Ultima™ 7 The Complete Edition

This is one of my fondest memories of playing RPGs. It is a great game with an absolutely fantastic story. Besides the story, this was the first game that gave me the sensation of being in a living, breathing world. Lots of characters to get to learn and all seem to have their place and time in this world. Each town and its residents are an adventure in itself and makes the game a really interesting experience. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but once that is done, and the initial annoyance over that is over, it slowly gains on you and a few hours into the game you really appreciate how the interface in no way interferes with your adventures in Britannia. This is the best Ultima game out there, and if you only play one Ultima game (which every RPG player should) this should be the one.

I have played a lot of games in my time, and the experience I had playing this game is unmatched to this day. I would argue that Origin's old mantra of "We Create Worlds" is most true with this game, more than any other. Many games do a great job creating their environment so you can play in them, but this is the only game I felt like I've ever really lived in. Many today might play this game using some kind of walkthrough, which could take away from the exploration and discovery. Likewise, the nature of the game's open-endenness could be frustrating. Depending on your nature, some kind of middle ground might be best. Also, remember, this came out in 1992. The most advanced games of that year being sonic 2, the first mario kart, and wolfenstein 3d. (Aside, the minimum system requirements on GOG are almost laughable.)

I hesitated to review these games because they melted my face off, and it's difficult to type without a face. Now, 22 years later, with face replacement technology finally possible, I can offer my take on this role-playing game masterpiece for the ages. Ultima 7 is the greatest role-playing game of all time. I just replayed it last week and it was just as fun as it was in 1992. In fact, it possesses features that many games today, for whatever reason, do not have. You can cut wheat, grind it into flour, add water from a well, make dough, place the dough on an oven, turn it into bread, and then eat the bread. You can drink booze until you puke, and then your companions might puke at the site of your puke and you just started a barforama. You can take bales of wool, turn it into thread on a loom. You can find gems, gold bars, and gold nuggets and trade them for gold coins. In Serpent Isle you can even trade gold jewelry for currency. The entire world is riddled with dungeons and caves, and it is one massive cell. Every building, and dungeon is seamlessly integrated into the map. There are no loading screens. There are Easter eggs, hidden 'cheat rooms' and tons of superfluous content for the intrepid adventurer to uncover. The story is great, the characters unforgettable and the writing 100% pro. You are not an RPG enthusiast unless you get this game and discover its wonders for yourself. The End.

I didn't have the chance to play Ultima 7 when it was originally released. I first played it about 5 years ago and while it took me some time to get into it I then spent countless hours with it. Replaying the game now on my cell phone (thank you Exult!) I can only scratch my head in awe thinking about how much ahead of its time the game was. First of all the game is immense, but that's not so rare nowadays with all the Elder Scrolls games etc. The feeling of the game is very different from those mentioned above and basically from most RPGs today, because developing your in game character is just not that important it's more about how you, the player, interact with the game and develop as it continues. For example when completing quests it's not so much about getting reward through XP and loot, but rather about actually caring about the NPCs and wanting to help them. There is a living breathing world in Britania and the characters have so much depth and you can lose yourself in the game for hours and just chat with the NPCs while still feeling rewarded for the time invested. At least that's how I feel when playing the game. The writing is top notch with the old English and everything which is part of why the dialogues are so engaging. The game is so complex - each character has their daily routine, you can bake bread in the game, steal, spy on people, kill Lord British! etc. How many games allow you to do all that even today? The graphics is still a joy to look at especially on a smaller screen or in higher resolution that Exult makes possible. The music likewise is very pleasant and adds to the mood of the game greatly. If there's something that could be improved it's the interface - especially item management is very cumbersome but that's to be expected from a 1992 game I guess. If you can get over the single con there is no real reason not to play one of the truly best games ever. Not just great for its age, simply one of the best ever. Period.

While certain aspects of Ultima VII have not aged well (the animation on the NPC's comes to mind), this game was a monumental achievement of its time and overall is still a masterpiece. You will never find a more thought out, full world than the world of Britannia in The Black Gate. I still marvel every time I enter Britain!