Ultima™ IV: Quest of the Avatar

I'm not sure what caused me to purchase Ultima IV when I saw it in the store way back in '85 or '86 but I am glad I did. The graphics were not much, even for a C=64 game but the gameplay made up for it. I loved the idea of striving to be a shining example of the eight virtues to the populace of Britannia. I still have my cloth map and the original History of Britannia book.

This is a must-play for anyone who prefers playing a role to manipulating character stats, as well as anyone interested in the evolution of CRPGs. Ultima 4 throws out conventional goals and bossfights. Instead, your goal is to grow into the living embodiment of the game's Eight Virtues. There are obvious ways to do this, such as handing out money to the poor, but there are subtleties as well. For instance, chasing down monsters fleeing from battle isn't very compassionate. Don't be put off by this game's unique emphasis on embodying the Virtues. It has the same huge world, exploration, and party combat of the rest of the series. Towns and characters finally start to feel alive. Little touches abound. Presentation on the PC is vastly improved over the first three games in the series. Give it a try. It's free, after all. It leaves a feeling of genuine enlightenment like no other game I've tried.

I just bought a new laptop to pass my time as I'm disabled and stuck at home most of the time. I was looking for some games to play that wouldn't be too hard (brain tumor survivor=damage) and stumbled across GOG Galaxy. I somehow almost immediately found this clasisic gem! I played Ultima IV when I was young and absolutely loved it. Jumping back into this game was like going back in time! The only thing I was missing was the original cloth map! The game itself plays just lke the original. It's wonderful. Keep in mind that this is from the 80's and wasn't made for today's Os's. Wonderful game that was extremely advanced for its time. I highly recommend.

This is it, the game that really startet the Ultima franchise as something unique. A new and innovative story -not the old "kill the evil wizard and rescue the princess/save the world- and one of the first computer games to have a deep story, unique companions with personality, a huge, living world to explore...simply a good, no, a great, great old game. If you haven´t played it and can forgive the old graphics and somewhat complicated controls - go and get it. This is computer gaming history at its finest.

This is truly a gem of a game. It stands apart from the other classic RPGs of it's time like Wizardry and Bard's Tale because it isn't the old 'go kill everything in sight' cliche, it has a deep moral storyline. It was really ahead of it's time. You are aspiring to become the Avatar and you have to master all the eight virtues. Unlike the previous Ultima games, you can't go around killing people for fun. You have to be more sensible. An example of this games genius is that in Skara Brae you buy reagents from an old blind woman. You can choose to give her the right amount of money, or you can trick her (Of course then you can't become the Avatar). Another great thing is the interactive Talking system. In this you type in keywords to speak with people and learn new things. This gave a new depth to the game. I highly recommend playing this wonderful experience, and you won't regret it.