Walker, Trey (May 23, 2001). 'E3 2001: Morrowind update'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
45. ^Walker, Trey (October 1, 2001). 'Morrowind delayed'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
46. ^'Bethesda Softworks set to ship The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind in Spring 2002'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. October 12, 2001. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
47. ^Walker, Trey (December 1, 2001). 'Morrowind delay confirmed'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
48. ^'Q&A with Pete Hines'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. November 16, 2001. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
49. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for PC goes gold'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. April 23, 2002. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
    Walker, Trey (April 23, 2002). 'Morrowind goes gold'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
50. ^'PC release summary'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 17, 2006. Retrieved September 30, 2006.
51. ^Varanini, Giancarlo (April 15, 2002). 'Morrowind sees slight delay'. GameSpot. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
52. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for Xbox headed to stores'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. June 4, 2002. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
53. ^'Ubi Soft signs major publishing contract with Bethesda Softworks to distribute multiple titles in Europe'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. January 3, 2002. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
54. ^Strohm, Axel (April 23, 2002). 'Europe to get Morrowind next month'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
55. ^'Bethesda Reaps Wild Margins on Its Self-Published Morrowind Book'. Electronic Gaming Business. Ziff Davis Media. September 24, 2002. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
56. ^The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Official Game Guide). Prima Games. ISBN978-0761552765.
57. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind to feature soundtrack by award-winning composer Jeremy Soule'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. November 12, 2001. Archived from the original on April 23, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
    'Morrowind's Got Soule'. IGN. November 12, 2001. Retrieved October 2, 2006.
58. ^ ^abcdAbner, William (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. GameSpy. p. 2. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
59. ^Napolitano, Jayson (June 6, 2007). 'Interview with composer Jeremy Soule at PLAY! San Jose'. Music 4 Games. Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
60. ^Morton, Scott B. (January 24, 2005). 'Enhancing the Impact of Music in Drama-Oriented Games'. Gamasutra. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
61. ^Brandon, Alexander (April 30, 2004). 'Instrumentation: The Game Composer's New Challenge'. Gamasutra. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
62. ^ ^ab'The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences'. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
63. ^'Lynda Carter Joins the Cast of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
64. ^Knutson, Michael. 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. GameZone. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
65. ^Cavner, Brian. 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind'. RPG Fan. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
66. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)'. Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
67. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)'. Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
68. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind review'. Edge (112). July 2002. pp. 94–95.
69. ^Brogger, Kristian. 'Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. Game Informer. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
70. ^ ^abDunjinmaster (May 29, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. GamePro. Archived from the original on October 17, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
71. ^ ^abBrenesal, Barry (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. IGN. p. 5. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
72. ^'First Quarter Sales: 32 Million Euros; Confirmation of Good Prospects for Fiscal Year 2002/2003' (Press release). Ubisoft. August 2, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
73. ^'A Stable Second Quarter in a Financial Year marked by Increased Seasonality; 2002/2003 Targets Confirmed' (Press release). Ubisoft. October 29, 2002. Archived from the original on September 21, 2017.
74. ^'Lynda Carter Joins the Voice Cast of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion' (Press release). Bethesda Softworks. August 17, 2005. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010.
75. ^Edge Staff (August 25, 2006). 'The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century'. Edge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
76. ^Joynt, Patrick (March 29, 2006). 'The Oblivion of Western RPGs: Can Oblivion save a genre it helped bury?'. 1Up.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2006.
77. ^Walker, Trey (May 23, 2001). 'E3 2001: Morrowind update'. GameSpot. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
78. ^'Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind'. Xbox Nation. Ziff Davis Media. September 2002. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
79. ^Abner, William (May 15, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review'. GameSpy. p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
80. ^'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis Media. September 2005. Archived from the original on May 3, 2006. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
81. ^ ^abPavlacka, Adam (July 4, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review (Xbox)'. GameSpy. p. 2. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved October 2, 2006.
82. ^Pavlacka, Adam (July 4, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Review (Xbox)'. GameSpy. p. 1. Retrieved October 2, 2006.
83. ^'Bethesda Softworks Announces Morrowind Game of the Year Edition Headed to Stores'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. October 30, 2003. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
84. ^Staff (March 2003). 'Best of the Year 2002; 12th Annual Computer Games Awards'. Computer Games Magazine (148): 58–61.
85. ^Smith, Rob (March 2003). 'The Ninth Annual PC Gamer Awards'. PC Gamer US. 10 (3): 48–50, 54, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70.
86. ^'2002 Game of the Year Awards: GameSpy's PC RPG Game of the Year'. GameSpy. 2003. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
87. ^'Gamers' Choice Awards: PC RPG Results'. GameSpy. 2003. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
88. ^ ^ab'2002 RPG Vault Awards'. IGN. 2003. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
