Oblivion vs Morrowind!

[ray_gillespie]

oK, now I love Oblivion, it's an awesome game, with probably unprecendented levels of interactivity, freedom and exploration. When I first started playing I was incredibly impressed by:

1) The graphics
2) The size of the thing
3) The speed travel
4) The physics detail
5) The compass

And these are all on top of everything that impressed me about Morrowind. But now that the initial excitement has died down somewhat, I've been questioning which game I think is better, Oblivion or Morrowind.
I do believe that because of awesome innovations like the speed travel thing (where you can just click where you want to be transported to), the compass and the mounts etc, Oblivion is a lot less frustrating compared to hours of walking around barren countryside in Morrowind looking for a cave hidden behind a hill.

But I have been thinking, if Morrowind had the speed travel, the compass and mounts, which game would be better? Personally, I think there is something slightly lacking about Oblivion that was present in Oblivion. Partly, I think it feels a bit disjointed. The speed travel is obviously one factor in this, but the player can just stop speed travelling most of the time (with a bit of willpower!). I think the speed travelling is wonderful, but I definitely found I enjoyed the game more when I started walking/riding to a few places rather than being teleported everywhere. But I also think having towns as separate walled-off areas means that I feel like I'm being teleported to a different place to do certain things and then come back out completely to carry on where I left off. In Morrowind, this process was seamless.

But that's only a small part of it. I definitely feel less a part of the world in Oblivion than I did in Morrowind. I find it much less absorbing, but I can't really put my finger on it.

So my questions to you guys are these:

Does anyone else feel like this about Oblivion? Which game is better, Oblivion or Morrowind? What about if Morrowind had the speed travel etc? What is different about the two games that gives them their different 'feel'?

Or does everyone think I'm crazy?!

PS I still reckon Oblivion is the nuts, incase anyone is confused!

 

[Aprox]

I pretty much agree with all the points you bring up. I love both games and have spent countless hours playing both. However I feel that Morrowind is the better overall game, the story and immersion is far better in morrowind than in Oblivion.

If you were to add those features to morrowind from Oblivion it would be even better. One of the major perks that Oblivion has over Morrowind is however the combat and physics. Those two things alone drasticly change how you play the game. Now if only we could get a upgraded morrowind on the oblivion engine

 

[thenjduke]

I love this game!

 

[Petros]

I have to pick Morrowind for immersion as well. Oblivion is a really great game, and more fun than 99.9% of games out there, but they could have done a little more for depth.

The thing I found most lacking is the non-variety of voice acting and the level of character development. Everything else was as close to top-notch as possible, but when you have a hard time discerning between the people you talk to, it gets confusing.

The speed travel does take away from the game a little, too, but it makes movement less of a chore.