by Igor - June 30, 2003

The Elder Scrolls Series continues; from Arena, through Daggerfall, and to Morrowind. Using the NetImmerse engine (also used in Dark Ages of Camelot), it is the latest full release in the Elder Scrolls series. The graphics are beautiful, the realm - gorgeous, the only thing missing - multiplayer.

Gameplay

Just in case I got your hopes up, I�m sorry to break them; Tribunal does not introduce multiplayer to the Elder Scrolls series. Although this was rumored for many months (and secretly wished for by all fans alike), it simply adds a new city to Morrowind.

Although it would�ve been nice if all of Morrowind was included (maybe for the next expansion pack?), Tribunal adds Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind to the game. Once you are in Mournhold, however, levitation magic doesn�t work, and even if it miraculously did, the gates are still closed.

The city itself is quite lovely; it consists of a center plaza and several areas around it such as the Great Bazaar. Once you go into the sewers, however, you may find yourself in for an adventure. The sewers are very big, and they lead to Old Mournhold, the remains of the previous Mournhold that the new one was built upon.

Uh...new graphics? Where?

It's a shame really -- but the only new graphics that Tribunal adds to Morrowind is the beatiful architecture of the city of Mournhold. It can be called the capital of Morrowind without shame, for it is the most beatiful city I've seen in the game.

An expansion does not need new sound!

Unfortunately, Tribunal does not add any new sound to the game, besides the obvious creature sounds.

What makes Tribunal enjoyable?

Tribunal follows all the rules from Morrowind, besides the city, nothing else was added; in fact Vvardenfell has been completely unchanged. Tribunal brings new items, thankfully; armor such as that of the Royal Guard (here�s something for those people who wanted good medium armor!), or swords that actually glow based on their enchantments.

As in Morrowind, there is one main quest tied into Tribunal. As you go about your business, you may be fortunate enough to meet the king of Morrowind, and the other two gods of the Tribunal (Vivec is the first); Sotha Sil and Almalexia. Although there are no guilds on Mournhold (maybe the top brass is a little paranoid?), there are multiple other quests, one of my favorite being the quest in which you take part in a play and have to recite dialogue.

The few pet peeves.

The AI seems to be unchanged. Although you can now officially hire henchmen (there are a few in Mournhold), they like to get stuck in lots of places. The (new) pack rats are no better. A few gamers even reported that the pack rats disappeared as soon as they were bought (or maybe a trick by the vendor?). You might want to watch what you say to people though; some might get aggregated and �come back for revenge.�

Tribunal provided me with quite a few days of gameplay, and it�s got good worth per buck. It has some downsides, however, like the things I outlined; the AI was not improved, nor does it include too many quests. Another thing I noticed that was quite peculiar was that some aspects of the game reminded me quite a bit of �Moon Spawn,� a quite popular plugin for Morrowind; things such as the Dwemer Ruins.

In a nutshell.

Overall, this expansion is great; did I mention it is the only expansion for any new RPG this year?. Although I liked it, if you�re not quite sure about this game, I suggest that you wait for the price to drop to about $20. It will surely be worth it then. As for those who don�t have Morrowind; may I suggest buying it as soon as possible? You�ve been missing out!