Ultima™ 8 Gold Edition

I must admit, I am not an Ultima (Underworld) fan. I got into the franchise rather late, Ultima VIII Pagan when it came out in 1994, Ultima VII and UU 1 & 2 just recently and the two Underworlds have aged really really bad. When Pagan first came out (on 8 floppy disks) I hated it due to its terrible platforming. If there is something I truly hate in games it is platforming. Compared to Ultima VII, part VIII Pagan was a major step backwards: the world size, the world interaction, the choices and oh heavens, the simplified gameplay! Platforming has become a MAJOR part of the game. Fortunately there was a patch - which is the version on GOG - that fixes the platforming, making it easy: where the cursor is, that's where the avatar will jump to (before the patch you could not aim the jump!). Another issue that will never be fixed is that Ultima VIII was rushed out in an incomplete state (which was not Origin's fault, but Electronic Arts'), which results in major plotholes and incomplete quests. What Ultima VIII does get right ist the atmosphere, just the way I like it: grim and dark. Combat and monsters are good, although the controls overall are a bit clunky. The story was not bad either. I liked the color pallet and the theme as well as the world design. I'd give it a 4 out of 5 were ther not two issues: the unfinished feel of the game and the heavy reliance on platforming (hey! Get the avatar a pair of bib overalls and a baseball cap and let him grow a mustache! No seriously, I hate Super Mario!). But 3 out of 5 it is.

The most fun I've had being frustrated. For a game with several drawbacks, I managed to play through it twice, and help a friend through it once. You move around on an unseen grid, and it was very easy to be off by one grid space, miss a jump that you were sure you would make, and lose two hours of play. Why didn't I save more often, well it took an eternity to save on my PC at the time, a 486 DX, I think. The leap of faith, if you've played it you know what I'm talking about, cost me at least 4 hours of lost gameplay before I made it on my 3rd try. Going on my wishlist, interested to see how the gameplay holds up, and how the quick save and load times may add to the fun.

definitely one of the better Ultimas

Very good

good