The answer is simple. Morrowind is an open-ended, first-person, role playing game that lets you do what you want to do how you want to do it. Take character generation, for example. You can pick from 12 unique races, each with their own special advantages. Then, you can pick from one of 28 classes, or answer the realease officer's questions to have it determined based on your answers, or you can make your own class, which is probably the best option. Every skill your character has affects the game in a small way, and your type of class (stealth, magic, combat) will determine your entire gaming experience. I found that the most fun character to play is a thief with persuasion skills. After you are released from your initial location with a pakage to deliver to a mysterious man in another city, you may really do whatever you want. Explore Vvardenfell, join a guild or faction, advance in ranks and levels, build a fortune, or just perform odd jobs and quests. When you do hit the main plot, however, it is very involving and will probably hold your interest until the end of the game, at which point you can do all of the freelance work you want.
The other aspect of Morrowind that makes it so amazing is the amount of detail in the world. When you walk into a bookshop and see each book on the shelves, each item on a desk, every decoration in place, and think that all this was hand-placed, it is quite staggering. I read from one internet site (and believe it), "3,000 NPC's. Six novels worth of text. Over 300 dungeons. More than 500 basic spells. 480 billion different characters [combinations] to create and play as. 300,000+ hand-placed objects." You probably won't believe any of this unless you have played the game before, but it is true.
In sumary, Morrowind is definitely an instant classic and a neccesary addition to the collection of any RPG gamer, or anyone who wants to explore freely an entire virtual world. Its stunning graphics, superb music, free atmosphere, diversity in gameplay, and most of all, the ubelievable level of detail truly make The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind an exceptional game.
