Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth Of Worlds

"The Avatar's journey continues......"

Ultima Underworld II is a great classic. The game is once again placed as a first person RPG. You are the Avatar, the one who protects the dangers from Britannia. The graphics are also pretty well made, as it somewhat gives a 3D effect.

Story 26/30

You are the Avatar, the one who protects the dangers from Britannia. Britannia comes under attack by the Guardian. The Guardian seals the surrounding castle and town with blackrock. Now, it is up to you to save the people of Britannia. There are scattered pieces of Blackrock that you must find. Blackrock, when exposed to the large blackrock gem, will unlock different levels. The point of the game is to get all 8 Blackrock gems exposed to the huge gem, and to destroy all places where the Guardian is drawing power from. In order to find them you must travel to different and strange worlds of different cultures. Cultures can range from strange goblins to floating balls of fire. You gain many friends or foes along the way in your journey.

Gameplay 30/35

The Gameplay is done very well in this game. You first start off by creating a custom character. you get to choose the job, the strength, the intelligence, etc. There are variety of weapons and armour in this game. Ranging from a small dagger to an enchanted sword. Weapons and armour also have a damage meter. If you swing your sword on a metal door, the sword will become damaged and worn. Swing enough times at a indestructible object and the sword will break. Same goes for armour, when an enemy attacks you enough times, your armour will break. The Magic system is also done pretty well. You find runestones scattered across the worlds. When you put together the right combination of runestones, you can do a magic spell. AI in this game is also done considerably well, considering the fact the game was made in the early nineties. NPC's react to different things that you say to them, for example if you are kind to them, they will be kind to you, but if you say something like ''I demand that you give me all your items'' NPC's will react by being angered at you. There are a ton of side quests that you can do in this game, each sidequest will tie into the game. Sidequests range from finding an item for a specific person to settling a servant strike. Controls are pretty simple. There are three options: Bash, swing and poke. Holding down the mouse button for a longer period of time will make the attacks stronger.

Sound 6/10

Sound is pretty basic in this game. This game does support Sound Blaster and sound effects. When you hit a wall, the sound will obviously sound like a clang. When you kill someone you will hear a scream. Sounds a pretty simple. Music changes whenever you are attacked by an enemy, getting ready to attack, or just peacefully strolling through the castle. Music can get pretty repetitive.

Graphics 10/15

Graphics look pretty blocky in this game. There isn't a huge improvement from the first Ultima. Many of the NPC's, weapons, and etc. are not detailed in the best way. Colors and the surrounding worlds and areas are pretty dull. Much of the ground and walls are pretty much the same everywhere. But keep in mind that the game was made in the early nineties.

Replay 5/10

Once you finish this game, there isn't much replayability left. Many of the side quests are easily done in the first try. There is some replay and challenge value since you can change from being a powerful knight, to a more challenging weaker mage.

+Tilt 4/5

With the many quests and side quests and, other than a few drawbacks, this game is pretty fun.

FINAL SCORE: 81/100

Eh, I'll just round it off to 80

Gamefaqs Score: 8/10

One final question: Rent or Buy?

Well, the game can be easily bought for $5 so there really isn't any point in renting it. If you are somehow disappointed you only lose $5... so go and buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/02, Updated 03/06/03