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I'm really into PC gaming. I don't know what I love about it, but the absolute abundance of great RPG's at the moment really hooked me. Added to that, I have a fantastic new PC, which means that I can finally enjoy PC gaming without the horrible slowdowns of old-age systems.
But the problem still remains that I can't play online games. Like I said, I love Role-Playing Games, yet there are tonnes of absolute gems which I have to pass by, merely because of a rusty old 56k modem and that I have no credit card for registration fees. Plus, the internet isn't on my new PC, in a vain attempt to cut down the amount of crap which comes with having the internet.
But even so, while I'm going to have to miss out on greats such as Everquest and Ultima Online, and all the brilliance of multiplayer of other games which aren't primarily for that purpose. The one thing in the whole world which I really, REALLY want is a fully interactive world. You know - where there aren't any annoying boundaries, and you can literally do anything you want. Of course, in a game this could never happen, but simulating something as good would be great. In my eyes, something like Everquest could be great in terms of community, if there is the possibility of anything to happen. If I were to do this, I might set up a shop, or an armour forge. You know what I mean? RPGs aren't necessarily about running around killing baddies. Sure, running a shop wouldn't be fun, but I might only have it open, say, on select days, and during my time off I go adventuring for other valuable items.
But that is straying from the point a little - the fact still remains that I can't interact with fully concious beings, and consequently I can never get the feeling of complete character interactivity when playing on my own. Recently, I've tried games such as Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege and Morrowind in terms of single player RPG, and none come close to the magnificence of Morrowind.
To start with, my first impressions really were great. After choosing things like abilities, race etc. I was left on my own in a tiny little village in the middle of a swampy-coastal region. So, I ran around, spoke to the first few people I came to, and then went shopping. With my initially limited wallet, I could only afford a longsword (which I specialise in :D) and some bracers, but never to fear, for I am brave fearless me. I then ventured out a little into the swamp - not to go anywhere, but to kill something. You always get that urge in games which will let you kill - you need to kill something. Too long without killing does terrible things to the brain...
And I came across an annoying little swamp rat thing, which I couldn't kill. Then I figured I needed to crouch, and I managed to kill it and steal its meat before disposing of its body. The swamp was quite strange in the fact that it was right. It wasn't tacky 'gloop gloop' swamp a la platform games, nor was it an endless foggy plain. Nevertheless, I then saw a big armoured THING which I wanted to kill. And I did. And I stole the meat of its body as well. Guess what I decided to do next? I went mushroom picking! I got a lot of weird thingys which the shopkeeper decided to give me some money for! So I bought a spell, which summons a skellington - errm... skeleton. Anywho, I unknowingly ventured upstairs into a bar type area where I ran into a knight wanting me to find his lost revenue and a bard who wanted something. Accidentally, I drew my weapon. Not to worry, nobody thought I was attacking them, but I got some comments which made me think they were. So I started hacking at the bard, and before long everybody was against me. Fleeing in disgrace, I exited the shop/bar/killhouse to the outside world, where all was calm. I entered another house, where a friendly green man told me to get out. So I killed him, as you do. And stole his meager 3 gold coins. I exited the house and ran into the 'oh so scary' town guard, where I was told to give back the money (to the dead man), or go to jail. So I gave the money back (and paid a fine), only for him to demand more money for killing the man. I managed to cough it up, only for him to start attacking me! It seems my 'accidental' attack on that bard dood repercussed on me, because within a second or two I was asked to load or quit.
Hmmm...
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but very few other games give you such in depth customisability. I was going to buy an amateur forge thingy from the shop. And I've not seen any other game where you can pick mushrooms. Yay. Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that Morrowind is an exact replica of what I want in an RPG. Online, and all. It has totally open environments, with no boundaries, a 'living breathing' society, I suppose, and a real sense of freedom to do what you want. Other than the main task of delivering a package to some old geezer, there were no explicit instructions as to what I was supposed to do. I later ventured into a thieve's cave, where a formidable mage killed me, but I learnt that this was all part of the process of freedom.
