Morrowind looks sweet

[Neo]

Morrowind is set in the fantastical world of Tamriel, and the game takes place on the large volcanic island of Vvardenfell. You arrive on the island as a prisoner and are tasked, like an indentured servant, to complete a variety of missions in exchange for your freedom. These early quests serve partly as a tutorial but also act as a primer to the real story before you embark any adventure of consequence. The interesting thing about your first few hours on the island is that you can attempt to escape at almost any time. Immediately, we discovered Morrowind's chief difference from other single-player console RPGs--you're free to do pretty much whatever you want. You'll face a similar defining moment later in the game when you encounter the strange entity known as "The Blight," which you learn is transforming Vvardenfell into a barren wasteland. You can try to stop it and save the island--a quest Bethesda estimates would take about 40 hours--or if that sounds boring, you can put it on the backburner and explore the 100 hours' worth of side quests instead. These quests mostly involve aligning yourself with one of the five countries, guilds, or religious factions on the island, which all have tasks for you to complete. What makes your freedom all the more real is the fact that Vvardenfell is a completely rendered land with real-time nights and days, dozens of towns to visit, and almost every nook and cranny navigable--or at least visible.

Scheduled for release in about one week.