Thoughts on Ultima: The Second Trilogy
Posted by Rampant Coyote on September 9, 2011
That’s pretty much motherload-quality as far as I am concerned. Well, okay, they need both Ultima 7 games and expansions (via Exult or whatever) on modern systems, I guess. But this is epic.
I’ve already mentioned Ultima IV – it was IMO that finally transcended the artificial barriers of the genre of more “primitive” (but still fun!) games, and introduced gamers to a preview of what CRPGs could be. It’s still a prototype, and somewhat clunky at that, but it’s like the Wright Flyer: Awesome in what it accomplished, maybe not a practical option in today’s world, but it would still be a kick in the pants to fly. Ultima IV still held to a lot of the conventions of the genre borrowed from its pen-and-paper roots, but went a new direction with the main quest, gave your individual actions real consequences, and (something many modern games still don’t “get”) gave you lots of small choices for which there was rarely a clear-cut “best” answer. Show mercy on a fleeing foe, or deliver justice and possibly save others from falling victim to them? Both are good answers, and you had to strike the right balance.
Ultima V always strikes me as the final (and, I guess, “Ultimate”) installment of the classic Ultima look & feel. The story concept is strong, a fantastic twist on the ‘quest of virtue’ from the previous game. It hits a chord that resonates strongly with me, illustrating what happens when ideals of virtue become mandated by force of law: corruption and woe usually result. The player is thrust suddenly from being a world-wide role model and champion to being an underground resistance fighter and outlaw. Amusingly enough, in some ways he is fighting against himself – or at least the corrupted image of himself that has been subverted by the government. This is a kind of story that was pretty much unheard of at the time, and still fairly rare today.
Ultima VI broke the “style” of the series in a lot of ways, but that’s not a bad thing. It perhaps erred too heavily on the simulationist side of things (something I tend to do in my own design and pen-and-paper game-mastering), but it really took the increased realism of the previous titles and compounded them. The world is vastly detailed and interactive, to a degree that only the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series attempt today. The game lags a bit (for me) in the middle, so I’ve never actually finished it. Maybe I’ll give it another shot soon.
Filed Under: Retro - Comments: 5 Comments to Read
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Adamantyr said,
Ultima VI is kind of difficult to play on the PC. The main problem being the horrible interface. It’s clear they were paying attention to feedback, since Ultima VII features:
– Vastly simplified controls, centered around a mouse
– A full-screen view, with menus and controls overlaying it dynamically
– Using actual color for night/day cycles, instead of pixels
Ironically, the SNES version of Ultima VI is easier to play. It’s missing about two-dozen spells and the monsters that were tile-based (tangle vines and silver serpents) as well as character portraits. But it’s otherwise identical to the original PC game in content and dialogue. In fact, I was able to use the PC hint book with it without any issues. Plus the SNES version is full-screen!
I’m wondering myself if GOG will get Ultima VII or not, and if they’ll go for a DOSBox option or Exult… I’d guess the former.
Keldryn said,
Unfortunately, the SNES version of Ultima VI is also missing much of the interactivity of the PC version. While the game world in the PC version was built from individual objects, the world in the SNES version is essentially like Baldur’s Gate — all of the objects are part of the background bitmap. That turned me off of it right there.
Shaf said,
I’d recommend that if GOD releases Ultima VII that they either include of link to exult. For Ultima VIII link to Pentagram which might also work for Crusader no Remorse. (Since U8 and Crusader used the same game engine)
Shaf said,
For those who don’t know the Pentagram engine was created by the Exult team to play Ultima8 since the game engines are drastically different.
Adamantyr said,
@Keldryn – True, it is missing interactive objects… but that ironically fixes one of the worst problems with Ultima VI, the occasionally ludicrous stacks of items. Heck, when Spoony reviewed Ultima VI, he talks about how he can’t play it for longer for a few hours because of the horrible interface…
@Shaf – Pentagram got finished? Last time I checked the project had kind of ground to a halt…
Exult is awesome… but I suspect GOG will have to avoid a direct reference to them, because of their deal with EA to distribute Ultima games. It’s a bit of a sore point that the Exult team did what EA was unwilling and unable to do; make Ultima VII playable in Windows.