Customer Reviews

The Morrowind Prophecies: Game of the Year Edition Official Strategy Guide

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As most gamers know, most stategy guides that are printed in paperback form are a mixed blessing. While the benefit of having a solid physical book to use when playing is a tangible boon, the content contained in them has typically been of poor quality. Oftentimes, content is missiQng (at best) or incorrect (at worst). Most serious gamers tend to instead look at online gaming guides, designed by and for other gamers. While far more in-depth, the drawback of having to print out 100+ pages is daunting.

Peter Olafson's Morrowind Prophecies is the type of game guide that gamers, both serious and casual, are looking for when they purchase a game guide. Given the complexity and detail of the game - ignoring the expansions - it would be understood if some content was missing.

I'm very happy to say this is not the case. This guide not only covers the primary quests and missions for both the Main Game and the Expansions, but explores even the most obscure and small facts and situations possible. Take every guide you've read for Morrowind, combine them in a cohesive way, and add 20+ more hours of content, and you have the Morrowind Prophecies. I've played this game off-and-on for over a year, and this guide has helped me discover things I'd previously wasn't aware of.

Not only is the content nearly perfect, but Olafson writes it in such a tounge-in-cheek manner that practically makes the reader forget he's reading a game guide, but a commentary on a myraid of situations. Imagine Mystery Science Theater 3000 were to 'watch' Morrowind, and you'll understand the intended tone - admiring it as a quality game, but unafraid to point out some peculiarities as they arise. Either pointing out that many Imperial Legion missions seem to be about fellow soldiers who stole one unique item or another ("Apparently the Legion needs to screen its Knights a little bit better."), or that a character seems to be a cocaine-addicted Santa Claus, Olafson makes you laugh at the game, and at yourself for not realizing it. No matter how silly a situation is, it is obvious Olafson likes this game quite a bit.

The guide seems to be written using the console version of Morrowind, mentioning the one or two minor situations in which the console version differs from the computer version. Only one situation is omitted, but this is understandable - a miscellaneous quest within the game does not work as it is intended on the computer version.

The only frustrating portion of the guide is the maps. While detailed well, sometimes certain locations are far from any other landmarks, and are not makred on the map.

When all is said and done, Morrowind Prophecies is the essential guide for such an intricate and complex game like Morrowind, and the expansions.

There is one final flaw in the book, although it is to be expected - reading it after you've decided not to play the game anymore may lead you to be playing for another 6 months. I would argue, however, that that isn't much of a flaw at all.

This guide is immense. However, immenseness is neccesary for an equally immense game like Morrowind.
The guide to the the original Morrowind game is set up like this: First there's information about weapons, enemies, classes, races, and birthsigns. Then there's maps, a guide to the main quest, guides to the faction quests, (Which are further subdidvided by faction, area, and quest assigner) and finally miscellaneous quests. The two expansions, Bloodmoon and Tribunal, are set up the same way.

The guide does not have a complete walkthrough for the game (meaning it doesn't tell you exactly what to do step-by-step from the time you boot it up), simply because Morrowind is a game that relies very heavily on exploration. Also, Olafson writes very tongue-in-cheek. In an early Mages' Guild quest, you have to go pick some mushrooms. He says, "What is this, my daughter's science project?" Like that. One minor quip: A guide to where to find spells would have been very helpful. Those take a lot of hunting to find.

Additionally, if you're looking for general gameplay tips, or any gameplay tips at all, you're screwed. It has guides to every quest in the game, which is saying a lot, but no more than that. Ah well.
P.S. Please rate this review!

As most gamers know, most strategy guides that are printed in paperback form are a mixed blessing. While the benefit of having a solid physical book to use when playing is a tangible boon, the content contained in them has typically been of poor quality. Oftentimes, content is missing (at best) or incorrect (at worst). Most serious gamers tend to instead look at online gaming guides, designed by and for other gamers. While far more in-depth, the drawback of having to print out 100+ pages is daunting.

