A Look Back At Ultima IV
Gametap has a retrospective on one of the most important CRPGs of all time, Ultima IV.

Ultima IV isn't my favorite --- although I can count on one hand the number of CRPGs which occupy more choice real-estate in my heart. It had its flaws, even when it was released. I was one of the wusses who didn't like gathering reagents for my spells. And I was never happy with the monsters having the advantage in combat because of interface issues (diagonal shooting was introduced in Ultima V, I think).

While I played through part of Ultima IV when it was first released, it was years later before I tried it again and finally beat it. I had just finished Ultima VII: The Black Gate, and found myself in need of more Britannian adventures. So only two hours after beating what in my mind is the best of the series, I went retro and started Ultima IV again.

Let me tell you... the difference of seven years of technological advancement was far more obvious in 1992 than it is today. The first two or three hours were painful.

But then something happened, and the primitive interface and graphics partially melted away, and suddenly I was enjoying the game on its own terms - and having a blast. I was in gamer mindset for most of the ethical dilemmas - I did what was needed to max out my virtues. But it was fascinating in its context. When I finished the game a couple of weeks later, I just kinda sat there and pondered what a unique and different kind of adventure I'd been through. It hadn't changed my world-view or anything like that, but it had made me think.

Too many games seem to be terrified of asking the player to think.

And there I was, thinking, among other things, that I really wanted to play another Ultima RPG immediately.

Anyway, you can check out the retrospective here:

Ultima IV Retrospective at GameTap

(Tip o' the helm to GameSetWatch for the link!)

(Vaguely) related Ultimusings...
* What If Ultima IV Were Written Today?
* Innovation in RPGs?
* The 16 Essential RPGs
* Game Moments: Ultima 7
.

Labels: retro, Roleplaying Games

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