The Ultima Collection review by Al Giovetti

 

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By Al Giovetti
Price:$34.95 (regular price = $44.95)
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Release:Shipping February 17th, 1998 - United States, Shipping February 27th, 1998 - World Wide
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Phone: (800) 245-4525 (order line).
Website:
Requirements:System Requirements for the Ultima Collection: To Play in DOS (All games run in DOS) MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, Intel 486 DX 33 MHZ+ or 100% compatible PC system, 90 MB free hard drive space, 4 MB RAM, 256-color VGA video card, 4x speed CD-ROM drive. For Music: MPU 401, Ad Lib, SoundBlaster(r) or 100 % compatible sound board with DOS-based drivers. For Sound Effects: SoundBlaster or 100% compatible sound board with DOS-based drivers. Microsoft(r) or 100% compatible mouse and DOS-based driver.

To Play in Windows(r) 95 (Only Ultima I-VI & Akalabeth run through Windows 95; Ultima VII and Ultima VIII do not run through Windows 95) Microsoft Windows 95, Intel Pentium(r) or 100% compatible, 90 MB free hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, SVGA video card, 4x speed CD-ROM drive, Windows 95 compatible sound card, Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse.


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The Ultima Collection

History

About 18 years ago Richard Garriott, aka Lord Brittish, released a game called Alkabeth. Alkabeth started the entire Ultima story which now encompasses 12 single player over head perspective games, one online game world (Ultima Online) and two first person perpective games (Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld II). Alkabeth was the first game to come from Origin Systems, a company which now makes up one part of Electronic Arts, valued at over 50 million dollars with over 50 game titles to its credit.

If you missed the first introduction of Alkabeth, this Ultima Collection gives you the chance to see first hand one of the games that started the computer gaming industry. Those who were in on the computer gaming industry early on, and played games on the Apple II computer will find a return to Alkabeth in order when they see the new product.

Company Line

Al,

Heres a press release on Ultima Collection. I'll get you a copy of the Wing Commander: Prophecy presser when I arrive back in Austin. I'm out of town for the rest of the week.

David

ORIGIN Ships Ultima Collection

Top-selling Role-Playing Series Now Available On One CD-ROM; Chronicles 14 Years of Computer Gaming from One of Industry's Pioneers

The worlds of Ultima await you in this special collection of 10 games designed by Richard Garriott, including Ultima 1 through Ultima 8 and Akalabeth.

Austin, TX, February 17, 1998-ORIGIN Systems(tm), an Electronic Arts(tm) (Nasdaq: ERTS) company, announces the shipment of the Ultima(tm) Collection, a compilation of every lineage Ultima game from legendary computer game designer, Richard Garriott. The Ultima Collection is a history of the role-playing genre from Ultima I (1980) to Ultima VIII (1994) and includes the Ultima VII add-ons, Forge of Virtue(tm) and The Silver Seed(tm). As an added bonus, ORIGIN(tm) has included Akalabeth(tm) (1979), Garriott's very first game that inspired the Ultima series. In all, the Ultima Collection includes 10 complete games.

Fans of the Ultima series will find plenty of added value inside this collection of classic role-playing games. The challenges and innovations that went into creating each Ultima are described in detail by Garriott himself in a special section of multimedia interviews included with the Ultima Collection software. Garriott even gives fans a brief preview of what to expect in the next title in the Ultima series, Ultima: Ascension. In addition, the Ultima Collection includes the Ultima Atlas, a collection of all the signature Ultima cloth maps reproduced on high-quality paper in a 16-page booklet.

"From the very beginning, I've tried to give each Ultima its own personality," said Garriott. "Each time we've introduced as many new and unique things as we could, such as new technology, a new interface and always a new story. Each Ultima has been built from scratch-from the ground up. So as fans play each game in the series they'll truly see the evolution of the genre-from the early days of basic programming and stick figure art to the more recent era of immersive worlds, digital stereo sound, beautifully detailed graphics and carefully crafted gameplay."

Included in the Ultima Collection are these 10 classic games (release dates):
Akalabeth (1979)
Ultima I (1980)
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (1982)
Ultima III: Exodus (1983)
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar(tm) (1985)
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988)
Ultima VI: The False Prophet (1990)
Ultima VII Part 1: The Black Gate (1992)/includes Forge of Virtue
Ultima VII Part 2: Serpent Isle(tm) (1993)/includes The Silver Seed
Ultima VIII: Pagan (1994)

The Ultima Collection is available now for an expected retail price of US$40-45. It can also be purchased online from the EA Store located at http://www.store.ea.com.

ORIGIN Systems develops and publishes state-of-the-art entertainment software. To date, the company has released more than 50 titles, including the award-winning Ultima, Wing Commander(tm), Privateer(tm) and Crusader series of games. ORIGIN also develops titles under the Jane's(r) Combat Simulations brand. ORIGIN is based in Austin, Texas, with additional offices in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Electronic Arts. More information on ORIGIN products can be found on the Internet at http://www.origin.ea.com.

ORIGIN, ORIGIN Systems, Ultima, Forge of Virtue, Wing Commander, Privateer, Quest of the Avatar, Silver Seed, Serpent Isle and Akalabeth are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts or its wholly-owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Jane's is a registered trademark of Jane's Information Group Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Game Play

Plot

Graphics

Animation

Voice Actors

Music Score

Sound Effects

Utilities

Multi-player Features

These are all single player games

Cheats, Hints, Walkthrough

Please check the hints, cheats, and walkthrough section for extensive information on Ultima games.

Journalists

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References

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