So for everybody who wants one of these great online RPGs, without the online bit, get Morrowind. I can only think of two criticisms really. First, is that while it is totally free, there's nothing stopping you from venturing somewhere you aren't supposed to go and you're given no warnings. Whether this be 'breaking and entering' (ie fined or imprisoned), or going somewhere with ridiculously powerful enemies, there aren't any signs saying 'Do Not Enter' and some such. The other criticism has to be the combat. For all the greatness of this game, the combat isn't as refined as, say, Baldur's Gate and NWN, which glory in such things as the pause and select functions etc etc. Morrowind presents you merely with an attack button, as though you were playing something like Zelda. Button bashing isn't really suited to RPGs.
So for what was seemingly just another excellent PC game along the lines of Neverwinter and Dungeon Siege, I bought myself today the game which will probably engulf much of my life, and give me the 'online' atmosphere which I so much crave. And man, am I glad that I've only gotten this game AFTER my exams because I probably won't be prised from my PC for a very long time...
But the problem still remains that I can't play online games. Like I said, I love Role-Playing Games, yet there are tonnes of absolute gems which I have to pass by, merely because of a rusty old 56k modem and that I have no credit card for registration fees. Plus, the internet isn't on my new PC, in a vain attempt to cut down the amount of crap which comes with having the internet.
But even so, while I'm going to have to miss out on greats such as Everquest and Ultima Online, and all the brilliance of multiplayer of other games which aren't primarily for that purpose. The one thing in the whole world which I really, REALLY want is a fully interactive world. You know - where there aren't any annoying boundaries, and you can literally do anything you want. Of course, in a game this could never happen, but simulating something as good would be great. In my eyes, something like Everquest could be great in terms of community, if there is the possibility of anything to happen. If I were to do this, I might set up a shop, or an armour forge. You know what I mean? RPGs aren't necessarily about running around killing baddies. Sure, running a shop wouldn't be fun, but I might only have it open, say, on select days, and during my time off I go adventuring for other valuable items.
But that is straying from the point a little - the fact still remains that I can't interact with fully concious beings, and consequently I can never get the feeling of complete character interactivity when playing on my own. Recently, I've tried games such as Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege and Morrowind in terms of single player RPG, and none come close to the magnificence of Morrowind.
To start with, my first impressions really were great. After choosing things like abilities, race etc. I was left on my own in a tiny little village in the middle of a swampy-coastal region. So, I ran around, spoke to the first few people I came to, and then went shopping. With my initially limited wallet, I could only afford a longsword (which I specialise in :D) and some bracers, but never to fear, for I am brave fearless me. I then ventured out a little into the swamp - not to go anywhere, but to kill something. You always get that urge in games which will let you kill - you need to kill something. Too long without killing does terrible things to the brain...
And I came across an annoying little swamp rat thing, which I couldn't kill. Then I figured I needed to crouch, and I managed to kill it and steal its meat before disposing of its body. The swamp was quite strange in the fact that it was right. It wasn't tacky 'gloop gloop' swamp a la platform games, nor was it an endless foggy plain. Nevertheless, I then saw a big armoured THING which I wanted to kill. And I did. And I stole the meat of its body as well. Guess what I decided to do next? I went mushroom picking! I got a lot of weird thingys which the shopkeeper decided to give me some money for! So I bought a spell, which summons a skellington - errm... skeleton. Anywho, I unknowingly ventured upstairs into a bar type area where I ran into a knight wanting me to find his lost revenue and a bard who wanted something. Accidentally, I drew my weapon. Not to worry, nobody thought I was attacking them, but I got some comments which made me think they were. So I started hacking at the bard, and before long everybody was against me. Fleeing in disgrace, I exited the shop/bar/killhouse to the outside world, where all was calm. I entered another house, where a friendly green man told me to get out. So I killed him, as you do. And stole his meager 3 gold coins. I exited the house and ran into the 'oh so scary' town guard, where I was told to give back the money (to the dead man), or go to jail. So I gave the money back (and paid a fine), only for him to demand more money for killing the man. I managed to cough it up, only for him to start attacking me! It seems my 'accidental' attack on that bard dood repercussed on me, because within a second or two I was asked to load or quit.
