The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal: 85%

Nometet.com says: 85%

In preparation for Oblivion, I’ve gone back to the land of the Dark Elves to once again save the day. I started off with the plan to just finish Morrowind again, but I got swept up in this expansion’s plot.

The graphics stay the same for this expansion, whether or not that is a good thing depends on what mods you have downloaded. The architecture of Mournhold is much darker and foreboding than that of Morrowind. While the landscape in Tribunal is a city much larger than a city found in Morrowind, there is a feeling of confinement felt throughout the expansion. The levitation spell is done away with for the most part, blamed on Almexia’s doing, but the reason is more apparent. The game would be simple if you could just fly away in the city and strike your foes down from above.

For the most part the same sound that you’ve come to love or hate in Morrowind is back. Only a few new faces are given their own voices for dialog and those are the characters that are most crucial to the plot. So if you liked what Morrowind was doing so far, you can’t go wrong in this department.

Gameplay remains relatively unchanged. The only additions seem to be a few new weapons, armor, potions, reagents, creatures and scrolls. The addition of just a few items is done very well. Mournhold gives a feeling of familiarity even though it is a whole new place. Factions aspire against the king, against the goddess and against anyone they disagree with. This nice little mixture gives way to many new quests. While the freedom of the main quest is almost nonexistent, The story line never seems forceful since you can just back out and return to the mainland whenever you’d like.

The story is well done for a expansion and contains a nice little twist at the end. It really adds to the whole Morrowind experience. The addition of Tribunal is much more cohesive with the main quest than that of Bloodmoon’s story. This expansion is better played with a more a character in their late teen levels but it can be done earlier with a bit of trial and error.

In closing, Tribunal is a nice romp that brings you closer to the inner workings of Morrowind. The story is more political, the quests are more amusing and the stakes are just as high. From the very first attempt at your life, Tribunal takes a hold of you and doesn’t let do until the end.

Review by Smerlus