The Elder Scrolls: Arena

by Bethseda

Product Features

• Full Character Generation
• 18 Unique Character Classes
• 2,500 Magical Items
• 400 Cities, Towns, and Villages to Explore

Product Details

• ASIN: B0002XMKVW
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,945 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a first-person role-playing game, in which you must rescue the Emperor from his dimensional prison by recovering the eight pieces of the Staff of Chaos. Arena is the first chapter in the Elder Scrolls series and it is huge. There are over 400 cities, towns and villages to explore, tons of magical items and heaps of spells to create.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for being FREE!, June 1, 2005

By 

Tomboski - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Elder Scrolls: Arena (CD-ROM)

Yes, you read that right. This game is free as of last year lol. Just finished downloading the full Arena from www.gamespot.com and decided to look up other Elder Scrolls oldies. Imagine my enthusiasm when I discovered that the 9MB game I just downloaded (LEGALLY) could be purchased for a mere $23.94. Wow, what a deal!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The CD-ROM is still worth it., August 3, 2005

By 

Daniel E. Good "Somerville Changeling" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Elder Scrolls: Arena (CD-ROM)

Sure, the game's been released for free by Bethsoft, but the advantage of the CD-ROM is hearing the wonderful voice of Ria Silmane intoning "With you has died our last hope for justice". The Elder Scrolls has consistently remained the best CRPG series out there. It does not run under native Windows XP but can run on Windows 98 or ME with a dual boot, or under the Windows XP compatible Dosbox emulator.

Outdated graphics, but great storyline and puzzles in search of the eight pieces of the Staff of Chaos. Arena's plot set the stage for Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion. Unlike the later games, Arena uses a traditional fantasy game experience points system for level advancement, but many features of the later Elder Scrolls first make their appearance here. Well worth it for the fantasy collector or hardcore fan of the Elder Scrolls.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the game that started it all..., April 24, 2010

By 

Kid Prometheus "The Lad from Hades" (danger zoned) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Elder Scrolls: Arena (CD-ROM)

though I did buy it retail back in '94 or whatever, the download is freely free and it is officially so by the people at Bethesda on Elderscrolls website. If you want the box art, well, you can get that too and print it out. This is what most of us vets played long before Morrowind and Oblivioon. The game that started it all for Elderscrolls. The box art might have been a selling point in some way for some, but the screen shots were spectacular on the back. Arena, like all Elder games is renown for its fantastic vistas and detailed sky work as in the most beleivable environments to date, even this date Oblivion is quite well done in the realm of graphics. RP element is strait foreward here, no messy timing of tediuos skill base to level up like "Dagger Hell" just a number of attributes that influence your character's ability to survivie both combat and magic challenges as well as bargining and perhaps negotiations, though it seems that is a random if someone doesn't even want to talk to you. Nords seem the race at the butt of the barrel, being "barbarous" most inns "won't speak to their kind" and just serve drinks.
You, as with other games, choose from 8 destinct races, Impirials arent' available but all the others are. Redguards and Dark Elves progress in wheapon use at high levels and thier are perks to every race/class but as a whole the main reason to level up here is attribute enhancement. Nords are strong and resist cold, probably best for walking those scenic wintery vistas but other than a few reigon oriented monsters who cast cold, it isn't really useful to resist cold. High elves have a better affinity to magic. They get the imortal paralisys resistance as do the "Knight" class played by any race. Argonians are fun and so are the Kjiiti(if spelled right) they are acrobatic, can jump and run and swim better than any other Kjiiti can climb walls as quickly as if on flat surfaces Argonians can swim respectively at a great speed without loosing stamina for a long time.
The factions/sects or whatever you choose to call them are in this game as in Daggerfall and the others. You can join the Knight's guild warrior's guild, mage guild or the dark brotherhood(good for the Kats and the reptiles). Breton(I hate, probably because they are like dorrian grey very ... they remind me of some neighbors who are.. finkie preps.) Bretons can reisist magic but have a bit less in the way of using it to High elves, also they are wimps in battle. okay that dirogotive raceist remark out of the way... The wood elves are ok but kats and argonians are better at the thief class, though for rp purpose, "woodies" make good rangers and archers, you can back pedal and strafe to get an edge as they are quite fast and accurate. They get a bonus to hit/damage at every 3 or so levels with ranged wheaopns as redguards and dark elves do with the melee wheapons. Other than the range wheapon progression at levels up, "Woodzies" have no edge over the Kats or Argonians at thier favored class, the thief.
the graphics and music are great(Sound Blaster Pro mode/Dosbox .73 EMS enabled memory manager)
for continuity, Jagar Thorne captures the Emporor, Urial Septim, Thorne is referenced in many future games, including Oblivion!
this game revolves around rescuing him and you are instructed via Ria Silmane the main plot, though, as with other elder scrolls games, you decide when to take it, you can go on quests and sub plots long before beginning with "Fang Lair" or any main element!
this game is free roaming, unlike the sucessors, you can travel to every province, including the impirial rigion and even Summerset! You begin in a dungone and are shifted(teleported) to a city in the region of your chosen race. From that point on, you are free to travel anywhere in Tamriel, including roaming the wilderness between cities to find dungeons that aren't "pointed out" by a quest giver as in "Daggerfall".
I personally enjoy this game more than "Daggerfall" as the level ups are more dependable/less tedious and some skills in Daggerfall can't be used in dungoens at all and you cant "Fast travel" witout the "reflection" of gaining skill, if your non combat skills aren't used you won't level up. even if you use it later.. Ettequett/streetsmats/lockpick/swimming ect are not alway sused in a dungeon, you must hoof it to town and it takes HOURS! you. IN this game, you level up based on XP, not using EVERY skill in your "class"!