PvE questing is often tedious, but the PvP Alliance War portion of the package is totally worth it, and does large-scale conflict in Tamriel justice with some epic gameplay to be experienced - but it's not enough to uplift the rest of the repetition experienced in the main portion of the game.

+ Alliance War and PvP modes; + Group PvE dungeons; + Class builds and skill trees; + Character customisation

- Too many tedious; repetitive quests; - Alliance War buried until Level 10; - Invisible NPC problem persists; - Frame-rate drops in main city hubs

The Elder Scrolls Online gets its biggest shot in the arm yet with the extensive Morrowind chapter. It doesn't properly fix the fundamental flaws of the base game, but it does add an interesting, fresh depth for veteran players whilst keeping it somewhat accessible for newcomers.

Upon entering the world of The Elder Scrolls:V for the first time, players are given the option of travelling almost anywhere, at any time, to hunt dragons, save villagers or simply wander the planes to discover hidden treasures, locales or dungeons.

For the sake of honesty I have to start this review by saying that I was hesitant going into The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO): Tamriel Unlimited, as it was by no means my first adventure into the game.

Alan checks in from Morrowind, the newest chapter of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls Online.

Plenty of memorable quests and characters; Noob friendly; Seamless grouping is a triumph; Nails that epic Elder Scrolls feel

Animation is clunky; Lack of minimap and quest glitches can be frustrating; You encounter hordes of other players in odd places

The Short Version: Tamriel Unlimited is neither a great Elder Scrolls game nor an MMORPG for the ages, but it's something else entirely. An addictive if often awkward compromise with an astonishing amount of quality subscription-free content.

Enormous facsimile of Tamriel to explore; Sensationally versatile class; skill; character creation and crafting systems; Revamped first-person combat feels fantastic; Loads of content; no subscriptions; A huge number of story & radiant quests fleshed out with lore and mini-narratives..

...that don't really make sense in an MMORPG; become mundane; Jarring disconnect between story and massive multiplayer destroys atmosphere and immersion; Tamriel still feels like a sterile showroom at times; slow and restrictive first few hours; Can be difficult to find groups and enter Cyrodiil PvP

I was totally disappointed with this. Total space requirement ended at over 70g. It is just another of a long line of first person, forward progression-type games. I'll be trading it in at the Game stop for something more enjoyable, like MineCraft or Pong.

There are few metaphors more persistent in gaming than the massively multiplayer role-playing game as an amusement park. World of Warcraft sets players loose in a playground not dissimilar to Disney World.

Enormous world is overflowing with gorgeous locales to explore; Score transmits the energy of a grand epic fantasy even when the rest of the game fails to; Quest design strays away from tired MMOG conventions

Characterization and dialogue are bland cardboard cut-outs of emotion or personality; Combat is often a slog and devoid of weight and impact; MMOG elements still feel glued on to a single-player shell

The Elder Scrolls Online features entertaining quests, dynamic combat, and a whole lot of other people. Sadly, those other people largely feel like an unnecessary addition to the game.

Entertaining; diverse; and well-written quests; Flexible but balanced character progression and combat; Good PvP setup

Poorly implemented voice chat; no text chat; Game systems work against positive player interaction

For fans eager for a new fix all these years on from Skyrim, that may well be enough. The ability to share the adventure, somewhat clumsily, with friends is both a selling point and a pitfall, but those who concentrate their efforts on the Alliance War will find the experience worthwhile.