Hmmm...
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but very few other games give you such in depth customisability. I was going to buy an amateur forge thingy from the shop. And I've not seen any other game where you can pick mushrooms. Yay. Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that Morrowind is an exact replica of what I want in an RPG. Online, and all. It has totally open environments, with no boundaries, a 'living breathing' society, I suppose, and a real sense of freedom to do what you want. Other than the main task of delivering a package to some old geezer, there were no explicit instructions as to what I was supposed to do. I later ventured into a thieve's cave, where a formidable mage killed me, but I learnt that this was all part of the process of freedom.
So for everybody who wants one of these great online RPGs, without the online bit, get Morrowind. I can only think of two criticisms really. First, is that while it is totally free, there's nothing stopping you from venturing somewhere you aren't supposed to go and you're given no warnings. Whether this be 'breaking and entering' (ie fined or imprisoned), or going somewhere with ridiculously powerful enemies, there aren't any signs saying 'Do Not Enter' and some such. The other criticism has to be the combat. For all the greatness of this game, the combat isn't as refined as, say, Baldur's Gate and NWN, which glory in such things as the pause and select functions etc etc. Morrowind presents you merely with an attack button, as though you were playing something like Zelda. Button bashing isn't really suited to RPGs.
So for what was seemingly just another excellent PC game along the lines of Neverwinter and Dungeon Siege, I bought myself today the game which will probably engulf much of my life, and give me the 'online' atmosphere which I so much crave. And man, am I glad that I've only gotten this game AFTER my exams because I probably won't be prised from my PC for a very long time...
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I'm really into PC gaming. I don't know what I love about it, but the absolute abundance of great RPG's at the moment really hooked me. Added to that, I have a fantastic new PC, which means that I can finally enjoy PC gaming without the horrible slowdowns of old-age systems.
But the problem still remains that I can't play online games. Like I said, I love Role-Playing Games, yet there are tonnes of absolute gems which I have to pass by, merely because of a rusty old 56k modem and that I have no credit card for registration fees. Plus, the internet isn't on my new PC, in a vain attempt to cut down the amount of crap which comes with having the internet.
But even so, while I'm going to have to miss out on greats such as Everquest and Ultima Online, and all the brilliance of multiplayer of other games which aren't primarily for that purpose. The one thing in the whole world which I really, REALLY want is a fully interactive world. You know - where there aren't any annoying boundaries, and you can literally do anything you want. Of course, in a game this could never happen, but simulating something as good would be great. In my eyes, something like Everquest could be great in terms of community, if there is the possibility of anything to happen. If I were to do this, I might set up a shop, or an armour forge. You know what I mean? RPGs aren't necessarily about running around killing baddies. Sure, running a shop wouldn't be fun, but I might only have it open, say, on select days, and during my time off I go adventuring for other valuable items.
But that is straying from the point a little - the fact still remains that I can't interact with fully concious beings, and consequently I can never get the feeling of complete character interactivity when playing on my own. Recently, I've tried games such as Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege and Morrowind in terms of single player RPG, and none come close to the magnificence of Morrowind.
To start with, my first impressions really were great. After choosing things like abilities, race etc. I was left on my own in a tiny little village in the middle of a swampy-coastal region. So, I ran around, spoke to the first few people I came to, and then went shopping. With my initially limited wallet, I could only afford a longsword (which I specialise in :D) and some bracers, but never to fear, for I am brave fearless me. I then ventured out a little into the swamp - not to go anywhere, but to kill something. You always get that urge in games which will let you kill - you need to kill something. Too long without killing does terrible things to the brain...