Peter Olafson's Morrowind Prophecies is the type of game guide that gamers, both serious and casual, are looking for when they purchase a game guide. Given the complexity and detail of the game - ignoring the expansions - it would be understood if some content was missing.

I'm very happy to say this is not the case. This guide not only covers the primary quests and missions for both the Main Game and the Expansions, but explores even the most obscure and small facts and situations possible. Take every guide you've read for Morrowind, combine them in a cohesive way, and add 20+ more hours of content, and you have the Morrowind Prophecies. I've played this game off-and-on for over a year, and this guide has helped me discover things I'd previously wasn't aware of.

Not only is the content nearly perfect, but Olafson writes it in such a tongue-in-cheek manner that practically makes the reader forget he's reading a game guide, but a commentary on a myriad of situations. Imagine Mystery Science Theater 3000 were to 'watch' Morrowind, and you'll understand the intended tone - admiring it as a quality game, but unafraid to point out some peculiarities as they arise. Either pointing out that many Imperial Legion missions seem to be about fellow soldiers who stole one unique item or another ("Apparently the Legion needs to screen its Knights a little bit better."), or that a character seems to be a cocaine-addicted Santa Claus, Olafson makes you laugh at the game, and at yourself for not realizing it. No matter how silly a situation is, it is obvious Olafson likes this game quite a bit.

The guide seems to be written using the console version of Morrowind, mentioning the one or two minor situations in which the console version differs from the computer version. Only one situation is omitted, but this is understandable - a miscellaneous quest within the game does not work as it is intended on the computer version.

The only frustrating portion of the guide is the maps. While detailed well, sometimes certain locations are far from any other landmarks, and are not marked on the map.

When all is said and done, Morrowind Prophecies is the essential guide for such an intricate and complex game like Morrowind, and the expansions.

There is one final flaw in the book, although it is to be expected - reading it after you've decided not to play the game anymore may lead you to be playing for another 6 months. I would argue, however, that that isn't much of a flaw at all.

It's not normally like me to write a review for a game guide. I mean come on...it's not as if there are many options out there (in old fashioned paper form). You don't see any other Morrowind guide books out there do ya? So, I see it as one of those things that people are gonna buy without much care for reviews.
But I just gotta say...this particular guide is one of the most amusing things I have ever read. Honestly, I pick it up from time to time even when I'm not currently playing the game. The guy writes with genuine amusement...you get the feeling he's as excited to play it as you are. I hope the next guide for Morrowind IV is written just as well. I feel spoiled by this one.

First, let me say this is one of most thorough game guides I have ever used. If you purchase the Morrowind Game Of The Year Edition for PC or XBox, this guide is essential. The detail & description of the maps is phenomenal. There is no way you could ever find all this stuff playing on your own. And although the walk-throughs are not the step by step, hold your hand type, there is more than enough information to solve nearly every quest in the game. The best part is I can reference the guide while playing the game. I don't have to log off the game then log onto the net and search for the answers. Having this guide to reference when appropriate has made playing Morrowind a pleasure instead of a frustration. If you get the game, ya' gotta get this guide!

THE SHORT: It's a shame it's in black and white, because this book has annotated maps of the entire countryside, in addition to thorough and specific walk-throughs for every quest and lots of the items in the game. At more than 400 pages it's a great book, divided into easy sections and written in a lighthearted style. While the charts of weapons and armor are nice, there are no spell charts or a glossary of any kind.

THE LONG: If you want the most comprehensive Morrowind companion, this is where to go. While some information online is more specific and useful in certain situations, this is the biggest collection of easy-access Morrowind info, let alone in physical form. It's fun to read and greatly handy when you need to remember exactly where your next quest objective is.

It has complete walkthroughs for the entire game- each guild and faction has its own clearly seperated section of pages, and free-roaming quests from people in the wilderness are in there as well, grouped in their own section under quests by location. Rare items are often pointed out, as is the way to get a lot of them, but in this particular case they aren't given their own easily accessible chart.

