Morrowind is one of the first console RPGs to feature completely open-ended gameplay. You are free to go where you please in the province Morrowind, to explore the massive world doing what suits your fancy and deciding when, or even if, you want to take part in the game's epic story. If you decide to follow the story, you'll find it a rewarding one full of prophecy, epic quests, and memorable characters, utilizing well-written dialogue to make the characters come alive. But if you're the kind of player who prefers less structure, then you're free to do whatever you please, whether it is working yourself up the political ladder of any of a number of guilds, completing quests, gaining notoriety, finding treasure, or just exploring. Morrowind lets you choose the kind of game you want it to be--a massive promise the game's developers made long ago and one they've successfully fulfilled.

Open-ended worlds pander perfectly to the ideal of interactive entertainment, putting you in command--it's the kind of thing that highlights gaming's strengths and does something with gaming that's impossible in any other medium, deserving special attention. The world of Morrowind is simply huge, among the biggest 3D worlds ever created, so there are always plenty of places to see and countless things to do along any of the paths you choose, allowing for literally hundreds of hours of gameplay. And because of how good Morrowind is, you just might want to spend that much time with it.