Ultima: Escape From Mount Drash
Okay. Here's a little tidbit I just had to follow up on after hearing about it in an article about rare and expensive games on GameSetWatch.

The game was called "Ultima: Escape From Mount Drash."

It was NOT an official Ultima game. In fact, it was created and sold without Richard Garriott's permission, by his publisher, Sierra. We all remember Sierra (mostly fondly), don't we? I guess back in those days, the concept of Intellectual Property rights for games were poorly understood by developers and publishers. Apparently, Sierra decided to brand it "Ultima" in hopes of selling more copies. Such hopes were in vain, as it was so far under the radar that Garriott didn't even hear about it until long after the fact. For a while, Sierra even denied its existence.

It was a Vic-20 exclusive. According to the wikipedia entry, one retailer even dumped unsold copies of the game over a cliff, which is where some copies were eventually discovered.

If you have a desire to play this rare game on the PC (and I confess, I really can't generate enough morbid curiosity in myself...), some enterprising guys have ported it (well, more of a "remake", but it works...) which you can find at Dino's Ultima Page.


(Vaguely) related visits to the dark side of gaming:
* My OTHER First CRPG (The Dungeons of Magdarr)
* Telengard - My First CRPG
* The Worst Game Ever

(Vaguely) related forum post: What Is the Most Obscure RPG You Have Played?

Labels: retro, Roleplaying Games

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 7:00 PM (Permalink)