Let's get rid of the cons first. This is not the typical videogame, and not even a point and click adventure. South of the circle is first and foremost a story presented as a videogame. You can choose the tone of your answers, but that's about it, the story will go one only way, so in terms of replayability there's not much. That said, this is not the first videogame of the kind (not for me at least), and for that kind, the story is usually the point of the whole experience. SOTC is no exception. The setting and the overall plot is very well thought and I'd say aimed to an adult public, while the characters are nuanced and credible. The artwork is peculiar, perhaps not the most advanced, but fitting nonetheless֫. It gives this title a sort of graphic novel vibe. I really liked it!
This game doesn't get much love, and I was probably one of the few who loved it from the beginning. UltimaIX was famous for its many bugs, but probably I was lucky, as it seemed I had the perfect configuration for this game at the time (one of the last 3dfx voodoo cards and a shiny new soundblaster with ambient effects). Game wise It is not comparable in terms of size to the previous Ultima VII or VI, the map it's smaller, and the cities are just a bunch of buildings. It's not so very realistic in this aspect, nevertheless, for its time, I guess it was already a great accomplishment to have such a world at your hands. That said, the game still begs for some exploration fun. I felt the plot was fitting to the ending of this series, it had a sense of decadence, and I still remember enjoying the graphics and one of the first 3d open worlds, you were basically free to roam wherever you wanted, and without charging screens! When I played Skyrim I definitely had back some of the vibes I got while playing Ultima IX, so that tells you a lot of what kind of game this was.