This is the one fault I can apply to the book: Some things, like store-bought armor and weapons, are given tables with basic information like cost. That's cool, but then there isn't a single reference page for the dozens of spells in this game. Admittedly, cataloguing what the spells do and where to get them would take many pages, but it's still the kind of completist information you'd expect in a strategy guide like this. There's also interesting stuff that is in the book, but was unfortunately just sort of left in the narrative instead of given its own clear reference page. Finally, stuff like the location of various "permanent corpses" (people who always stay put when killed and whose bodies have infinite storage space) is not listed in the book at all. Again, like the spell lists, the book does cover all the important stuff but skimps on some specific details that unfortunately do exist elsewhere and should have been included.

Thankfully, almost everything else is accounted for. The maps, while harder to discern without color, are especially helpful as they point out locations of stuff you really want to know (like where that one lost barbarian is) to the mundane (the exact location of a pair of nix-hounds). Maps of the vast city of Vivec are here as well, as are maps to the add-ons Bloodmoon and Tribunal. And like the basic game, both new areas are given the same thorough documentation.

It's a helpful read, and sometimes fun to just flip through for some quest ideas or to randomly happen upon a rare item that sounds worth seeking out. Doing this takes away a lot of the discovery of Morrowind, but in a game this big, it's a fun thing to do now and then. Like I said, most of the maps and charts you'd care to have are here, going as far as telling you what you need to advance each level of each guild, but most of those darn spells are your own to find. And while a glossary or index would have been incredibly helpful in locating the exact page of some of this game's wildly named-places and things, the full walkthroughs of every task means that no matter what, you'll find whatever stuff you're looking for if you have a little patience. It's a solid book, and extremely informative, with just those few complaints- but I guess there is always the internet for the stuff that the more impatient of us just can't seem to find.

Well, obvously there aren't any other Morrowind guides, so this woul;d have to be the best. In my opinion, however, if you own Morrowind then you must own this book. Otherwise, you would never find all that the game has to offer. It would be impossible. It is missing some smaller things, such as Eltonbrand and other Easter Eggs and cheats. But those are easily available on the Internet, and I guarantee you would never find as extensive a guide on the internet. I would absolutely reccomend this for anyone who owns the game.

This guide is immense. However, immenseness is neccesary for an equally immense game like Morrowind.
The guide to the the original Morrowind game is set up like this: First there's information about weapons, enemies, classes, races, and birthsigns. Then there's maps, a guide to the main quest, guides to the faction quests, (Which are further subdidvided by faction, area, and quest assigner) and finally miscellaneous quests. The two expansions, Bloodmoon and Tribunal, are set up the same way.
The guide does not have a complete walkthrough for the game (meaning it doesn't tell you exactly what to do step-by-step from the time you boot it up), simply because Morrowind is a game that relies very heavily on exploration. Also, Olafson writes very tongue-in-cheek. In an early Mages' Guild quest, you have to go pick some mushrooms. He says, "What is this, my daughter's science project?" Like that. One minor quip: A guide to where to find spells would have been very helpful. Those take a lot of hunting to find.
P.S. Please rate this review!

This book has everything you would need to complete the game. It has the main story missions, all faction missions, and side quests, detailed maps of the whole world and even a section that tells you each and every little secret, like weapons hidden in bushes that you would probably never find otherwise. Anyway, if you have the game, and I'm assuming you do if you are reading this review, and are stuck and don't know what to do...buy this book. It's a little pricey but it is also twice as thick as other game guides which makes up for it.

Happy Hunting!!!

This a great guide for such an engrossing game such as `'Morrowind''. It brings gaming guides to a whole new level to gaming guides. Over 401 pages content. The maps are 99% right on. The guide also covers, in detail all the skills and classes. It even suggests some custom classes. Also it painstakingly covers every of Morrowind's 361 quests. Maybe also because this guide isn't made Prima or Brady Games. The price is a lot for a strategy guide. Sure also the maps aren't 100% correct, but who's perfect. Also the inside has an ugly grey color. It's almost a necessity to have this guide to the full experience of Morrowind, because you might end up taking hours to find something. Overall if you can afford it, and aren't afraid of spoilers get this guide!