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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Tech Deck

Head back to ‘96 in Tamriel with ‘Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall’ for free

Are you a gamer? Do you like free things? Of course you do!

We here at the Tech Deck are just like you - poor gamers looking for a good deal. And you can't beat no price tag.

So we'll be on the lookout for games offered sans cost around the Internet. If you see a deal we should feature on the blog, contact us at dang@spokesman.com or kiph@spokesman.com.

This week, we're spotlighting the RPG classic "Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall" for the PC. Click here to download the game for free, legally, from Bethesda Softworks, and go inside the blog to read and talk about this classic title.

Released in 1996, "Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall" was the true sequel to Elder Scrolls: Arena. The developers have said the game is the size of Great Britain, comprising 62,394 square miles.

The maps include all areas of the region of Hammerfell in Tamriel, the mythical continent where the Elder Scrolls games are set. To compare the size of this game to Skyrim, the most recent game in the series, is an exercise in mind-boggling futility. Skyrim is roughly 15 square miles. 15!

Daggerfall screenshot
What the Elder Scrolls looked like in 1996. (Source: Bethesda)

Of course, ES2 - which runs on your PC with the help of a DOS emulator - is not nearly as pretty as the 2011 Game of the Year candidate. But it will keep you entertained for hours on end without making a dent in your wallet. Bethesda released Daggerfall in 2009, on the 15th anniversary of the Elder Scrolls franchise, which has sold more than 27 million copies worldwide.

To play Daggerfall, you'll need 256 MB of hard drive space and 32 MB of RAM. Those are paltry requirements as you continue to twiddle your thumbs until Bethesda releases The Elder Scrolls Online for consoles (expected some time in 2015).



Kip Hill
Kip Hill joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the City Desk, covering the marijuana industry, local politics and breaking news. He previously hosted the newspaper's podcast.

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