Ultima™ 9: Ascension

First of all, this Game has some major flaws (for people who loved the entire Ultima Series). So, why do I give 4 stars? Easy: The mechanics of the game are done really nice and for a game at this age, you are quite free to explore the world and leave the path hints guide you. If you look at the game as a completely independent game, you will have a lot of fun with it and the story. At this price, everyone should have a try on his own on this game if he likes it or not. It you are into Roleplaying Games with a lot of freedom in character development, this is absolutely the game for you.

I’ve a different opinion than those die hard fans of this game, from the time it was produced, this game is a breakthru seriously. Look at Diablo III now, I think Ultima 9 is better. If we’re asked is there any comment, I’d like to see wood chopping, house decoration, fishing etc working in it, I would like to live in that world, it’s small but compact, and content enough to avoid you getting bored. Now Skyrim and other 3D rpg games now are bored and dried to dead if you asked me. I’m actually a fans of Ultima too, I bought the Ultima collection and I played all of the sequel! From a game developer POV I’ll say the hardest point to make a game interesting is to make it live, Lord British and his team did that, and I can felt it, just he’s too ambitious. I played UO and SotA later, I can hardly find the same feeling again from Ultima 9. It’s 2019 and I still pick up and play the game again, regardless the bugs, it’s fun and I loved most of it, it’s an artwork!

Once upon a time, in the mythical land of late '90s PC gaming, a brighteyed lad opened a glorious cardboard box containing a cloth map, some cards, a manual thicker than most modern novels, and a disk that promised adventure. What did I get?.... Bugged to hell. Save file corrupted faster than my hope. Cheesy voice acting that could peel paint. Perfection. So here I am again, voluntarily launching myself headfirst into the digital dumpster fire that is Ultima IX: Ascension. The controls feel like someone mapped them during a seance. Combat? Like wrestling a baguette underwater. Dialogue? Voiced by what I assume were the devs' cousins after a couple of pints. And yet… I’m here. Smiling. Because despite the jank, the chaos, and Lord British talking like he just woke up from a nap he started in 1994, this game had heart. The world felt alive. You could pick up objects! Objects!! Back then that was black magic. And when it worked (rare, sacred moments), it was majestic. Like watching a unicorn gallop through a swamp of bad framerate. This was supposed to be the epic finale to a legendary RPG saga. And in many ways… it was. Just not for the reasons anyone intended. It was ambitious. It was a mess. It was the last hurrah of the pre-modern era, a monument to a time when devs swung for the stars and occasionally hit themselves in the face. In summary: Cloth map: 10/10 Save system: why Voice acting: gloriously awful Controls: invented in a dream Heart :way more than most AAA titles today Would I recommend it? Absolutely. If you want to laugh, cry, and question your life choices Ultima IX delivers. Now if you'll excuse me, I’m off to get stuck on a rock texture for the fifth time today.

The game was released during a period when video game transitioning from 2.5D sprites to fully functional 3D graphics. From technical standpoint, you got all the classics clunky and tank control. Beside it's easy to miss important stuff and objects in-game. Personally i never comfortable with KB+M, so the mouse only movement works in my favour (hold the right mouse button and slide your mouse to move your avatar). Though you can still use arrows to move your avatar. The GOG version also comes with nGlide pre-installed. You can choose your desirable resolution from nGlide launcher. Although the game does have low polygon count, the higher resolution ensures compatibility with modern desktop monitor. If you able to look past that the game is actually pretty charming and enjoyable. It have pretty decent writings and most of the dialogues are fully voiced. Get it during sales and try it with an open mind.

Just finished Ultima 9 the second time after I bought it for my new 3dfx PC over 20 years ago (those were the times). And as many years and many opinions passed by I have to admit: - Yes, it feels unfinished at a lot of points - Yes, the combat system is a joke - Yes, the story is clumsy if not stupid I also have to say that I didn't play any other Ultima part yet, so I'm not biased in comparing it to other parts or seeing it as part of something bigger or more complex. But from what I read specially about the complexity of older Ultima parts (like part 7) I understand that Ultima 9 must be a slap in the face of players comparing it to these games. All in all I have to say I really enjoyed playing the game. I liked the open world, which was technically top notch at that time. Going from dungeons to the open world without any loading screen was quite impressive back then. I also liked the dungeon and world design (also compared to todays standards), which feels unique to many other games. It is not a masterpiece (could have been if only EA would've given Origin more time), but quite solid in terms of an overall experience and exploration. And in my opinion there is a lot to explore in Britannia and it is not getting boring.