Ultima™ 9: Ascension

Thanks to EA this put an end to the Ultima series. The game is far away from being finished since EA put an impossible deadline to release the game before it was really finished. To make it playable there had been some patches after release. You can see the unfinished parts in many areas of the game because they didn't had time to hide them properly. Every fan of Ultima got really upset and angry to see the impressive capitol of this world shrink to a hand full of NPCs and some houses. This did also happen to the rest of the original game content. All who said it couldn't get any worse after Ultima 8 had been disabused. I have bought the original game on CD which still works, so I don't need to buy it on gog but I would if it is on discount since $5,99 is too much for an unfinished game.

I originally purchased U9 back when it first came out. I grew up with the series, so I was very much looking forward to this addition. I must echo the sentiments of those before me that the game is a complete mess. It completely ignores(and in some instances, negates) the prior installations and their stories. This was supposed to be an epic finale to not just The Age of Armageddon Trilogy, but to the Ultima series as a whole. Instead, U9 plays like that annoying friend who shows up as you're watching a good movie, only to ruin it by asking redundant questions about the plot because he's never actually taken the time to watch it himself. Story, plot holes, and complete disregard to the previous installments aside, the game is just atrocious. The storyline is cliche and one dimensional. The dungeons have no character. The bugs and crashes just make the game unplayable. So much so, that I got the furthest I ever have in the game( right before the final battle,) when the game crashed. Upon every reload, the game would sit and fail to start the in-game cinematic to advance me on my quest. I was left with either restarting from an earlier save, restarting all together, or uninstalling. I obtained every armor, every magical weapon, just about every thing there is to obtain in the game, for it to be stuck in limbo due to a crash. If you feel the need to purchase the game(whether you're a fan of the series and wish to play it, or if you just want to see exactly how bad it is,) I advise you to SAVE OFTEN! No, really. Pick up a pile of gold? Save the game. Entering a dungeon? Save before you enter. Then make ANOTHER save as soon as you enter. Save again before completing the dungeon, then make another separate save after... seriously, trust me. I also advise you to download some fan-made patches which correct the dialogue. It removes stupid questions(What's a paladin?) and loosely tries to tie U9 with the other installments. Ultima: A Forever Incomplete Saga :(

the controlls are really disgusting, but It can be quite good game, on higher levels. (just see the screenshots)

I played all Ultimas and the decline started with part 8. Part 9 is like one of the 3D Kings Quests, a mild mannered adventure with some RPG elements. Its not bad, the atmosphere was glorious back when it was new mainly because of the graphics. If this Version is patched to a point where its playable than its an ok-good game. (unpatched the game produced some mind boggling errors, like important items flying 50 feet above ground etc),

I like this game! Ok, I can understand why so many people are disapointed. When it (finally) arrived it was painfully buggy, had a bad performance and it was nothing like the developer had promised years before. But it has it's own charme. I started my Ultima-career late with Ultima 8 and I loved it for what it was, because I didn't had this expectations longtime Ultima-veterans had. And it's the same with Ultima 9. It feels and plays alot like the first Gothic just from the opposite side of the morale scale and without the dirty talk. If you just take it as a big and rich world to explore with plenty of wonderous places and characters you will have a great time playing this game! It may be no great Ultima but is has it's own virtues and isn't Ultima all about discovering your own virtues?!