Ultima™ 7 The Complete Edition

While certain aspects of Ultima VII have not aged well (the animation on the NPC's comes to mind), this game was a monumental achievement of its time and overall is still a masterpiece. You will never find a more thought out, full world than the world of Britannia in The Black Gate. I still marvel every time I enter Britain!

What followed in the wake of Ultima VII was nothing but disappointment, because this is the high point of computer RPGs for all of the 1990s. There were good RPGs made afterwards. Eventually, there were even ones on par with this. But even the great RPGs fall short in some areas that Ultima VII excels at. There simply is no other RPG, proportional to the system limitations and technical ability of the time, that has ever matched Ultima VII. Don't get me wrong: Baldur's Gate and Fallout and Dragon Age and Skyrim are all also excellent. But this is their Great Grandaddy, and Great Grandaddy did it all long before you kids came along. :)

It feels like a living, breathing world. You can interact with almost anything in the game. You can bake bread, you can pick up arrows after you've shot them. The npcs have their own lives and daily routines. Incredible. The music (the song 'stones') gives me such nostalgia when i hear it. Its really an amazing feeling playing this game and having that feeling that you really can go wherever you want and do whatever you like almost.

I joined GOG.com for two reasons: Master of Orion 2 and Ultima 7. I'm not going to leave a long-winded review of this game. What it means to me is very nostalgic and sappy. It is my favorite game of all time, though. If you are a 30-something who grew up in this era, you will undoubtedly appreciate this game. If you are younger and you've never played it, this is as close to a perfect game as you will find. The story is fun and engaging, there is more to do than there was in any other game of the time, and it has a wry sense of humor that holds up well over the decades. I cannot encourage anyone enough to try this game if you haven't. If you HAVE played it, you're only glancing at this wile you wait for it to download because you impulse purchased it because of how great it is. Either way, enjoy!

Not sure what to say that others haven't already. I remember first getting it and being put off by the isometric view. If you are too, just wait. It will grow on you. Eventually you won't care. Finding and having your former adventuring friends join you feels awesome, even if you didn't play the previous games (I hadn't). There is good banter between them. There is a fair bit to read, and the text font can be annoying at times, but such a cool game if you like simply exploring. At one point I decided to explore systematically, and found so many random characters, monsters and hidden treasures (including the flying carpet!). The main story is also quite engrossing. I hope people don't pass over this gem simply because of game quirks. This is among the top two or three games I have ever played in about 25 years of gaming.