Customer Reviews

The Complete Ultima VII

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First things first: this is the greatest game I have ever played. Second: yes, this is the old DOS version that on its own probably won't work on your computer. However, there is a ***free*** program called Exult that will allow you to play Ultima 7 on new versions of Windows, including Vista and Windows 7. But you *must* have Ultima 7 installed for it to work, because it has to access the game files, so you do have to own this game already to play. That being said...

This game changed my mind about Ultima and about what games could accomplish in storytelling and scope. Going back about 15 years, I'd seen my friend play Ultima 4 and Ultima 6 at his house before and thought they looked okay, but it wasn't until I played Ultima 7 that I really "got" it. Ultima 7--the Complete Ultima 7--is simply epic in every sense. You start out transporting into the town of Trinsic in Britannia, where your old pal Iolo is waiting and informs you that a ritualistic double murder has occurred in town, and your first task by order of the mayor of Trinsic is to investigate the crime scene, interview the townsfolk, and report back to him with your findings. So begins one of the most epic video games you will ever play.

From there you will begin interviewing townsfolk, learn about recent events and attacks on the town, and begin learning about a religious organization called The Fellowship that seems to have taken Britannia by storm with its influence. The organization appears to have good intentions, but appearances can be deceiving, and it isn't long before you are tasked by Lord British with joining The Fellowship so you can further investigate what goes on behind the scenes with The Fellowship and its charismatic, enigmatic, and inexplicably sinister leader, Batlin. And maybe figure out what the deal is with that big red face, otherwise known as The Guardian, who occasionally pops up on your screen and taunts you while you're playing. And as you suspect, not all is what it seems with The Fellowship, and it is up to you to rescue Britannia from the threats within.

Along the way you will spend innumerable hours taking in the ENORMOUS, living, breathing world of Britannia that Origin created. You will meet many companions for your party, some new and some old, and forge relationships with them through the clever, witty, and well-written dialog. You will meet the huge populace of the world, detailed to the extent that they all have their own houses, their own jobs, their own lives, and if you stand around and watch, you can see them engaging in all three over the course of each day. No, you won't just see people in their shops 24/7 while you walk around on your quest. The people of Britannia will wake up in the morning, go to work, go to the local pub, come home and relax, and then sleep. They each have their own possessions, most of which you can take unless they have a locked chest and a hidden key. But going with the moral themes of the Ultima series, stealing items in front of other people will not only cause them to call the town guards on you, but steal enough and your companions will tell you they don't agree with your morality anymore and they will leave you. Each town in Britannia is fully realized, with homes, pubs, shops, religious centers, and sometimes entertainment (such as the theater in Britain). Origin has also elected to give you the opportunity to participate in these enterprises. That's right, if you'd like you can take a job with the baker in Britain and help him make loaf after loaf of fresh bread by literally mixing flour with water, rolling out the dough, putting it in the oven, and retrieving it. That is how ridiculously detailed Ultima 7 is. The world is big enough that you can easily get lost in the forest, mountains, or swamp if you stray from the dirt roads. However, this is often where you will run into the little hidden gems of Ultima 7, the random occurrences and hidden areas that you wouldn't normally find. It is either in Part 1 or Part 2 where you may run into a lone house in the middle of the forest with a computer inside playing Ultima 8 and a dead pirate lying on the ground. If you click the computer either Iolo or Shamino say, with typical Ultima sarcasm, "Ultima 8? Sounds about right, I'd say."

And that is just Ultima 7 Part 1. Ultima 7 Part 2 takes place after the events of Part 1, thrusting you into the Serpent Isle with only Shamino, Dupre, and Iolo as company, and lucky you, as soon as you touch down a lightning teleportation storm hits and teleports all three companions elsewhere, leaving you alone. Your first order of business is to begin finding your friends and to continue chasing the villains from Part 1 (I don't want to give away too much). But Serpent Isle has its own deal going on. The first city you encounter, Monitor, is a city of warriors; the only way to gain their trust and get them to actually help you is to pass their test of knighthood and become one of them. As you progress through Part 2, you will take on many more quests, meeting many more people and discovering many more plots in places like Fawn, the city of beauty, and Moonshade, a city full of mages. The core gameplay of Part 2 is the same as Part 1 and has the same sorts of cool stuff as I listed above. The graphics engine was updated a bit between Part 1 and Part 2, but not enormously.

Finally, there are the two expansions to round out the package: the Forge of Virtue for Part 1 and the Silver Seed for Part 2. These are not integral to completing either game, but add a little more to the storyline and your experience in the game. You can ignore them if you choose. It really doesn't matter.

Bottom line: whether you are seeing Ultima 7 here as the Complete Ultima 7 or in Ultima Collection, it is more than worth your time. It is, as I said, the greatest game I have ever played, lovingly detailed to the most minute factor and easily addicting through its sheer vastness. This game will suck hours and hours out of your life, but at the end of it you will be glad you invested the time, because the gameplay will stick with you long after the Avatar saves the day yet again.