Ultima™ 9: Ascension

Terrible game, no regard for continuity, not much actual gameplay. Skip it during the sales.

First, let's get it out of the way ... the game is a real let-down in terms of the series continuity. It's an unpolished mess, the control scheme is merely okay, and there are many plot questions that will be left unanswered. Other than those points, however, it's not such a bad game after all. Right away, you are given a book with all of the keyboard and mouse help instructions, which you can slot anywhere on the tool belt for when you need to refer back (F1 is a good spot). The various special books (Journal and Spellbook) are also easy enough to navigate for whatever you may want to read about. There is a good sense of exploration in the game--the same expansive world from the old games is still here, although changed somewhat. The locations here are pretty sparse, but in hindsight are supposed to be that way. After all, you think cities and towns will still be occupied when everything's going to hell? This game at least does a good job of reflecting that sense of chaotic destruction with the Guardian's grip on the once peaceful Britannia. A final good note on this game is the artwork present all over. Since computers today can handle the highest graphics level, each of the paintings and murals in this game really pop out. Many of them are worth just staring at for a few minutes I do applaud GOG for using version 1.19f, which is a necessary after-market developer patch. My recommendation for players is to install the "Ultima 9 Dialogue/Monster/Economy Patches" found on the Ultima Reconstruction website, which not only increases monster levels and balances the economy, but also adds in many additional story elements to make the game fit much better into the Ultima universe. So, overall, this is certainly not the best Ultima by far, but through tweaks with the aforementioned upgrade patch, fans might want to give this one a second chance.

Horribly broken game. Weak story, dull combat. Random crashes and sudden long falls through invisible cracks in the ground... they couldn't even stitch together a solid playing surface. I was incredibly bitter that I never received the replacement install disk (they'd call it a patch in this century) I was promised, despite following customer service's instructions to the letter. In retrospect, that was probably a blessing. I'd like to think a patch addressing technical issues would make this playable, but it was just a bad bad game on every level. RG deserves hugs, handshakes, and one hard kick between the legs for the series.

Remember the days when GOG meant "Good Old Games"? Yeah, me neither. Ultima IX is certainly old enough, but it is definitely NOT good. For those with a keen eye, you can find the start of the downfall of Origin with Ultima VII: The Black Gate, arguably Origin's shining moment, with the inclusion of the very subtle jabs at EA made by the developers. Those who are not as keen can see the problems of Ultima VIII: Pagan. Those who are blind can clearly see the problems with Ultima IX. There are many, many more reviews on GOG that tell the problems of Ultima IX better than I, so I'll just leave you with one of the biggest problems of the game: You resurrect Dupre. You know, the guy who sacrificed his life in Ultima VII: Serpent Isle to become the Serpent of Balance, whose place in the cosmos ensured that the universe would not destroy itself? Yeah, him.

EA killed Ultima! :D