Ultima: Quest of the Avatar

"Pure RPG insanity!"

Years ago I decided to go on a NES rampage and proceeded to the local video store in search classic games. I did not go away disappointed. I took with me many great games that would take many days to tell the full tales of but one game stood above them all like a diamond in a garbage bag. That game was Ultima: Quest of the Avatar.

Story

Well it's been awhile since a new Ultima game came out so the publishers decided to milk the francise for all it was worth. Actually that isn't the plot. The real premise of the game is that you, the main character, are walking through the woods and come across a man named Hawkwind who offers to tell your fortune. You accept and are thrust into another world in which you are to become the Avatar, which is like Jesus but less religious. At this point you're probably thinking I have to advert some great evil better get to it! Well you're wrong, they just want you to be the Avatar ''just in case'' which to me sounds like a bad excuse to leave out the bad guys.

Graphics

Very basic 8 bit RPG graphics that convey everything just enough that you understand whats going on. So overall you won't be bragging about the awesome vertex shaders and all that fancy crap.

Sound

Once again nothing very remarkable. But using bows and slings make a really killer sound.

Gameplay

The main draw of this package. You wander around the world looking for the 8 virtues that will make you the Avatar. Along the way you can get more adventurers to join your party, give money to beggers, and my personal favorite, attack anyone you deem unworthy of conversation. Thats right, you can kill anyone Grand Theft Auto style. Oh yeah and you go through dungeons and fight monsters and stuff.

Funfactor

The amount of enjoyment you get out of this is variable. You will spend alot of time wandering aimlessly across the huge world map which helps you feel like a real adventurer but at the same time gives a huge amount of frusration due to lack of progression. Also much of the game is not user friendly so count on wondering what most of the items do. Perhaps the best feature of the game however is the leveling system. You rarely level up in this game but when you do it is very noticeable. Case in point I finished the game at level 5.

Conclusion

Well to me this game is an instant classic that is deserving of a greek shrine to proclaim it's greatness. Or I just might be mildly retarded, it's up to the reader to decide.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/03