Fortunately, this scenario is all just a role-playing game, so you don’t need to worry. Unless, of course, you value your social life. In that case, you need to start worrying the minute you walk into the store. Why? Because Morrowind: Game of the Year edition is the most expansive and open-ended RPG the Xbox has seen to date, and it’s going to devour your time like the werewolf you now have the opportunity to become.

As in the original Morrowind, you begin by creating your character from myriad attribute options, or you can create your character based upon a series of Blade Runner-style ethical questions during the first few minutes of the game. Ten races represent the human population, each with its own skills and weaknesses, and there are 13 birth signs to further customize your abilities and magic. Although 21 classes are available for further tweaking, they all boil down to fighter, mage or thief.

Early in the main quest, you can join the mages’ guild, the fighters’ guild, the ever-present thieves’ guild or many other factions and houses. Joining a faction (or several) is a good idea, as fellow faction members will have a higher disposition toward you and sell items at a better price. While all may seem well in the guild, though, a series of nightmares will torment your character, and it becomes apparent that something quite evil is awaiting your arrival deep in the heart of Red Mountain.

From the 20-plus missions in the main quest to the nearly 400 faction-based missions, there’s no shortage of things to do on your way to Red Mountain. But Morrowind: GOTY adds even more to the original Morrowind experience with two new locations and more quests and missions. These additions come in the form of the once Windows-only expansion packs Tribunal and Bloodmoon.

Tribunal opens a teleportation gate to the city of Mournhold, where a goddess needs your assistance with a bizarre new enemy. Bloodmoon, on the other hand, has you fighting werewolves (or becoming one) on the frozen, Nordic island of Solstheim. While it’s technically possible to start either of these missions from the get-go, both Tribunal and Bloodmoon are geared in favor of characters who have finished the main quest, so new characters might want to steer clear for a while.

For potential new buyers, here’s yet another warning: there’s nothing new about the overall gameplay, so if you didn’t like the original Morrowind, there’s nothing different enough to warrant an investment in the Game of the Year. You can play Morrowind: GOTY any way you like, and the NPCs’ disposition will dictate what information they offer, or you can always bribe or threaten them. But while the new enemy health meter is a nice touch, adventuring can still at times be tiring.

In these cases, a stroll through the fields of Kummu, watching the sunrise from Azura’s Coast or just picking fights at the local tavern are pleasant diversions. You can also increase your abilities by picking up a book, some of which are even entertaining; five-minute reads can shed some light on a very complex series of relationships between Morrowind’s various races and factions. Or, you can do as I do and spend more time tidying my mansion in Bal Isra than I do tidying my house in the real world.

Another nice way to bid the time is to play through the Sneak Mode, picking pockets, evading enemies or delivering Splinter Cell-style critical hits from the shadows. Even more fun comes with enchanting, though, which brings magical properties to objects once you trap an enemy’s soul. It’s quite a rewarding process to dream up and then create a sword that makes enemies fight on your side for 30 seconds, only to become "themselves" again and wonder why the rest of their party has been hacked to pieces. Or to create a pair of trousers that renders you irresistible to merchants. That was a good one, and it’s all within your enchanting grasp.

Graphically, there isn’t a considerable improvement over the original Morrowind, but those base graphics were solid to begin with. Still, the animation is lacking, and herky-jerky monsters and enemies lose a lot of their fear factor as they "flip" toward you. If the stiff animations really get to you, you can switch to first-person mode, which won’t reduce enemies’ spastic tendencies but will keep you from having to see yourself act the same way.

If you’re a fan of the original Morrowind, the GOTY edition will give you many more hours of play and add to the longevity of an already impressive game. If you didn’t like Morrowind, don’t bother with this new version, because it’s more of the same. If you have no experience with Morrowind, though, you should give the game a try, especially considering the number of gameplay hours you get for your dollar. With its open-ended model, an engaging plot and a beautiful score, Morrowind: GOTY will suck you into a truly addicting experience if you give it a chance.