Ultima™ 8 Gold Edition

Ultima VIII: Pagan is one of a kind. I just finished it for the first time after getting it on GOG and I will say this: it's full of gray caves. Everywhere. You'll find yourself roaming in gray caves most of the time you're making progress in the game. Moreover, there's a place called Catacombs that I always dreaded going, and thus tried to cross it as efficiently and quickly as possible. Guess what? The game requires you to go back to the Catacombs all...the...time. So, by this point,that simply appear beneath you and swallow you whole it may seem I hate the game. I don't. In fact, I picked it up more than 20 years after I first played it so I could actually finish. I played it before any Ultima game (maybe with the exception of Ultima Underworld - which I love) and I can say this game's plotline is fantastic. The characters are awesome, the eerie atmosphere is top notch, the music is superb (especially the cemetery tunes, just 11/10 material) and the magic casting system is very interesting. I had to finish this game because it embodies what a RPG should be: difficult but fair, engaging but not over the top. I don't really mind the constant explosions (you'll see), the hordes of enemies trying to make your life miserable or the platforming. I do mind some ridiculous game design decisions, such as holes that appear beneath you and swallow you whole. Come on, who finds that funny? People that green lighted this should be shot in the balls, for all I care. Anyway, I digress. Pick this game up when it suits your wallet, it never did get outta my head, you'll enjoy it too if you like a good story.

Back when this was released I had never played any of the previous Ultima games so this was my introduction into the series. Since I had no expectations, I was able to enjoy it for what it was. After learning how different it was from the rest of the series I can see why so many fans were disappointed with it, but the game itself is an ejoyable one. My only real complaint is the movement can be a bit awkward at times since it is so heavly mouse driven. It works well enough. Just expect to save often because you'll likely find yourself running into a trap or getting clobbered by an enemy because you can't always position yourself properly. Surprisingly though, the jumping mechanic works really well.

Ultima was a complex series of role-playing games, but it suffered from the awkward interfaces and navigation that were common in its time. Ultima 7 improved upon those flaws, and though it was still problematic, it succeeded as an epic adventure in a large, detailed world. Ultima 8 was a rushed pile of worthless bullshit that crushed all the style and value of the series, leaving only the crippling. Ultima's role-playing is gone: The character is no longer the greatest symbol of goodness and virtue, he has become a genocidal sociopath who destroys everything in his path and cares naught about anyone else. You have no choice but to follow the commands of all the irritating characters in this stupid, featureless world, one filled with empty space and confusing wastelands. Players no longer search for curiosity's sake, but because they have no idea where to go or what to do until they stumble upon the right cave. Virtue is irrelevant, as the Avatar must be pure evil. Ultima 8 is not even consistent: Commit crimes most of the time, and you will be killed--but under certain circumstances, you must kill and steal from innocent men. Have fun trying to figure out the difference. Controls, jumping, combat, perspective: All are terrible. Electronic Arts forced Origin to turn this into an action game, but the great combat of Wing Commander and Crusader bear no resemblance to this shit. Jumping puzzles appear throughout the game, but you never get a clear indication of where you are jumping, the position of the target relative to the character, or the length of the jump. One can easily spend hours on a single jumping puzzle. Fighting suffers all the same problems, and involves nothing more than blindly clicking on the enemies, only slightly less tedious and frustating than Diablo. It was compared to Super Mario Brothers, but Mario is defined by its steady controls; clear situational awareness; exciting action sequences; imaginative settings and enemies; and clearly defined objectives, none of which are present in this game. Ultima 8's magic system is a mess: The worst example is a type of magic that requires the player to place items in very specific spots throughout pentagrams, leading to endless frustrations and confusion. This has to be repeated many times to complete one training sequence, one of the many pointless, tedious, extraneous sequences that destroy the pacing. Never play this game. Electronic Arts destroyed Origin, and if its executives get one cent from this game, they should be declared thieves and suffer horrible punishments. Rating: negative googleplex stars out of infinity

Ultima 8: Pagan is one of the first games I ever played, so my review may be a bit nostalgice, but it instilled in me a love for the rpg genre. -The game has little to no tutorial and no Journal/Quest log (Beyond the notes you take yourself) which makes for a lot more engaging as you have to remember or take notes of the story and what you are currently pursuing/looking into. - There is a colourful world to explore, npcs have schedules of a sort and there are many things to discover if you look beyond the beaten path. -The mechanics of stat advancement, movement and combat were pretty groundbreaking for the time and I still find them endearing

I give up, Britannia can burn. I tried playing it and it crashed so many times that I lost count. And I played Ultima 8 back when I was a kid with the insane platforming. This version though, broke me. Beggars are tortured invisibly and all I can see are their dialogue floating in the air. NPCs walk off into the distance when I engage them in conversation. Hold still so I can choose my reply - AGHHH! The last straw was when the save game got corrupted and it crashes when I launch the file. Yes Guardian, I am lamenting. You win, just let it all burn.