You know you can get TES:Arean and TES II:Daggerfall for free right? You can play them as well. Yes they are dated but still great fun games.

I say Oblivion is not better than Skyrim but is still an awsome great fun game. As long as you can take the limitations of the game, just like Morrowind, Daggerfall and Arean, they are a blast to play.

Only thing is, after playing Skyrim, playing Oblivion may seem like a kids game. Think of Oblivion as Morrowind/Skyrim Lite. That is not a nock off or not suppose to be. Just trying to get you think of what you can expect.

Fallout games are good, but they're not TES. Both Morrowind and Oblivio have aged wonderfully, and their storylines are pieces of lore on their own that are by no means spoiled by playing Skyrim. If It's TES you want, try them. I tell you so mainly because I love the whole series, and I have enjoyed each and every installement, being an awesome experience when modded.

For example, graphicly-wise you can get Morrowind looking as good as this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NX-MvnYUEs

Morrowind's combat is terrible, especially if you're coming from Skyrim.

Yeah, while a great game, the combat is utterly stupid.

No not at all. Your not missing anything.

Cheers

Morrowind's gameplay is severely lacking when compared to the newer games. They definitely refined a lot of the more annoying mechanics (skills determining success %, fatigue drain when running). But in terms of role-playing, story, and writing, it's second to none. Bethesda had some great writers working for them when they developed Morrowind, and the game is loaded with deep writing (that includes all the books) and plenty of choices and alternative paths in the quests.

Those things are important to a lot of people. That's why you get so many people saying Morrowind is better than Oblivion despite the relatively poor gameplay. The writing in Oblivion is hideous. Just positively horrendous, shallow drivel. The transition to voice-acting for every line of dialogue is partly to blame for this. gamesas's limited use of the really good MW writers is as well. This combined with the generally poor world design in Oblivion is why I rank it last. Oblivion is a game that needs extensive modding (maybe even going as far as the complete FCOM overhaul) to be really enjoyable to me.

This.

I would say play both Morrowind and Oblivion, and mod them up to 2011/2012 standards if you have a PC. I think Morrowind would be difficult to play without at least graphics mods, and Oblivion would be difficult to play without gameplay/content mods (and a UI mod). Oblivion's engine and scripting (not writing, but dynamic programmed behavior) is much better, you get better graphics (amazing at the time), better animations, and better combat. Morrowind has atmosphere and story leaking out of every pore, and the faction quests and MQ humble Skyrim without breaking a sweat.

Writing allows more flexibility to the script than voice actors. Think about it, Voice actors are flown in and have a set schedule to cram their lines. Months later during QA testing someone notices a glitch in the plot, the chances of a game studio bringing the same voice actor in to make a change to a half page of dialogue is slim and none. And what if the voice actor has a cold during that span and sounds different.

This is the price gamers pay for full voice acting in their games. The developers pretty much needs to have their script down pat on the first pass but in an open world game like Skyrim....good luck.

Both Oblivion and Morrowind are worth playing, un-modded or modded.

I personally think a modded Morrowind is a lot better than a modded Oblivion in general, but Oblivion is much more "atmospheric", whereas Morrowind simply has better story, treasures, exploration, etc. Both games are memorable in different ways.

@GuitarPerson: This above quote, specifically regarding updating the graphics with mods, is a really great way to know how to enjoy Morrowind. There will be a LOT of in-game reading, due to there being very little in the way of spoken dialogue, but it's worth it. The game will be hard to enjoy at this time because of the dated gameplay, but there is SO much in Morrowind that will make it awesome and enjoyable. The leveling system in Morrowind is what I wish was in every game, including Skyrim. Definintely play Morrowind if you get the chance, and play Oblivion as well. Most folks are recommending that you play Oblivion then Morrowind; I would have to respectfully disagree. I recommend playing Morrowind first, get the chronological gameplay shock out of the way, then really get into Morrowind. Finish it, maybe with a few characters, including the DLC packs for it, then move on to Oblivion. With Oblivion, really, the only DLC packs I would call essential are Shivering Isles and Knights Of The Nine. Everything else is fluff. Fun fluff, but stuff that will ultimately distract you if you are simply playing through to experience the game and not to explore every possible nook and cranny and gameplay type that's available.