And I came across an annoying little swamp rat thing, which I couldn't kill. Then I figured I needed to crouch, and I managed to kill it and steal its meat before disposing of its body. The swamp was quite strange in the fact that it was right. It wasn't tacky 'gloop gloop' swamp a la platform games, nor was it an endless foggy plain. Nevertheless, I then saw a big armoured THING which I wanted to kill. And I did. And I stole the meat of its body as well. Guess what I decided to do next? I went mushroom picking! I got a lot of weird thingys which the shopkeeper decided to give me some money for! So I bought a spell, which summons a skellington - errm... skeleton. Anywho, I unknowingly ventured upstairs into a bar type area where I ran into a knight wanting me to find his lost revenue and a bard who wanted something. Accidentally, I drew my weapon. Not to worry, nobody thought I was attacking them, but I got some comments which made me think they were. So I started hacking at the bard, and before long everybody was against me. Fleeing in disgrace, I exited the shop/bar/killhouse to the outside world, where all was calm. I entered another house, where a friendly green man told me to get out. So I killed him, as you do. And stole his meager 3 gold coins. I exited the house and ran into the 'oh so scary' town guard, where I was told to give back the money (to the dead man), or go to jail. So I gave the money back (and paid a fine), only for him to demand more money for killing the man. I managed to cough it up, only for him to start attacking me! It seems my 'accidental' attack on that bard dood repercussed on me, because within a second or two I was asked to load or quit.
Hmmm...
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but very few other games give you such in depth customisability. I was going to buy an amateur forge thingy from the shop. And I've not seen any other game where you can pick mushrooms. Yay. Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that Morrowind is an exact replica of what I want in an RPG. Online, and all. It has totally open environments, with no boundaries, a 'living breathing' society, I suppose, and a real sense of freedom to do what you want. Other than the main task of delivering a package to some old geezer, there were no explicit instructions as to what I was supposed to do. I later ventured into a thieve's cave, where a formidable mage killed me, but I learnt that this was all part of the process of freedom.
So for everybody who wants one of these great online RPGs, without the online bit, get Morrowind. I can only think of two criticisms really. First, is that while it is totally free, there's nothing stopping you from venturing somewhere you aren't supposed to go and you're given no warnings. Whether this be 'breaking and entering' (ie fined or imprisoned), or going somewhere with ridiculously powerful enemies, there aren't any signs saying 'Do Not Enter' and some such. The other criticism has to be the combat. For all the greatness of this game, the combat isn't as refined as, say, Baldur's Gate and NWN, which glory in such things as the pause and select functions etc etc. Morrowind presents you merely with an attack button, as though you were playing something like Zelda. Button bashing isn't really suited to RPGs.
So for what was seemingly just another excellent PC game along the lines of Neverwinter and Dungeon Siege, I bought myself today the game which will probably engulf much of my life, and give me the 'online' atmosphere which I so much crave. And man, am I glad that I've only gotten this game AFTER my exams because I probably won't be prised from my PC for a very long time...
But the problem still remains that I can't play online games. Like I said, I love Role-Playing Games, yet there are tonnes of absolute gems which I have to pass by, merely because of a rusty old 56k modem and that I have no credit card for registration fees. Plus, the internet isn't on my new PC, in a vain attempt to cut down the amount of crap which comes with having the internet.
But even so, while I'm going to have to miss out on greats such as Everquest and Ultima Online, and all the brilliance of multiplayer of other games which aren't primarily for that purpose. The one thing in the whole world which I really, REALLY want is a fully interactive world. You know - where there aren't any annoying boundaries, and you can literally do anything you want. Of course, in a game this could never happen, but simulating something as good would be great. In my eyes, something like Everquest could be great in terms of community, if there is the possibility of anything to happen. If I were to do this, I might set up a shop, or an armour forge. You know what I mean? RPGs aren't necessarily about running around killing baddies. Sure, running a shop wouldn't be fun, but I might only have it open, say, on select days, and during my time off I go adventuring for other valuable items.
