Ultima™ 7 The Complete Edition

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.

This is what a game should be - like a novel you can play. People lauded Skyrim for your ability to interact with absolutely everything - well, this is the game that introduced such a complete world to gaming. From baking bread to unicorn hunting, to chasing your friends around with dirty diapers - Ultima VII and Serpent Isle are amazingly immersive worlds. This game is funny, this game is touching; this game has interesting puzzles and amazing easter eggs. I still think of the Companions as my friends and I really do have a life with actual friends and family! No game I have ever played has the complete world, character development, engaging storylines and challenging quests of U7 and SI. I dream of the day such an RPG comes again -- but until then these have good replay value if you can get over the graphics.

Let me explain, when Oblivion came out I remember people thinking it was awesome because you could do whatever you want (like ignore the main quest), the NPCs had their own lives (like, they did things other than stand around waiting on the player), there was a crafting system, etc. But other than first person view and graphics, I can't think of anything that Ultima 7 doesn't do better than the elder scrolls. In Oblivion/skyrim, NPCs mostly mill about at home or at work, but in U7, they went to work and WORKED. The trainer trains, the baker bakes bread (that you can steal), the pub patrons actually consume food brought to them by the bar keep. It gives the world a lot more life when the NPCs actually produce things and consume things, and you can produce whatever they do. I remember baking tons of bread to make money. There are of course side quests, caves/dungeons to explore etc. When I went back to this after playing the elder scrolls games, I was shocked that I had forgotten U7 beat the elder scrolls to the punch on so many things. And this we back when I had to run a program called MoSlo to run this game on a 486DX. Pre-Pentium. if you like immersive RPGs where you do what you want in a living world, this is the best. Still.

As many Ultima VII (both parts) is the unmatched champions of RPGs. While other games nowadays focus on graphics or cutscences or action, This game focuses on the immersion. You truly feel like part of a world and you even begin to care for the people. Sadly though this game was forgotten and shoved aside by the general gaming community because of the disaster of Ultima 9. Even though this game is old and the graphics are "bad' (I think they are beautiful) this game is even better than the now highly acclaimed Elder Scrolls series. Luckily for us die-hard fans There is now The shroud of the avatar coming out. BEST GAME EVER!!!