| Earlier this year, The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal transported players away from the normal Morrowind world and into a realm of intrigue and scheming, leading through a series of linear quests to titanic battles with huge foes. On the upside, the expansion was fun and entertaining, and gave fans of The Elder Scrolls III more to do in their favorite game; on the downside, gamers were locked into Tribunal like a gas station bathroom. Almost forgetting the open-endedness that made Morrowind so popular, Tribunal offered little in the way of options for either role-playing or exploration -- looking at the world map, for instance, players wouldn't even see where they were playing. Because of this, Tribunal felt more like a well-crafted player module than an expansion to the Elder Scrolls world, leaving a lot of players occupied, but not satisfied.
The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon is looking to change all that. Dropping the entirely new island of Solstheim onto the Morrowind map, Bethesda opens up a world of snow, glaciers, barrows, Nords and -- most important of all -- werewolves to Elder Scrolls players. Anyone who's built up a character who's hefty enough can simply swim over to the island whenever they like, if they're not patient enough to hire a boat, and start their adventures in the newest, chilliest part of Vvardenfell. As a result, Bloodmoon acts like the first truly seamless expansion to Morrowind, full of fresh experiences for true Elder Scrolls fans.
Upon arrival, players can choose to dive right into the quests made available to them at the local Imperial Stronghold, or they can immediately begin to explore the island around them. Most of the non-player characters players run into during the early going will talk freely about how inhospitable Solstheim is, and it's good advice to listen to them. The island is positively teeming with hostile life, all of it ready, willing and able to dispatch you and dump your corpse in the snow. At one point during an early escort mission, I found myself standing at the top of a hill and seeing foes on all sides of me, lurking in the distance and waiting to shred my hapless Spellsword.
Bethesda stresses that Bloodmoon, like Tribunal, is an expansion for experienced players, and they're not kidding. If you're just starting out with Morrowind, or you have yet to finish the original game, you might consider holding off on Bloodmoon until you've finished off a few of those guild quests. Combat in Bloodmoon is almost a constant, as woodland creatures like bears and wolves, their diseased variants, plus witches, berserkers and mounted raiders are limitless and crawling all over the landscape. As an added bonus for combat lovers, they're also much smarter than before, too. Foes will act in groups to flank, encircle or rush players, jacking up the challenge for even the simplest encounters. They're more aggressive, too -- you don't know the meaning of fear until you've had a polar bear chase you down through the forest and straight into the courtyard of an Imperial fort.
Enterprising players can take the time to plunder the depths of quite a few barrows and dungeons during their time in Bloodmoon, many of which hold useful items, or the financial means to obtain them. As with the original Morrowind, the dungeons are scattered about the map and can provide a handy way to build experience and wealth as players travel from one place to another on the map; others, however, might become the object of quests themselves, drawing players through punishing blizzards and out onto frozen glaciers just to find the hidden treasure. This combination of exploration and adventuring makes for a fun, intangible reward for playing Bloodmoon, as gamers trek through truly breathtaking scenery as they search for some serious coin.
Happily, there's more to do in Solstheim than battle the locals. Those players who decide to jump right into the main plot will find themselves with plenty to do, though it may feel like fairly standard stuff at the outset. However, with even the small quests there are consequences, as the landscape changes appreciably depending on the outcome. Deliver those workers to their job site in one piece? Come back in a couple of days to see the buildings and the mine they've dug. Finish that mission for the fort's captain? Head back to his room, only to find it's been trashed and he's gone missing. The Elder Scrolls games have always had a focus on the consequences of players' actions, and it's interesting to see this carried through to an expansion. It really carries over the feeling of a living world from Morrowind, and gives some real weight to decisions that the players make.
Of course, the most engaging of these consequences is the opportunity for players to cross over and become werewolf. Without spoiling too much of the story, it can be safely said that there are two sides to the titular Bloodmoon Prophecy -- on one stands the player as a defender of civilization, and on the other are a tribe of werewolves. Either by battling a werewolf or as a mechanism of the plot, players will become infected with Sanies Lupinus, a disease that will change them unless they can cure it within three days. If they choose to cure it, there are a number of options available; if they don't, they will awaken every night afterwards in a new, lupine form with a compelling hunger to slay an NPC.
This in itself can present a number of difficulties to gamers, especially those who have tried their best to play a character who doesn't casually slaughter those they pass by. And even for those who don't value the lives of NPCs (and who are probably in the vast majority), the life of a werewolf will rapidly become a difficult one. Aside from the pure mechanics of finding and slaying a new non-player character every night out of a finite supply, players can also only use their claws and their stealth to accomplish their goals. Those who are fond of The Elder Scroll's magic or weapons will have to save those for their daylight hours, and if you fail in your mission, you'll lose health every hour until you revert to your human form. As an added bonus, if anyone witnesses your transformation from a human to a werewolf, then you will be attacked by everyone on sight from that point forward, regardless of your form.
As a balance to this, players are gifted with superhuman strength, speed and senses in their new form, and can actually develop into a powerful killing machine as the game progresses. And all other things being equal, it's a load of fun to go tearing through the forest, with claws out and a red gleam in your eye, tearing through whatever you can find. If nothing else lures Morrowind players to Bloodmoon, then just the opportunity to toy with the joys and the curses of lycanthropy should be enough to keep them entertained.
Overall, Bloodmoon addresses many of the shortcomings of Tribunal, while at the same time adding a fresh new theater for Elder Scrolls fans to grow their characters. The arctic setting is beautiful and varied, the combat dense and difficult, and the novelty of the playable monster class entertaining and challenging. Those waiting for their favorite gaming world to grow should be delighted, while those just looking for more Morrowind will have plenty to keep their hands full. |
