Ultima Collection

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

Customer Reviews:

There is an easy way to run Ultima VII [Posted on 2004-05-17]
If you look up Exult on the internet, you will find a platform designed specifically to run Ultima VII and Serpent Isle.

I just found at sourceforge.net a way to run Ultima VIII but I haven't tried it yet. Can't wait!

I LOVE these games. They really are in depth and entertaining. I spent forever playing Ultima VI on my old 386 computer, never finishing it!!! Now I can finish it on my new Dell. =)

Great historical packing of the RPG classics [Posted on 2004-06-26]
I first got in to Ultima thanks to my dad buying Ultima III: Exodus for a then-newly bought Atari 800XL back in 1985. Remembering this was the 1980s, I got hooked on the game rather quickly, and in 1986, I was able get Ultima IV for the same computer and found it even more challenging. After that, I wasn't able to get any more Ultimas, mainly bacause Ultima IV was the final Ultima made available on the Atari 8-bit, and I never was able to get the first two. Far more recently (in 2004)bought the Ultima Collection CD package and I am not one bit disappointed. It's nice they included a player reference card for all the games included, so you know the commands, how to read runes, answers to questions someone might ask you on Ultima VI, VII: The Black Gate and VII: Serpent Isle, and other important tips. My complaint is they forgot to mention the abilities (like strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, etc.) of the humans, fuzzies, elvies, dwarves, etc. on Ultima III like the original packaging did. They also included an Ultima atlas for all eight of the Ultimas, although Ultima II would be easiest to find things since it was set right here on Earth. There is one drawback, and that Ultima III and IV both lack music on this version (III had music for the Atari 8-bit, IV didn't, although music was featured on the Commodore C-64 version). Ultima III, if you were lucky to own the Atari 400/800/XL/XE or the Commodore 64, was the very first Ultima to introduce music, so it's a bit strange to not hear music when you play this PC collection. For those raised on PC games of the 1990s and 2000s, many will be turned off by the crude graphics. Ultima II and III particularly show their age (Ultima I included here is not the original from 1980, but the 1986 remake from Origin in which the graphics were updated to Ultima IV standards). But if you grown up in the 1980s, like myself, the graphics will come as no surprise. Ultima I and II don't take very long to win. In fact on Ultima II, it isn't even necessary to explore dungeons or towers to win, or even visit every planet (although it's nice to, because there are more towns and castles to explore, but there is one planet that is a must to visit in order to win). Dungeons on Ultima I, however, are crucial to winning the game, especially if a king from a certain castle tells you to kill a certain creature (like a liche, balron, gelatinous cube, etc.). Ultima III was the first to include a multi-player party system (up to four players), plus a maximum hit point system (where you need to go to a healer to heal), and a separate battle scene. Ultima IV featured better graphics because you don't get cyan and magenta vegetation and water, and this was the very first Ultima you don't kill an evil ruler (like Mondain, Minax, or Exodus) to win. Ultima V-VII continue to use the same Britannia, with each of the series becoming more realistic (V introducing the day and night cycle, for example, and VI and onward featuring more 16-bit Super NES style graphics). Ultima VIII had been the most reviled of the series, many named it "Super Avatar Brothers" because of needing to hop over platforms to go places. To me, the game isn't bad and the graphics are stunning, for 1994 standards. Ultima VIII was the first Ultima since II to feature only a single player. There are drawbacks to this collection. You must run any Ultima after VI through MS-DOS. Mo-Slo, which is luckily included, is needed for all the Ultimas except VIII, and depending on your system, even Mo-Slo won't work right, as it might end up being a bit choppy. Ultima II works best if you download a program to make it more Windows-friendly. Akalabeth, the 1979 precursor to Ultima is also included in this package. Luckily they made this program PC and Windows friendly, no need for Mo-Slo here. Basically Akalabeth is only a historical curiosity, there don't seem to be much here except go in dungeons and kill monsters, particularly the ones Lord British tells you to kill. Anyway, despite a few drawbacks, and if you're feeling a bit nostalgic for your childhood days of playing Ultima, or if you're an Ultima fan with a curiosity about the game's history, this is the collection to get.

Ultima is the best overall RPG series ever made. [Posted on 2004-07-18]
Ultima 7 (both Black Gate and Serpent Isle) is definitely the best of the series, having the best story and the most interactive world. 4, 5, 6, and 8 are great also. You also get 1, 2, and 3 in this collection, but they're really not worth playing. If you love RPGs, and you've never played any of these games before, you're missing out!

Here is a chance to run under Linux! [Posted on 2006-08-04]
Great series. My all time favorite was Ultima 4. With Wintendo 3.1/95 as the requirement for the OS, I'm thinking of trying to make this work with WINE under Linux (maybe even use transgaming if that fails).

Then I can make it work with my MythTV Mythgames. My kids are in for a surprise :-)

Hard to Use. [Posted on 2008-01-19]
I never got into the ultima title so I thought this would be a great way to get into it. It advertised it was the complete first eight titles in one. However it was only the first three adventures and they are uncompatible with the newer computer systems despite the claim it would be. My computer locked up every time I tried to play it. Over all I found it very disappointing.

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