Ultima™ 1+2+3

I have taught a number of people the history of gaming, and this trilogy is one I bring up time and again. Notably, the differences that can be made with music and graphics (Comparing the original Ultima 3: Exodus with Ultima: Exodus from the NES (Not included in this package)), and with the design choice that wound up giving us the odd section near the end of the first Ultima (Yeah, no spoilers, no worries). "If there's still space on the disk, you aren't done making your game". The simplicity and elegance of these games can be equally amazing now as they were then...

Ultima I is a simple kill-the-monster, collect-the-treasure role-playing game. It never tries to tell much of a story. It does not take long to complete. It is fun to play. If you wish to traverse the Ultima series and do not mind running a game designed for primitive eight-bit computers, then Ultima I is not a bad place to start. Ultima III, a fairly good game, is the first Ultima to tell a substantial story. However, between you have Ultima II. Early in my teen years, Ultima II introduced me to the series. A friend ran the game on his Apple ][. I saw him run it. I liked what I saw. My summer earnings bought me the Atari 800 version. I thought it a fine game. Taken on its own merits in isolation from the rest of the Ultima I-VII series, Ultima II might not be an especially bad game even today, depending on what a player likes, but I have played Ultima II again recently and can report that it does not suit the Ultima series. Masquerading as high adventure, Ultima II is a self-consciously goofy game full of mostly inoffensive yet unfunny adolescent jokes. Ultima II has approximately the charm of a seven-year-old boy who serially belches at the dinner table. At indiscriminate intervals nevertheless, Ultima II demands that the player suddenly take it seriously, before insisting that the player murder every innocent townsman who carries something the player needs or who stands in the player's way. Slapstick too (see Monty Python) can make light of murder, so I do not scold, but Ultima II is not slapstick. Ultima II is not anything, really, except a collection of game mechanics in search of a purpose or a story. Even setting aside its tone, Ultima II is an unbalanced game. Other reviews have explained. One might judge that the proper thread of the Ultima series began with Ultima I and continued through Ultimas III-VII. Ultima II might have been okay as its own, separate game, but it is no proper Ultima. My recommendation: play Ultima I and III; skip Ultima II.

This is the first time that I decided to play such old games, but I've heard and read so much about the series that I decided to play through them no matter what. So, I begun my journey from Akalebeth: the World of Doom. Oh my that was way more difficult than I was ready for, but I managed to finish it after many restarts. The time had come for the real deal - Ultima I: First Age of Darkness. It turned out that playing through Akalebath was worth it, since this one had similar mechanics. The dungeons have some really frustrating enemies, but with enough patience (and luck) I was able to stop the evil Mondain. Quite fun experience overall. Onto Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress, oh boy the beginning was painful, but after getting the ship the game got quite enjoyable and thankfully dungeons are optional this time. This is definately the weakest of the three, but it has it's moments. Now Ultima III: Exodus brought some really neat changes to the table. Party combat introduced some nice tactics and I like that there's no space travel part, even though I like the twist at the end with Exodus. In this game I felt that I got much more freedom due to creating a party instead of one character. I was really surprised by the third game, even though ship travel got really annoying due to very rapid wind changes. All in all I enjoyed playing through all three games, but I'm aware that today not that many players have that kind of patience, but I believe the experience is rewarding overall, especially considering how old these titles are.

So as many would say, the first 3 entries of Ultima didn't age well, but there is so much to do, to see, to explore, to live. If you collect, or are curious about where CRPG come from, give it a shot, it's often on sales. Thou should come to the world of the Avatar

Last week when the EA classics promo started popping up, I crossed every digit I have that there would be at least one more Ultima title there. Now, we have the First Ages of Darkness. Many younger or newer gamers may not like these, but for those of us who were around at the beginning of the computer revolution and experienced these games as they were released, they were and still are some of the best RPGs out there. I remember the first time beating Mondain, playing Ultima II until the wee hours of the morning while in ninth grade, with Metallica's debut blasting in the background. Memories. As far as the games go, yeah they are crude by today's standards, so they require imagination, but this is only the beginning of the series that will produce probably the best RPG ever, Ultima VII. This is only the beginning. I'm already waiting for the rest.