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Ultima Online Provides an Amazing Virtual Reality

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 29 / 31
Date: November 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm 34 years old and first played the non-online Ultima games on the old Apple //e in the 80's, including Ultima 2, 3, and 4. Those games were truly awesome in that they showed a progression towards a creation of a virtual reality, rather than a typical RPG with a limited set of rules. They were far superior to games such as Wizardry in the 80's.

Now, Ultima Online is the ultimate realization of those early efforts at producing a complex, deep, interactive virtual world. In some ways, this is less of a game, and more of an alternate reality. You almost think that this is a version of the virtual reality or the "matrix" in the movie, The Matrix, where you can plug yourself in and be something very extraordinary.

In this reality, there are of course monsters and magical elements. You can develop a multitude of characters and have an extraodinary number of skills (e.g. cooking, bushido, swordsmanship, fencing, mace fighting, fishing, stealing, stealth, magery, taming, necromancy, chivalry, tailor, mining, lumberjacking, carpentry, muscianship, and many, many more) to customize your character. You increase skills the way you normally would in your real life, through simply performing activities that utilize those skills. As your bard plays music more frequently, your musicianship skill will rise, for example.

The complexity and depth of this reality is startling. You can literally cut trees down to obtain different kinds of wood. That wood can then be cut into boards or pieces to be assembled into complex furniture. Miner's can with appropriate skill look for different ores to mine. These then have to be smelted. Each of these requiring different skills. The smelted ingots can then be utilized to make different types of armor or weapons. Because this world requires basic commodity type elements (e.g. leather, cloth, food ingredients, wood, ore, etc) your character can simply exist providing unique trade services for other characters. You can simply be an excellent miner to sell your ingots to smiths, for example. It creates a complex online economy and dependency on other players and their (or your) unique services.

This game simply has to be played to be understood, as it is vastly different from usual RPG's or more goal-oriented games with a limited set of rules. The home ownership aspect alone is amazing, as you'll find yourself desiring a virtual house for your characters (with furnishings, decorating, etc) as you would normaly want a house in real life. You'll have to deal with an online real estate market and understand the conveniences of having a place to store your items and meet other players, like you would in real life!

If you don't believe that virtual items in this virtual world could seem "real" or convincing, then check out eBay. Do a search for "ultima online" and you will see hundreds of virtual property for sale. There is a reason why so many people are willing to pay actual money to buy virtual Ultima Online items, such as gold, weapons, or houses.

If you want a game with more flash and graphics, then buy World of Warcraft of Everquest. How many complain of the game of chess because of its simple use of a board and pieces? If you want something completely different because of the complexity of an interactive world, then try this game. Do not think because of the lack of advertising, or lackluster packaging that this game is obsolete or unentertaining. This game is truly a gem, and one that you can end up playing for many years. How many games do you know of where players have literally played for 4-8 years almost daily?

Great Game With Lots of Depth

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: November 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the Eighth expansion of Ultima Online - one of the great online roleplaying games. The game has old-fashioned graphics, but it is still the only game that lets the player customize each character's skills - and now - race. There are plenty of options for crafters - this game has the most options for crafters available. There are also lots of new monsters and lands to explore. This is a great game.

Still loving UO after all these years...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well I have been playing UO since 1999 and I still love it. The new expansions are getting better all the time.

I have one warning to give people buying UO: The 8th age though. This package does NOT come with the latest expansion! The new expansion is called Mondain's Legacy and there is no package or CD for it, you can only buy a code to download it through the UO website.

I think the way EA marketed this was very deceptive. You can play UO if you buy the 8th age but there are many new dungeons and areas that you will not have access to. You will not be able to make an elf character. Also, there is a free gift that comes with 8th age. If you select the quiver or talisman for your gift you will not be able to use them until you buy the Mondain's Legacy upgrade code (for 29.99).

Anyway I love this game and highly recommend it to all. But I would advise you to save some money and just go to www.uo.com and buy the Mondain's Legacy pack instead of 8th age. That way you'll have access to everything in the game.

Still good...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I agree with the first reviewer, this is still a good game! he covered pretty much all the topics, I just want to add my own two cents.

I'm going to start with the things I don't like about it. The houses/stores. They are everywhere. You go out into the wilderness, and bam!-you're in the middle of suburbia. It's not like there are people hanging out their either, just a bunch of player owned NPCs who sell stuff. Often, they don't even have anything, just a bunch of advertisments. Another thing I don't like is the Lag, or latencey, or whatever. My internet connection is fast enough, but I still get lagged, and bad. I don't think there is an appropriate server for my area. The lag has been so bad, I want to try other games now. There is only so many times you want to die because the world around you is still moving, but you aren't.

Good things. The people in the game are great. All the "well-to-do" players are all about helping out the new player. I have made several friends and have had much help, and that is the reason I still have the game. It's fun and challenging. I strongly reccomend it.

One last note, the EA technical support is not up to my expectations for something you pay a monthly fee for. If I have a question, I expect it answered for $12.95 a month!

If you get this game (and don't live in the middle of nowhere) you will have a good time, period.

Great Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I didn't think this would be nearly as fun as it is. The game looks like it is running on technology from the mid 90s, and makes a person wonder how it is still so popular. When my brother finally got me to try it, I couldn't put it down. The game really is awesome.

Anyhow, my biggest gripe is that the game is actually too popular. Like someone else already said, it is overpopulated with people's houses. Every clearing in every forest, every shoreline -- every place where housing is possible, there is housing. This leaves hardly any room for new ones. Expect to start with a very small house and work your way up the ladder as you find better places.

Still Fun After All These Years

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I realize UO is dated, I played it when it first went live and left after getting disgusted with being PK'D every 10 minutes. I've tried a number of other online games and decided just last month to give UO a try again.

It's bigger, better, and more fun than when I left it and let's face it, being PK'D is part of it, although it seems to happen a lot less now.

The economy is complex, the charachter building process fun, and there's nothing like a good old dungeon crawl.

Give it a shot.

This game is out dated!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 35
Date: October 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This was one of the first MMORPG's to come out and it truly was groundbreaking. However, this game is so ancient it may as well be in a dungeon somewhere guarded by a dragon. There are so many other games out there now that we doubt if the public still maintains interest in this game. We wouldn't recommend a purchase unless you're limited to a low end computer.

Ultima Online 8th Age ROCKS!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I find this game to be very well written. Not only is the gameplay superb, but there are so many facets and things to do the potential is endless! Quests, fighting in multiple styles and against unlimited enemies, player vs. player, craftable items, collections, you name it, this game has it and more than you could ever hope for. I recommend this game above all others I've ever played...and that says something. My only gripe is the 3D graphics, or lack thereof. The 2D version is almost as appealing, and is much more fluid. Nice job EA games...

A rich game, but graphically dated

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Though graphically dated this game still holds its own. If you want a game that is pleasing on the eyes you should try out one of the other, newer MMORPG games such as Star Wars or World of Warcraft. Ultima Online is old, and it shows. However that very age gives it a huge advantage in the massive amount of development time that has gone into it. At this point in the game you can do just about anything. To give you an example, at the time this review was written every existing MMORPG had built in guild systems, but only UO has the ability for guilds to have formal alliances and to formally declare war. There is also a massive plant breeding system... thats right, not only can you grow plants in your home, but you can cross-pollinate them to create new varieties of plants which can eventually start to produce resources for you.

A Grand Adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

You will be pleased with this! If you want to be able to go to extra places you need the prequel Mondain's Legacy that you download off the computer but its worth it. The extras that come with this game make Ultima more exciting!!

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