The Elder Scrolls: Arena Retrospective

RPGWatch has written up a retrospective review of Bethesda's original first-person RPG, The Elder Scrolls: Arena. It's hard to believe that the game is already 13 years old!
The first thing I noticed, was how much the game reminded me of Ultima Underworld - it looks and plays very much like that classic. It's first person, 3D and you have to swing your mouse to swing your sword. In many ways, despite the vast improvements in the quality of the graphics, the combat mechanics haven't changed very much over the years. The spell effects are quite mundane by today's standards, but they do the job. The game does contain one spell which sadly never resurfaced- Passwall. It's marvellous being able to make any dungeon wall simply disappear.