89. ^'Best of 2002: Roleplaying'. IGN. 2003. Archived from the original on December 16, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
90. ^'Best of 2002: Story'. IGN. 2003. Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
91. ^'Best and Worst of 2002: Best Role-Playing Game on PC'. GameSpot. 2003. Archived from the original on December 23, 2002.
92. ^'Best and Worst of 2002: Best Role-Playing Game on Xbox'. GameSpot. 2003. Archived from the original on December 23, 2002.
93. ^'25 Most Overrated Games of All Time: Morrowind (PC/Xbox) Bethesda'. GameSpy. September 15, 2003. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
94. ^'The Top 100 Videogame Villains'. IGN. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012.
95. ^ ^abParker, Sam (September 6, 2002). 'Tribunal to expand world of Morrowind'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 22, 2007.
96. ^Parker, Sam (November 1, 2002). 'Tribunal goes gold'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
97. ^McNewserson, Newsey (November 8, 2002). 'Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal Ships'. IGN. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
98. ^'Tribunal release dates'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
99. ^Laprad, David (September 20, 2002). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal Interview'. The Adrenaline Vault. Archived from the original on May 1, 2005. Retrieved May 13, 2007.
100. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal Q&A'. GameSpot. October 11, 2002. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
101. ^Abner, William (December 8, 2002). 'Morrowind: Tribunal Review'. GameSpy. p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
102. ^ ^abBrenesal, Barry (December 9, 2002). 'Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal Review'. IGN. p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2006.
103. ^ ^abcDesslock (November 21, 2002). 'Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
104. ^'Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC: 2002) Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
105. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal - PC'. GameRankings. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
106. ^Lord Craxton. 'Second verse, same as the first'. RPGamer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
107. ^ ^ab'Bloodmoon Overview'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. February 14, 2003. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
108. ^Colayco, Bob (February 14, 2003). 'Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon announced'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
109. ^Parker, Sam (May 23, 2003). 'Morrowind expansion goes gold'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
110. ^'Bloodmoon release dates'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
111. ^ ^ab'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon Q&A'. GameSpot. May 30, 2003. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
112. ^Desslock (June 13, 2003). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon review'. GameSpot. p. 1. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
113. ^'Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, The (PC: 2003) Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
114. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon - PC'. GameRankings. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
115. ^ ^abcLord Craxton. 'Or, Return of the Kung-Fu Werewolf'. RPGamer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
116. ^ ^abDesslock (June 13, 2003). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon review'. GameSpot. p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
117. ^ ^abAbner, William (June 23, 2003). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon review'. GameSpy. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
118. ^Butts, Steve (June 16, 2003). 'Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon'. IGN. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
119. ^Lo, Ernest (October 16, 2003). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon Review, page 2'. RPG Vault. IGN. Archived from the original on February 28, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
120. ^'Bethesda Softworks Announces Morrowind Game of the Year Edition for Xbox'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. May 12, 2003. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
     Cheng, Ashley. 'Xbox Love'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. Archived from the original on April 16, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
     Kasavin, Greg (September 10, 2003). 'Morrowind Game of the Year Edition Preview'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 19, 2006.
     'On the Horizon: Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis Media. July 2003. p. 88. Archived from the original on June 7, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
121. ^Kasavin, Greg (November 7, 2003). 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition for Xbox Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
122. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition'. Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
123. ^'Morrowind GOTY - PC'. GameRankings. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
124. ^'Morrowind - Key Features'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. 2004. Archived from the original on November 28, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
125. ^'Morrowind Editor Q&A'. GameSpot. June 8, 2000. Retrieved January 12, 2007.
126. ^Kathode (January 11, 2002). 'Destination Morrowind Editor preview'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
     Dalin (January 15, 2002). 'Editor Preview'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
127. ^'[Homepage]'. Tamriel-Rebuilt.org. Tamriel Rebuilt project. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
128. ^'Portal'. Province: Cyrodiil. Project: Tamriel. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
129. ^'Skyrim: Home of the Nords'. SHotN.com. Project: Tamriel. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013.
130. ^'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Downloads'. GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 15, 2003. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
     'Morrowind Mods'. Planet Elder Scrolls. GameSpy. Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
131. ^'Morrowind Plugins'. ElderScrolls.com. Bethesda Softworks. Archived from the original on May 3, 2007. Retrieved May 12, 2007.
132. ^'OpenMW, Open source Elderscrolls III: Morrowind reimplementation'. OpenMW.org. OpenMW project. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
133. ^Mike Fahey. 'Morroblivion - You Got Your Morrowind In My Oblivion'. Kotaku. Gawker Media.
134. ^'Morroblivion FAQ'. TESRenewal.com. The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
135. ^Alexa Ray Corriea. 'Skywind project mods 'Morrowind' into 'Skyrim''. Polygon.

External links[edit]

• Official website
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on IMDb

Far Cry 4 Dlc List