The Ultima series, published by Origin, is a long running series of in-depth roleplaying games. The most recent addition to these successfully popular games is Ultima Online. The premise of Ultima Online is similar to the rest of the games, but this time players interact with each other on a huge scale; everyone is always in the same game at the same time, which provides many experiences a computer player can't. The game is nonlinear, meaning players can take any role they want, and do anything they want, within reason. However, this wonderful idea has many flaws. Many users of the Ultima world tell of disgust for having to pay for an inadequate service. The lag time is horrible, there are a few unethical players who exploit the game's bugs to get ahead in the game (cheating . . . ), and the game is extremely tough for beginners to progress to a high enough level so they aren't immediately killed. The list of problems may go on and on, but improvements are being made.
The end of the Ultima series is in sight. Ultima 9: Ascension, the last of the series, is set to be released in fall 1998. In production for over one and one-half years, the finale was originally planned to be from a top down perspective, but that has changed now. The player's perspective will now be a third-person point of view from behind his character, sort of like that Tomb Raider game. Ultima 9 will also boast the latest in technology, supporting Direct3D and natively support the 3Dfx Voodoo chipset. The last in the series will also be the most in-depth and contain the greatest amount of story elements. To lead up to the release of Ultima 9, the Ultima Collection will be shipping in February. This collection will contain every Ultima game produced to date, and will also include some goodies, including an interview with Richard Garriott, the creator of the series. There is a $10 US rebate for Ultima Online.
So, while there may be some problems with this successful series of RPG, any serious gamer should be content with something in the well-made Ultima games. Unfortunately, after Ultima 9, there probably won't be anymore made. I suggest getting the entire collection before it's too late, so you can be happy with a lifetime worth of roleplaying ahead of you.
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