Daggerfall

"I'm afraid you will have to ask somebody else, my friend. I know little of that subject" - The King of Worms, leader of the Necromancers, upon being asked about the Necromancers

Developer: Bethesda Software Publisher: Bethesda Software Genre: CRPG Players: 1 Memory Blocks: 1 Discs: 1 Analog: No Dual Shock: No ESRB: Mature Difficulty: Hard

When I first got this game, it was a Christmas present from my older step-brother. He played it a lot, and told me that this game REALLY frustrated him sometimes, so he just gave it to me. DAMN, this game rules! Though I can see how he'd get frustrated... more on that, later.

Gameplay-- Amazing. You can make a fully customizable character, and this is what he/she looks like, what weapon he/she (just 'he' from now on, huh?) uses, even what his background is! The game gets REALLY hard sometimes, and some of the dungeons can be scary as shit, especially since you're in first person view. The only major problem (and a problem it is!) are the bugs. None of these cool get-items-free bugs (though that DOEs exist); but things that kick you out of the game into MS DOS, or trapping you in the infamous "void" of the game.

Graphics-- The graphics are AWESOME! You have a picture of your character that changes every time you add or remove a weapon, armor, even clothing! The mosters are all three-dimensionl and very high detail, and the dungeons are VERY nice. Not only do they look great themselves, but you'll find yourself running into statues, torture rooms, and things like that, that look really sweet. (Bloooood...)

Music-- The music was decent, though it got really annoying in the longer dungeons. The sound effects could scare you, too. You're walking around and hear a monster roar from somewhere; but you have not clue as to where.

Storyline-- I never really played the main plot, which is why this game is so awesome. If you want, you can just say, "Screw the Damsel in Distress, and the Emporer can kiss my ass!", and play the game normally from there, on, withotu bothering to do what the King wanted. Unfortunately, the game gets kinda pointless after that, so it gets boring if you don't.

Control-- The first person view really freaks you out, but the game is very accurate. You can go where you want pretty easily, and your weapon almost always hits who you want. It's a pain in the butt, too, when you try and jump and duck. And the main problem is, unless you are a REALLY powerful magic user, the entire game SUCKS, because not only can you not do the main quest, but all the other side-quests are hard as well, if possible at all.

Fun Factor-- This game rules! Only problem... it's SCARY as HFIL! Call me a wuss and all, but when you try and go to sleep, to gain precious HP, and are told you can't because "There are monsters nearby", it freaks you out. Especially when they begin roaring, and you don't know where they are. For this reason, I avoid dungeon crawling almost at all costs. ...Damn, I AM a wuss!

Overall Satisfaction-- The game was great. However, the bugs REALLY dragged it down, a lot. It's a HUGE world (It would take hundred of hours, literally, to travel the entire world, even on horseback, without using "speed travel"), so there are bound to be bugs.

Highs: The massive customization; being able to dress your characters; choosing whether or not you take place in the main quest
Lows: Scary-ass dungeons, all the massive bugs!
Score: 8