ultima game review
PC versionA title that touched perfection during its most beautiful era (1997-2000).
It's very simple, I have never found so many qualities and riches in a video game since. Never.
It was already a feat for the time and it remains so today: successfully gathering hundreds of players at the same time, in the same world, with a lot of possible interactions: in-game real-time chat interface very pretty and inspired, with management of the distance of shouts and whispers, management of the exchange of objects, of the street sales between players, management of the economy, of the bank, of pets (and not only horses !), etc…
All this in a huge, varied territory, full of mysteries and places to explore.
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
Our character's beginnings were unique, difficult and filled with wonder.Imagine a bit: after choosing its characteristics, you could specialize in countless disciplines, ranging from sewing, cooking, animal or creature training according to the level of mastery, the shield technique, combat, music… dozens and dozens of skills, all useful and evolving, not just there to pretend.
You could get into just about any discipline, as long as you had developed the ability to do it.
And if you didn't have it, you could still learn it on the job.
You had to start small, for example by going to cut wood in the forest without venturing too far. Personally, I was content with the small shrubs present in the fortified cities: not much raw material, but little danger. Then, I tried to make bows, chairs, tables, or arrows using the feathers picked up on a bird ...
I spent several weeks playing only inside my hometown (I had chosen Trinsic, a pretty economic center in the south), ignoring almost everything from the outside world before feeling strong enough to not not die in the face of a rabid dog.
The economy was also an important parameter, taken seriously by the developers: the NPC traders had finished and fluctuating stocks according to supply and demand, the bank allowed to deposit their money in safety, or their stuff.
The players could therefore create and resell a whole bunch of objects, with a high added value according to the skill of the creator: more effective swords, more solid armor, more nutritious cooking and so on.
THE AWAKENING
But being safe from cities did not protect everything: some players, for example, could put your pockets in your pocket. So losing a little money is annoying, but having your house keys stolen is worse.Fortunately, if you grab a pickpocket with your hand in the bag, you could shout "GUARDS" and see the city guards arrive for a public execution. Then a cloud of gamers rushed over the thief's body hoping to grab a few pieces of gold or a little food.
This brings me to talk to you about the reputation system as it was in the heyday.
According to our actions, we could go from a neutral reputation (or alignment), to positive or negative, with a lot of graduation in both directions.
In the extremes, one could end up being a "Virtue Guard", therefore a legendary hero guarantor of order and morals, or a criminal attacked on sight and who could no longer approach cities.
To spice it up, the criminals were getting wanted notices on their heads and these players were being hunted down by the famous Virtue Guards, who could go manhunting with a team.
A little later, with a little money, clothes worthy of the name, food not to starve - the management of fatigue was also present - it was possible to develop skills in combat, in magic or trade for example.
And if you just wanted to enjoy life, you just had to go to a beach with your friends, open a bottle of champagne and start some fireworks. Truthful.
THE HARD REALITY OF THE OUTSIDE
Outside, away from the walls, swarmed with many dangers: wild animals of all kinds, bloodthirsty creatures, bandits, and above all, above all, the famous PK (Player Killer): veteran players who ambushed passersby to be able to assassinate them and strip them.Because at that time, once dead, your character naturally kept on his body all the material transported.
Later, the whining Kévins will have finally obtained not to lose all their equipment (even all in certain games). As a result, dying no longer had serious consequences and all the values and precautions that pushed you to survive were destroyed ... and the following games of course continued on this pathetic path.
There for example, in Ultima Online, we became a ghost and wandered like a soul in pain without being able to communicate with the world of the living.
On the other hand, we could interact between ghosts, and if we were lucky, we could come across a high-level mage who could come into contact with us, or even resuscitate us in certain cases. But it was rare and not within the reach of anyone.
FREEDOM
In Ultima Online, you could go on an adventure at any time, without being locked into a mandatory path. We were free.No phony quests ("kill 10 wolves and come back" ... help), no wooden storyline ... unleash hundreds of players in a rich and mysterious world, they will make history themselves.
Besides, I never needed to be supervised, I never got bored… I never even had the impression of living so many stories in the same game: following a group of explorers or of experienced warriors embarking on their ship towards unexplored islands ... see a mage create a teleportation portal and sneak in after him, without knowing where I was going to come out ... and end up on the other side of the world ... or again, finding yourself lost in the forest after a day of walking, near a den of bandits or a witch, and having to camp there to spend the night…
The map contained everything: big cities, small charming villages, forests, abandoned temples, huge caves, mountains, swamps ... everything you can imagine.
The wealthiest could build their houses or castles, furnish them to their liking by buying furniture created by other players, for example.
Sometimes the houses were so numerous that some areas ended up looking like wild towns. But if the owner did not come often to maintain his property, he would crack and even collapse.
We could also regroup in guilds, with well-established hierarchies and an organization close to that of a company or a real association.
Mourning ... or HOPE!
I could go on for hours, but if you haven't experienced this game, at least you will have already understood what it could do.
After that what do you want, many other games could only seem bland, skimpy, amputated, interventionist, unambitious ... even today, and in all genres or almost.
It is only now, 15 years later, that we hear developers / editors say that an open world may be interesting in a video game, instead of the corridors that we have been served for years .
Even in the genre, to my knowledge, no other MMO has managed to bring together the same ingredients of gameplay, cheek, success, balance as it was at that time.
With this game, at the time, they had reached perfection.
So it’s possible!
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