Ultima™ 4+5+6

Ultima IV ... my first-ever RPG. It's a game that sets a very high standard for player behavior. You're the Avatar, after all. I've gotta say that it's impacted the way I play RPGs, ever since. I cringe, when I see let's plays featuring casual theft. ;-) Lots of fun, and you even get to meet Paul and Linda McCartney. ...

As another reviewer noted, player imagination was a necessary part of these early games. I sometimes wonder, given all the horsepower of current graphics cards, if actual gameplay has improved. I suppose it's a little like comparing the Wright Bros contraption with the space shuttle. Anyway, the Ultima series and the two Starflight games were great games that stimulated the imagination AND had great stories which included a good dose of humor. Somehow those games, as primitive as seem now, were the most immersive, and I think it was due to the required imaginative component.

The possibilities in this game are still unmatched by modern games, from the conversation system, the day/night cycle of the NPCs, to the story. The spell system had less spells than many other games, but they were more useful and nastier (like invisible demons casting possession) as is often the case. If you have a copy of Dungeon Siege 1, btw, you can play a remake of Ultima 5 on that engine. The creators of that mod invested a huge amount of work into it (including a new orchestral soundtrack) and pretty much nailed it given the limitations of the engine.

These were all great games to play and enjoy from start to end. An incredible amount of content for the time they were created and a masterful story telling feel. The one thing that seemed to be associated with the version downloaded for GOG were a few bugs in Ultima VI which I didn't encounter in the game from the original disks. Several times if Dupree died the game would stall saying "Not While On A Ship" and once our character turned into one of the Pushme Pullu images and was called Zeta... Also experienced winged gargoyles that could not be hit no matter your level / dexterity at some of the shrines. Most annoying though was that Lord British and nobody in the game recognized when the shrines had been freed - just glad it let me complete the game even though that trigger seemed to fail.

I grew up on the Ulttima series, and I am excited that interest in these games are rising as of late. With the rumors swirling around about a Ultima remake and all these re-releases I am VERY excited about this year and the coming year and what it may bring for us hardcord Ultima fans. The age of elightment has always been the jumping point for the Ultima series and really shot Origin Systems up as one of the ultimate CRPG creators.