Despite how the interface may first appear, this game can be played quite comfortably with a mouse and keyboard in tandem. Right-click and drag on stuff to interact universally, bypassing the archaic verb commands. Compared to other PC games of the time (excluding Doom, which is almost timeless), it has aged fine. The beginning of the immersive sim (see System Shock, Thief, Deus Ex), and a terrific showing for first-person RPGs if you are willing to look past the visual limitations and awkward jumping (use shift-J). The first game has a great atmosphere I wish more games tried, and the second ties more into the main Ultima series and has greater diversity and story. They definitely ask you to take notes yourself (which you can do on the map) and check every nook and cranny, so be prepared to take it slow and use the reference card/manual. This game gives the player a huge amount of freedom, but you can hang yourself with all that rope if you don't pay attention. Personally, I recommend having good magic stats for the utility over limited potions, but neglecting other stats can be deadly. Prepare for a great and challenging dungeon-crawling experience!