But that is straying from the point a little - the fact still remains that I can't interact with fully concious beings, and consequently I can never get the feeling of complete character interactivity when playing on my own. Recently, I've tried games such as Neverwinter Nights, Dungeon Siege and Morrowind in terms of single player RPG, and none come close to the magnificence of Morrowind.
To start with, my first impressions really were great. After choosing things like abilities, race etc. I was left on my own in a tiny little village in the middle of a swampy-coastal region. So, I ran around, spoke to the first few people I came to, and then went shopping. With my initially limited wallet, I could only afford a longsword (which I specialise in :D) and some bracers, but never to fear, for I am brave fearless me. I then ventured out a little into the swamp - not to go anywhere, but to kill something. You always get that urge in games which will let you kill - you need to kill something. Too long without killing does terrible things to the brain...
And I came across an annoying little swamp rat thing, which I couldn't kill. Then I figured I needed to crouch, and I managed to kill it and steal its meat before disposing of its body. The swamp was quite strange in the fact that it was right. It wasn't tacky 'gloop gloop' swamp a la platform games, nor was it an endless foggy plain. Nevertheless, I then saw a big armoured THING which I wanted to kill. And I did. And I stole the meat of its body as well. Guess what I decided to do next? I went mushroom picking! I got a lot of weird thingys which the shopkeeper decided to give me some money for! So I bought a spell, which summons a skellington - errm... skeleton. Anywho, I unknowingly ventured upstairs into a bar type area where I ran into a knight wanting me to find his lost revenue and a bard who wanted something. Accidentally, I drew my weapon. Not to worry, nobody thought I was attacking them, but I got some comments which made me think they were. So I started hacking at the bard, and before long everybody was against me. Fleeing in disgrace, I exited the shop/bar/killhouse to the outside world, where all was calm. I entered another house, where a friendly green man told me to get out. So I killed him, as you do. And stole his meager 3 gold coins. I exited the house and ran into the 'oh so scary' town guard, where I was told to give back the money (to the dead man), or go to jail. So I gave the money back (and paid a fine), only for him to demand more money for killing the man. I managed to cough it up, only for him to start attacking me! It seems my 'accidental' attack on that bard dood repercussed on me, because within a second or two I was asked to load or quit.
Hmmm...
Excuse me if I'm wrong, but very few other games give you such in depth customisability. I was going to buy an amateur forge thingy from the shop. And I've not seen any other game where you can pick mushrooms. Yay. Anyway, what I'm getting at, is that Morrowind is an exact replica of what I want in an RPG. Online, and all. It has totally open environments, with no boundaries, a 'living breathing' society, I suppose, and a real sense of freedom to do what you want. Other than the main task of delivering a package to some old geezer, there were no explicit instructions as to what I was supposed to do. I later ventured into a thieve's cave, where a formidable mage killed me, but I learnt that this was all part of the process of freedom.
So for everybody who wants one of these great online RPGs, without the online bit, get Morrowind. I can only think of two criticisms really. First, is that while it is totally free, there's nothing stopping you from venturing somewhere you aren't supposed to go and you're given no warnings. Whether this be 'breaking and entering' (ie fined or imprisoned), or going somewhere with ridiculously powerful enemies, there aren't any signs saying 'Do Not Enter' and some such. The other criticism has to be the combat. For all the greatness of this game, the combat isn't as refined as, say, Baldur's Gate and NWN, which glory in such things as the pause and select functions etc etc. Morrowind presents you merely with an attack button, as though you were playing something like Zelda. Button bashing isn't really suited to RPGs.
So for what was seemingly just another excellent PC game along the lines of Neverwinter and Dungeon Siege, I bought myself today the game which will probably engulf much of my life, and give me the 'online' atmosphere which I so much crave. And man, am I glad that I've only gotten this game AFTER my exams because I probably won't be prised from my PC for a very long time...