I say play through both of Morrowind's DLC packs because Bloodmoon has a lot of stuff in it that will give you some good background on a few references in Skyrim, and Tribunal is a great continuation of the Nerevarine's storyline after the end of the main quest in Morrowind. Also, in Tribunal, you get a chance to meet characters that you've read about in books. Whatever you do, do it for fun; if you're not really having fun, don't sweat it. Each game is designed to be stand-alone, with each previous game simply becoming more lore to flesh out the background. Fun to play through, but not necessary.

That looks epic. Though the people still grate on me, I think I'd stick to first person...

I say give them a shot. The games are pretty cheap if you can find them (I bought the full DLC + Expansion Oblivon PC game for 20$). Finding the Morrowind PC version at a retail store is most likely impossible though.

I would always suggest buying them for PC though. The mods put out for Morrowind and Oblivion can turn them into totally different games.

Oblivion was lame cause everything leveled up with you Skyrim is good but still lacks what Morrowind had. Oblivion and Skyrim are simple games for the casual person to play but Morrowind is just simply the most enoyable and mysterious and theres actually a point to exploring everything.

You will find that folks like the ES game they played FIRST the best. Those that started with Morrowind, or before, will consider Morrowind the best game, dated graphics and all. Today, with mods, you can make Morrowind look just about as good as Skyrim...... It's amazing what the modding community can turn out in TEN years. Most of the bugs have been ironed out, and there were even a couple projects going to re-write the entire game engine. (I fall into this category. I like Morrowind better, simply BECAUSE of the 'dated' game mechanics. CHARACTER skill counts for more than player skill.)

If you're the kind of person that loves new shiny graphics then i would say skip Morrowind as it is slowly becoming more dated in comparison to the newer titles. That said if you can see past the 10 year old graphics then absolutely try Morrowind, it is for me still the best in the series and i still have it installed and play it on most weekends. As for Oblivion, it is very atmospheric and beautiful to look at when the sun is shining. It is also probably the easiest of all Tes titles, so is quite easy to get into if you're new to the series. It will also show off a lot of the Daedre that are no longer with us in Skyrim. (Same goes for Morrowind)

If you do ever plan on playing either of these two games, remember that they are old now and generally a lot tougher (Morrowind) If you can see past the dated graphics and poor combat system i think you'll love it. If you like Skyrim you'll also like Oblivion although probably not as much.

False.

I played Oblivion first, then Morrowind and Skyrim the third.
I like Skyrim the best.

My first was Daggerfall, waaaay back when I got the infamous PC Gamer demo CD. I still have a soft spot in my heart for it, and now and then I'll boot up DosBox to play it again (still have it in the original jewel case, no free copy needed). But by no means do I think it's the best. Daggerfall has major shortcomings.

Two things about Skyrim that thrilled me -- the return of repeatable quests, and hearing the Daggerfall tavern/shop music being played by the bards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8EaL1Zm6w&feature=related Still gives me a warm feeling

Oblivion certainly beats Skyrim, hands down.

Most will say Morrowind but no, it really isn't better than Skyrim, Skyrim is the best so far, you are missing out by not playing them but you probably won't have more fun on any of them.

Heavily modded Oblivion certainly beats Vanilla Skyrim, hands down

*corrected*

Graphic wise you're going to laugh when you play Morrowind if you compare it to Skyrim's visuals.
Basically the same thing goes for Oblivion.

Tossing out the visuals aspect, yes, you are missing out.
Get Morrowind and Oblivion, I had a blast playing both.


As for those who compare Oblivion to Skyrim, to me they both had completely different feels.
Oblivion had more of a goofy, funny, do what you will kind of feel.
Skyrim is slightly more serious but still lets you do as you wish.

Morrowind>Skyrim>Oblivion

True.

Here's my opinion, all 3 of the most recent games are all pretty close together in terms of quality. That's why it gets debated so much about "which is the best".

So basically, pick and choose your favourite

True. But I am expecting modded Skyrim to be even better.