![]() In Ultimas I-III, the villains were too one-dimensional to truly despise, and Ultimas IV-VI didn't really have any villains. I'm on the fence as to whether Ultima VII truly improves upon this-I suspect they'll both get the same scores for "NPC Interaction"-but it does put these characters in the context of a much more interesting plot. I would have to name Ultima VI as the first game in which the various NPCs really come alive with such detail that it's worth getting into long discussions about their actions and motivations. Last, we have the quality and depth of the story and writing, which Maher credits rightfully to Raymond Benson. ![]() There are still keyboard shortcuts for most actions, but the mouse works best when you need to actually move the cursor around the screen. Ultima VII strikes a near-perfect balance. I hate when it's used for clicking on control buttons that could more easily be activated with the keyboard. I like the mouse when it's used for purposes that befit the mouse, such as dragging items from one place to another. I've developed a reputation for being a mouse-hater, but I'm not. The interface is also something of a work of brilliance. I think I felt the same way, the first two times I played. They might stop at one city on the way to another or investigate a random island and in either case feel the delicious sense of plotting their own course without actually doing anything terribly deviant. Instead, they probably followed the quest in its intended order, yet still sensed the freedom of the open world around the fringes. The openness of the world introduces some problems, but my guess is that most players didn't really treat it like a truly open-world game anyway. To start, for all the bugs its open-world nature causes, it's still an open-world game, and this was still rare in the era. So let's try to figure out why people remember the game so fondly. But if not for the perceived need to purchase spells, the economy would have literally no purpose. To Maher's list, I would add a linear quest line that doesn't anticipate the slightest deviation even though it's nominally an open-world game, and the utter uselessness of magic, such that I never cast a single offensive spell except in experimentation. He (correctly) notes that any joy in character development or inventory acquisition is mostly offset by the fact that combat is so easy (or perhaps more to the point, random) that none of it feels particularly rewarding. ![]() Maher goes on to mention a multitude of game design choices that should have sent Ultima VII directly to the bargain bin: the infuriating inventory management system, the absolute chaos that accompanies combat, the tendency of characters to get hit with friendly fire, and the need to hand-feed the characters. Nowhere else has the word "ineffable" been so aptly used. However, it falters in elements specific to RPGs, including character development and combat, and a somewhat inflexible narrative makes it difficult to fully appreciate the open-world design. The game otherwise features most of the elements that people like about Ultima, including an engaging plot that moves the player across the map, finding clues in documents and NPC conversations in towns, castles, and dungeons. It pioneered the open-world, sandbox environment, and it popularized the idea of the "unobtrusive interface," in which the entire screen is the game window, and interfaces for character sheets, inventory, and other game elements pop up as needed, pausing the action behind them. Ultima VII is a seminal entry in not only the Ultima series but games in general. The Avatar is thrust into this mess in the context of a serial murder investigation that takes him from one crime scene to another. Lord British's rule has become apathetic: the Britannian Tax Council oppresses the populace the caste system is stronger than ever something is disrupting the use of magic and driving magic-users insane and a philosophical/religious organization with sinister undertones is converting the people away from the traditional virtues of the Avatar. He's been gone 200 years by the Britannian calendar, and while some things are the same (Lord British still rules most of the old companions are still around), the world has advanced in technology to roughly Victorian-era levels. The Avatar returns to Britannia in this seventh entry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |