When Bethesda took time at E3 to show off Bloodmoon, an expansion pack for their award-winning RPG Morrowind, I was overjoyed to hear that players would be cast in the role of a werewolf. After all, what could be cooler than being a level-30 fighter by day and a bloodthirsty were-creature by night? Now that Bloodmoon has hit store shelves, I have to stand by that first impression of the expansion pack, as it thoroughly enriches the gameplay of an already spectacular RPG.

Bloodmoon, being an expansion pack, relies heavily on the foundational gameplay of Morrowind, and as such, I won’t rehash the basic gameplay. I may be getting ahead of myself assuming that if you’re reading this review, you’re already a Morrowind player, but I’m going to do so anyhow.

The Bloodmoon expansion, at its core, adds a whole new storyline to the Morrowind experience. The adventures in the expansion all take place on the island of Solstheim, a land rich with both opportunity and danger. Whenever you’re in your hometown, you’ll hear rumors of dark creatures and horrible deaths taking place on the island, and it’s up to you to take up the sword and figure things out once and for all. Since I hate being called a spoilsport, I won’t go any further into the plot, as it’s really something you have to experience to truly enjoy.

While the gameplay in Morrowind was very open and encouraged exploration, Bloodmoon practically drags you through the storyline with missions and quests designed to give you a sense of purpose as you explore the mysterious island. Your early quests are pretty easy, with you helping to establish a new mine on the island and trying to find out why the local militia is so upset with their leadership. Later quests get much deeper and darker, especially once you’re introduced to your new furry friends.

By furry friends, I mean the werewolves, those humans possessed with the ability to transform into wolf-men at sundown. The werewolves are smart, fast and agile, though not particularly good fighters since they are limited to fang and claw. If one bites you, and odds are, one will, you’ll slowly become infected, finding yourself in the role of a lycanthrope after a few days. While becoming a werewolf is integral to the plot, it’s highly suggested that you keep a backup copy of your original Morrowind save around, just in case you need to roll back to pre-werewolf status.

Playing the part of a werewolf requires incredibly intelligent gameplay on your part to prevent the NPCs from hunting you down. While you aren’t immediately exposed as a werewolf, if you accidentally change form near any NPC, you’ll be immediately branded far and wide. That branding makes you a target, and you’ll never get near an attentive NPC without him immediately attacking you. Also, werewolves must feed on human flesh to survive, and if you don’t feed, you’ll watch your health and strength quickly deteriorate. If you don’t play it well, Bloodmoon can turn your entire Morrowind experience into one of chasing and being chased, with very little opportunity to continue your quests. And yes, even as a werewolf, there are still quests to be completed.

Besides the addition of werewolves, Bloodmoon introduces a few interesting bits of equipment to the Morrowind universe. Armor and clothing is more Nordic-themed, meaning there’s plenty of thick furs and animal heads to be worn. Weapons have a special ice-based enchantment, though you have to remember that in wolf form, you can’t use any weapons, armor or magic.

The only weakness in Bloodmoon’s gameplay is the scale. Everything takes place on the island of Solstheim, which is only a fraction of the size of the main island of Vvardenfell, and thus there’s not a lot of terrain to cross. If you try hard enough, you can cross the island in less than 15 minutes of real-world time. I say "try hard enough," because Solstheim is an island packed with vicious creatures. Be it the wolves, bears or goblins, they all want your head and won’t hesitate to attack you the minute you get within visual range. It can get tiring to be walking along through the snow-covered forest and suddenly be attacked by a relentless bear that you just can’t seem to lose. And this happens quite a bit.

Since Bloodmoon is a Morrowind expansion, you get the same graphics as you got in the main game. While Morrowind’s graphics may not be considered as phenomenal as they were just a short year ago, they’re still better than those of many current RPGs. The artwork is clean and crisp, and the additional winter environments will have you running for your warmest blanket and a portable heater. Everything from the werewolf designs to the animal skin armor looks as you’d imagine (if it were real), and while there can be some slowdown in the framerate, the game looks great as a whole.

The sound in Bloodmoon is much the same as the original, only with a few new monster sounds and environmental effects. Now as the wind blows, you’ll hear wolves howling, which builds a powerful sense of foreboding. The monster sounds, though, while new, come into play quite frequently, which gets old fast. Yet since Morrowind had a good score and sound effects, I can’t score this expansion low in the sound department.

Bloodmoon is very quest-oriented, so once you’ve finished it, the odds are you won’t be interested in a second round. However, the storyline is compelling enough to keep you playing through it, so there’s definite value in this expansion. You might not come back to Bloodmoon after you finish it, but you will most definitely do everything in your power to get to the end of it.

Morrowind fans rejoice, you have a very unique and compelling expansion pack for what is arguably one of the best RPG’s ever made. The gameplay and storyline are more than worth the price of admission. If you’re a Morrowind fan, go get this expansion pack.