Ultima™ Underworld 1+2

The immersion and depth (no pun intended) of these great games are astounding. I still recall as a 15 year old kid, booting up these 3.5 inch discs and marveling at everything I encountered. You FELT like you were in a cave when you were thrown into the abyss. The music, the drips of water, the scurrying shadows in the corners of the room; all amazing. 22 years later and I am STILL thinking about this game and comparing all modern games to the experience of this one.

Ultima Underworld I & II are simply incredible. I barely managed to finish the first, and, to be honest, never quite completed the second—but that never stopped me from enjoying them both immensely. That said, I couldn't help but notice some (newer?) players complaining about the "clunky, boxed graphics" and the difficult controls… Well, of course they are like that. These games were among the very first 3D games ever made! They came out in the '90s, pioneering mechanics and systems that would later shape the entire genre. Criticizing them for their visuals or interface is like dismissing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) for not being "colorful enough." Context is essential to truly appreciate any work of art—and believe me, these two games are exactly that. 5/5, without question.

These games really taught me the meaning of the "Epic Quest" that so many games these days purport to offer. These are the original "Start with nothing, build yourself up" games that a lot of others owe a great debt to. Highly, highly recommended.

I remember getting this game on disks years ago and then spending two weeks trying to make it work with sound. It was worth the work. This is still my favorite game to date, and I replay the first one every few years. A huge place to explore, puzzles, cool use of runes for magic, NPCs with quests and stories, and an amazing fully 3d experience, including a little flying! No game has ever captured so much in one title before or since.

The Ultima Underworld games are part of a well known pantheon of games whose technology is now grossly outdated but whose game-play is still extraordinarily enjoyable to this day. At the time, UW1 went graphics and game engine went far beyond what anyone was used to and was quite literally years ahead of it's time. For those who have never played the games and are unsure whether they would enjoy I say give them a shot. While the interface and speed may seem a little slow and clunky by today's standards, give them a chance. Once you grow accustomed to them you will find a highly immersive forerunner to games we'd see years later! Enjoy them!