Ultima™ IV: Quest of the Avatar

This is more of a "here's what to expect" review than a criticism. All that has been said of this game is true. It is one of the best CRPG games ever released. But what most people don't mention is some of the aspects of the game which might make it not suitable for many of today's gamers. That said, it is not for the "high speed, get to the end as quickly as possilble" crowd. There will be a lot of repetition. Going over the same ground; killing the same monsters over and over again; talking to every single person in the game, often more than once. Taking notes...yes, you WILL need to have a notebook and have to write down every single clue you get. This game is a true quest, unlike the mission oriented quests we've been used to in MMO's and other RPG's over the years. You have to go to many different locations, often more than once. And there's no map with a shiny circle pointing out where you have to go or who you have to talk with. You'll get clues from just about everybody, IF you know what to ask about. And, at times, it can get very frustrating. For example: you're moving along nicely heading east in your ship towards Buccaneer Bay and suddenly the wind changes and you're dead in the water..then about 6 sea serpents attack your little boat. and before you know it..you're gone. There's no booting up a previous saved game because it only saves your present position when you quit. Movement can be a pain at times. When you get into deep forest, you see nothing around you but blackness. As you move trying to find your way out, you often run into packs of wandering monsters and you'll find yourself in the combat window....again. Even though you get items and chests from the monsters, after a while you just wish you could move to your desired location without running into them all the time. But that's one of the endearing aspects of this game. You have to work hard for what you want. For example: ff you don't use cheats or walkthoughs which are plentiful online, you could spend hours just mapping the moongates and trying for figure out just where the heck you are in that big world. Oh, and there is no auto mapping, nor is there an automatic map telling you where you are in the world..if you want to know that, you'll have to use a special item, available in only a few, hard to reach places. This game DOES NOT hold your hand..ever. Combat can be tedious after a while. It's turn based. You move, the AI moves. Every encounter takes place in a separate window where you have to move each of your 1 to 8 characters into position to use whichever weapon or spell you have readied. The AI is not friendly. Enemy spellcasters will use some nasty spells on you. And when a character dies, you have to spend large amounts of gold getting him resurrected in a town. You don't regenerate hp automatically, you have to use heal spells or rest, either in an inn in town. or in the field, which can be dangerous because you are subject to attack while resting. Early in the game, you'll be asking yourself, "how in the world do I get ahead in this game?" My advice is to look online for hints...hints, not walkthrus..A walkthru will basically destroy any fun you might have with the game. Trying to find the location of crucial items is one of the things that makes this game so great. The "AHA, I've got it" feeling you get when you uncover the Rune of Sacrifice, for example is great. And you realize that this is only one of many goals you must achieve to get to the level of Avatar. By the way, none of the points I mentioned above do I consider negatives in this game. By today's RPG standards, it's not player friendly. You are dumped into a world with no idea where you are, how to survive and what to do. Basically, what I'm saying is this game is not for the "World of Warcraft, let's do this dungeon in 30 seconds and get out" crowd. It's for someone who wants to take his time, enjoy the experience, stop and smell the roses, uses his noodle and maybe have one of the most interesting gaming experiences of his life. THAT is old school RPG gaming.

This is when games became more than button mashing, and more than jumping puzzles. This is when we started to see gaming develop more serious narratives, more player choice, and fully realized worlds. Ultima 4 - 7 part 2 are some of the finest games ever made. Still copied, but not yet surpassed. Even though the look may be dated it is worth your time to play through these games and see the evolution of computer entertainment with each installment. Ultima 4 may very well be the most important video game ever released. The true game changer.

Whatever one's own first gaming experiences were, it is hard to back below that standard. My first Ultima game was Ultima V, the third game I ever owned for the C64. If you play the sequels first, it is hard to go back. Ultima IV is very innovative, as being one of the first CRPGs to depart from simple hack'n'slay and create a storyline based on actually roleplaying. In order to complete the game the player has to abide by the moral standards that do make him or her an Avatar, the embodiment of the virtues. This idea will always set this game apart. However, even compared to Ultima V this game looks dated. Ultima V introduced characters that follow their daily schedule like clockwork. The attention to little details makes the world of Britannia come alive. Compared to even that standard, Ultima IV seems pretty static. Both Ultima IV and Ultima V require building your character to a high level (IIRC Ultima IV can in fact only completed at level 8, the highest, because it determines party size), and collecting money, ingredients and other stuff. This severely detracts from following the plot and makes for many hours of running around to kill monsters to build the character. If you're more into an advancing story, Ultima VI and VII have much less need to toil in the experience point mines, and play much more like adventure games in a great interactive world. Also recommended are Ultima Worlds: The Savage Empire and Ultima Worlds: Martian Dreams, spinoffs on the Ultima VI engine that explore the better interface and item interaction of Ultima VI further. If you want a better gaming experience out of Ultima IV, there's a fanmade graphical update available. The screenshots here don't look like it is already included, but I haven't checked. All in all, Ultima IV hasn't aged as well as Ultima V up to VII beyond. Ultima IV might be interesting for historical reasons, but that wasn't enough to make me want to finish it.

Honestly this game changed my life but sadly, there's very little I can say in this review to convince anyone to buy this because I think you really did have to be there. You had to experience all the crusty games that proceeded it or even the ones that came out at the same time. OK so it doesn't look like Skyrim but I come from an era where although we could see each individual pixel, we had the imagination to fill in all the gaps and essentially made the games our own. That being said, if you do actually appreciate RPGs as an art form then I cannot recommend this game enough and even though I think "you had to be there", I did eventually revisit this game and found it highly enjoyable and satisfying and to be honest, I don't respect you as an RPG player unless you can finish it. I've played many, MANY consoles, computers, arcade and handheld gaming devices (since as far back as 1983) and this is still the most satisfying game completion.