Ultima™ 7 The Complete Edition

I loved the Ultima series up to 5. I didn't care for 6 so when 7 first came out, I didn't even bother with it. I saw Part 2, Serpent Isle in the store one day at a low price so I thought I'd give it a try. I was glad I did. I quickly became my favorite. It was the first game I can remember that not only had a day/night cycle but people actually followed them. You could find them eating breakfast at inn, going to work, walking in the park, etc. Not to mention that pretty much anything can be moved, pushed, manipulated in some way. Bake bread, change a baby, act in a play, almost anything. I have the Ultima Collection containing 1-8 and play 7 using Exult. I don't know if that's what Gog is using but it's great to have this game here. Even though I already have it, I will buy it from Gog to show my support for this awesome site.

Full Disclosure: I haven't played any of old-school RPGs. No Final Fantasy, Wasteland, or Fallout 1 & 2 for me. SO, I may not be the best judge of Ultima VII. That being said, GOG user reviews and history seems to have declared Ultima VII to be the best RPG ever, and so I thought, "if any game's gonna sell me on old-school RPGs, it'll be this." So I purchased Ultima 4, 5, 6, and 7 for about $8. So, the good: The score seems to be pretty great. I like that transitional period between bleeps and realistic sound. From the outset, I could tell that this was going to be a big, epic game, which had me excited. The graphics have aged well. I like old graphics (not so much modern games that harken to those days, but I digress), and this game is a good example of what could be achieved. the colors are rich and the environments surprisingly detailed. The writing is great. So, why did I give this 3 stars? Well, you may have noticed that I was speaking in the future-tense for some of those pros. There's a reason for that: this game has an Achille's Heel that prevented me from playing for more than 45 minutes: THE CONTROLS! Oh, Lord, the controls! First off, every single action I do seems to have a 1 second delay between input and response. Secondly, everything is jerky and imprecise. But those can be dealt with. What really blows is the movement system. You can move two ways: WASD, and by holding the right mouse button. WASD is extremely jerky and unresponsive. The mouse works a bit, but everything moves way to fast, and it's just incredibly awkward. The worst part is that avoiding this movement problem was simple: just allow me to click on where I want to go and have the character move there automatically. Fix the responsiveness on top of this and the controls would've been fine. Maybe the story and writing and score and scale will be enough for you. But for me, I don't like having to fight the controls, and ULTIMA VII's controls are MMA champs.

Short version: if you don't own it yet, for some reason, get it! This is not only the pinnacle of the brilliant Ultima series, but in fact THE best computer roleplaying game ever written and one of the best computer games of all time. Great atmoshpere, an immersive world that sucks you right in, many unique NPCs to talk to, that all follow their own lives, uncountable small things to do and to explore apart from the main quest and a very much 'alive' party of NPC companions. And lots of humor plus many emotional moments. Great music too. I started playing it when it first came out and still play it from time to time. So I can only repeat: if you like CRPGs and don't have this, get it. If you don't like CRPGs get it anyways and let yourself be enchanted. You won't regret it.

Games like Skyrim have roots in Ultima VII, and without this monumental testament to existing in a virtual world, very few of the titles with their updated graphics even comes close to the wit, charm, and intense experience that is Ultima VII. I actually learned more from this game that I did from most of my formal education. The storyline (especially part 1) is so involving and entertaining you probably will shut yourself away to live it out if you let it hook you. Be warned :)

Ultima VII is a masterpiece. The story is good and the side quests are almost always interesting. Rob the Bank, Kill the Banker, and Ressurect Her. Yeahh...., it's awesome like that. :-) The story line is pretty much totally open ended. There are a few ruts that you get stuck in, but for the most part you get to do what you want when you want to do it. I love the Transportation Options in the First Half of Ultima VII. You get to use Carriages, Ships, and even a Magic Flying Carpet. And Yes, you can pretty much go anywhere on the Magic Flying Carpet. :-) I do admit that the "chairs" on the flying carpet were a bit much, but it worked. No other game has given you this much freedom and this much control over your world than this game has. This is the game that inspired Ultima Online and Spawned a whole new genre of games.