Ultima Online (PC)

CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating
Overall score: 4.9 (2.0 stars)
• Average user rating:
  Write your own review

Product summary

Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Desslock
• Reviewed on: 12/17/1997
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 09/30/1997

Ultima Online is the most complex fantasy role-playing game to date, with thousands of players simultaneously online in a persistent, dynamic gaming world. Unfortunately, at least for now, Ultima Online is more ambitious than it is successful. Design and technical issues will limit Ultima Online's appeal to gamers who possess a tremendous amount of patience and available time to invest in a game that is still in the process of being developed.

Set in Britannia, the same world featured in Ultimas IV through VII, Ultima Online takes place shortly after the events that transpired in the very first Ultima. The evil, power-mad mage Mondain has been defeated and his Gem of Immortality has been shattered, creating countless parallel worlds. The events that subsequently transpired in Ultimas II through VII occurred in one world created by the shattered gem, while each Ultima Online server contains a separate parallel world. It's an intriguing premise, as it allows Origin to pull events, items, and figures from the Ultima games into Ultima Online. But, unfortunately, with the exception of one scheduled event at the premature end of Ultima Online's beta test, this ability hasn't been effectively utilized.

Like prior Ultima games, Ultima Online uses an isometric, third-person-perspective view of the gaming world. A transparent "sighting bubble" allows you to keep an eye on objects that otherwise might be obscured behind walls. The graphics and character animations are detailed and very well done. The extensive musical score largely consists of high-quality General MIDI versions of music from earlier Ultima games. The mouse and hot-key driven interface is intuitive and customizable.

The world of Britannia really comes to life in Ultima Online. Scissors can be used to cut cloth that can be used to tailor a new shirt; an axe can be used chop up wood that can be whittled into arrow shafts; a fearsome wandering chicken will yield feathers that can be combined with wooden shafts to make arrows. If you have the inclination, you can really live out the life of a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker. Of course, this "interaction" merely consists of clicking one object onto another, but the levels of detail really help to create an immersive environment.

Ultima Online emulates pen-and-paper role-playing games in that it creates an environment in which you can develop various characters who are largely free to live out a virtual life within a "realistic fantasy gaming world." Gameplay is completely nonlinear and you aren't confined to playing a traditional hero - you're welcome to create a noble fighter-mage, a humble tailor, a mischievous thief, a malevolent assassin, or an ornery fisherman (or my favorite, combine the last two types into an ornery, malevolent fisherman-assassin). There's a cost to such open-ended gameplay, however. Fans of the existing Ultima games who are looking for a story-rich setting filled with epic quests and larger-than-life scripted characters and events are going to be sorely disappointed. Ultima Online's gameplay has more in common with the text-based gameplay of MUDs than it does with the other games in the Ultima series - which is not necessarily a bad thing, but be aware that this ain't your mother's Britannia.

Which would be fine, if Ultima Online didn't suffer from numerous design and technical flaws. Origin's own statistics indicate that, on average, players spend three to four hours every day in Britannia, so obviously Ultima Online has its share of supporters. Since the game must be difficult enough so that even hard-core players don't become demigods too quickly, skill development is extremely slow. New players are relegated to performing repetitive, relatively mundane tasks in order to increase their skills and wealth before they are capable of partaking in some traditional adventuring. Some players, of course, may enjoy a lifestyle of fishing, mining, or cooking in Britannia, and therefore may not consider "putting a bun in an oven" mundane. But even if you want to be a "hack and slash" fighter or similar adventurer, you'll still have to spend several hours making and selling objects to often frugal merchants in order to save up enough money to buy appropriate equipment. There is a notable absence of a "beginner's dungeon" or an introductory area for new players to strengthen their wimpy characters in relative safety. You must initially spend a significant amount of your gaming time standing around casting spells at each other to increase skills, lining up to swing at a target dummy, or scurrying around the forest trying to squash a rabbit or those crazy wild chickens. In a touch that's reminiscent of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, those rabbits are actually tough enough to do some serious damage to a character fresh out of the blocks.

Ultima Online is, of course, an Internet-only game, but to date it has done largely a poor job at handling the finicky nature of the Internet. As a result, lag seriously limits the game's enjoyment and, at times, renders the game virtually unplayable. During peak hours (6-12pm), lag is often so bad that your character will be unable to walk more than a few steps without pausing, even if you have relatively speedy Internet access. Simple tasks, such as moving inventory items or talking with other characters, become tedious exercises in frustration, and combat occasionally becomes an uncontrollable nightmare. Origin can't be held responsible for the nature of the Internet, but Ultima Online was designed from its outset to be played exclusively over the Internet and it should do a better job of coping with lag. Other online games handle lag more effectively, and Ultima Online's inability to provide a consistently playable experience is its greatest flaw. Obviously some players feel that the lag is tolerable, otherwise the game wouldn't be so crowded during peak hours, but you'll be doing yourself a favor if you play during off hours whenever possible. (Bump up this review's "Gameplay" and "Reviewer's Tilt" ratings by three points if Ultima Online ever manages to sort out the problem.)

See more CNET content tagged:

event,

games,

Electronic Arts Inc.,

gameplay

User reviews

Write your own review Be the first one to review Ultima Online (PC) and share your experience with the CNET community!

Where to buy Ultima Online (PC)

This product is currently not in stock at any of our online merchants.

Find from our auction partner, eBay

Email me when this product is available