Ultima Online: Age of Shadows

List Price: $14.99 Discount Price: $2.79

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

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly Addictive, Immersive, Absorbing MMORPG [Posted on 2004-03-17]
Of course Ultima Online (UO) is nothing new to the world of online gaming. In fact, it is probably one of the most succesful MMORPGs (ie, online role playing games with a persistent, massive universe and a large number of other players) in commercial terms. That may seem surprising initially because when compared with some of its competitors like Sony's Everquest or Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot, UO suffers from older generation graphics and visually is not as appealing as these other titles. With this latest edition, the graphics have been somewhat improved, with a 3d version available that essentially makes your character 3d in a 2d world, but even with that UO's graphics lag behind the competition, and graphics are often the first -- and sometimes the only -- thing that a prospective gamer looks at when evaluating a game.

Well, UO is the quintessential case of the danger of judging a book by its cover. Notwithstanding its graphical limitations, UO is quite simply the deepest, most complex, immersive, varied and thoroughly addictive experience that the MMORPG genre has to offer. Unlike many games where you have 6-8 character classes to choose from, perhaps a few more if you are lucky, in UO you have no classes per se, only skills that can be used to develop into professions based on skill levels ... and the list of possible professions you can end up with is long -- 25 plus, including not just the typical warrior and mage professions but a number of interesting ones like merchant, miner, blacksmith, tailor and the like. Your character advances not so much by experience points but by enhancing skills through using them over the course of time. There are so many to choose from, the possibilities for customising your game experience are nearly limitless.

The game is thoroughly engaging, the goals are challenging, advancement is steady but challenging as well and rather time consuming, but the results are very, very satisfying. The world is very social, the players like to communicate with each other, and it is a huge world environment as well. The game world is divided into facets, with the largest environment being divided between the Felucca facet and the Trammel facet, the difference being principally that the former, known as "Fel", allows for player killing, while the latter allows this only under limited circumstances.

The learning curve is steep for UO, but that is part of the fun. The message boards and guides at stratics.com are very helpful in learning the game, and there are numerous approved add-on programs that help make the game experience flow more smoothly. But in the end it is the clever design, the outstanding variety, the combination of challenge and satisfaction that make UO almost unique among MMORPGs, and clearly head and shoulders above others in terms of gameplay and player satisfaction.

If there was an option for 0 stars I would of gave it [Posted on 2004-04-08]
EA took a once great game and added 1000's of bugs and hacks. Its the worse thing to happend to an online game.

So you'd like to play UO? [Posted on 2004-05-16]
UO is a unique game. Not only can you go on quests, battle, and get a job, but so much more is available. You can create a whole new life for yourself, get a job, buy a house on some remote island, decorate it the way you want. The heart of the game is in the community, though. The graphics *arent* great, and the PvP isnt the most spectacular, but that's not what most players are there for. It's all about friends and relations. It's easy to meet people, and with friends, even the most mundane of quests becomes incredibly fun. If all you want is PvP, this is not the game for you.

Many people are dissatisfied with the OSI shards. They talk of how frustrating the countless bugs are. However, I think they were simply too quick to judge. At first, there *were* tons of bugs, but now, months after the release, there are hardly any. As for lack of space for housing, it is simply a testament to how popular the game is. If you're patient, there is always room for one more house. If playing on OSI shards is what turns you off of the game...there are always *other* possibilities. Look closely, they're there.

UO is an amazing experience, and one I wont forget. It has something that many other games dont, and that is what sets it apart.

Ultima Online [Posted on 2004-06-22]
I've played this game since it's release September 1997 at a friend's house constantly. Then in 2001 I finally got a pc and of course I got Ultima Online. I love it. But of course, I need to be reviewing the newest expansion Age of Shadows :) It comes packed with extras. It contains installation for both 2d and 3d version. I use the 2d version more than the 3d version because I am so use to the 2d graphics of UO that I have been playing for so long. The 3d version is very pretty, though. The only gripe about the 3d version is that the characters look like anime cartoons in the face. The magic effects are beautiful and lush. Some complain that the 3d version runs very slow and is buggy. That's nonsense. I have MSN DIAL-UP v.9 and it works just fine. My connection usually only gets up to 50kb/s which makes the 2d run perfect, and the 3d version run good.

This expansion comes packed with new monsters and a whole new map to explore. Most of the new map is just housing plains, but that's fine, because there are some interesting monsters. It also contains the map Ilshenar which was recently only available on the Third Dawn expansion.

If you havn't joined UO yet and you plan to don't buy this now, but wait for the 7th Anniversary to be released this year (2004). It will contain all of the expansions and some rare items, and a full Ultima game included. More bang for the buck.

The most important aspect of any game is the gameplay. In UO, it's flawless. It's not like Everquest where you just fight to gain level. On UO, you fight to live and thrive in the beautiful world or Britannia. Another great thing about UO is that gaining level is more flexible and realistic. You don't just gain HP, you gain other skills and attributes as well. The currency system is easy to grasp onto.

Countless skills to learn and master, and countless gameplay hours. This is the best MMORPG ever. Probably the best video game ever as well.

Customizable houses were the best part of this expansion [Posted on 2006-09-04]
What can you say about Ultima Online? This game has broken more ground in the MMO genre than any other game. Other MMOs are to this day copying aspects of Ultima Online. Some MMOs are just about customizing your house and it is only one aspect of Ultima Online. The customizable houses are probably the main thing that has now extended the life of this game.

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