Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
Encyclopedia
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds is a 1993 first-person role-playing video game
developed by Looking Glass Technologies
and published by Origin Systems
. It is the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
. Set in the Ultima fantasy universe, the game puts the player in control of the Avatar, the protagonist of the Ultima series. The player adventures through multiple dimensions in order to prevent the evil Guardian from achieving world domination.
Ultima Underworld II began development in April 1992, and was created in nine months. Looking Glass' goal was to improve upon the foundation laid by the game's predecessor. The game's size and number of interactive elements were increased, the graphics technology was enhanced, and tweaks were made to the role-playing systems. During development, the team experienced problems insufficient staffing and extensive playtesting; the latter caused the game to miss its planned Christmas 1992 release.
Ultima Underworld II received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics, size, design and non-linearity. However, one reviewer found the game to be too long, and considered it dull. Following the game's completion, Looking Glass decided to alter its design approach, and began work on System Shock
. A sequel to Ultima Underworld II was pitched multiple times, but Origin Systems rejected the idea; this later resulted in the creation of a spiritual successor, Arx Fatalis
.
Ultima Underworld II is a role-playing video game
that takes place from a first-person perspective
in a three-dimensional
(3D) environment. As with its predecessor Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
, the player's goal is to adventure through large, enclosed areas. A freely movable mouse cursor
is used to interact with the game's world and heads-up display
(HUD) interface. Icons on the HUD let the player examine objects closely, speak to non-player character
s (NPCs) or ready the player character
's weapon. The game's worlds are accessed from the hub world of Lord British's castle. Environments are added to the game's automap when explored.
The player begins the game by creating a character. Selectable traits include gender, character class
and skills; the last ranges from diplomacy and bartering to weapon proficiency and blacksmithing
. By fighting, completing quests and exploring, the character accumulates experience point
s. When a certain number of experience points is earned, the character levels up
and gains hit points and mana
. Levelling up also allows the player character to receive training from NPCs, which increases proficiency in certain skills.
The game was designed to be "non-linear", in that players are required to "visit and revisit" areas as the character gains abilities and becomes more powerful. The game's eight worlds may be visited at any time after they become accessible. In each world, the player must find a "blackrock" gem that grants access to the next world.
began development of Ultima Underworld II in April 1992. The team's goal was to build upon the foundation laid by the game's predecessor, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
. For example, they sought to include a better and more complex plot, as well as superior simulation elements and "play value". According to project leader Doug Church
, the team's "biggest advantage" was the presence of four dedicated designers; in contrast, each member of the original game's team had assumed multiple roles. This allowed the Ultima Underworld II team to make "multiple editing passes on the layout of each level", with the goal of creating "interesting stuff" for players to see and do each time they explored an area. Designer and lead writer Austin Grossman
played a large role in designing the game's tomb dimension, which was based on the Dungeons & Dragons
module Tomb of Horrors
. The team tried to balance the different types of characters players could create, such as by making the game's skills more useful and lowering the strength requirement for carrying items. More puzzles and interactive elements were added to the game than had appeared in its predecessor, and the overall size of the game world was increased to "3 or 4 times" that of Ultima Underworld, according to Church. However, he later stated his belief that the team lost their focus and overreached in creating the game's world, and was not able to polish it as thoroughly as they had hoped.
Like its predecessor, Ultima Underworld II was produced by Warren Spector
, who was Looking Glass' main link to publisher Origin Systems
. Church later praised Spector's advice during the game's development, noting that he was able to help him refocus creatively during their weekly phone conversations and monthly meetings. During development, the team was unable to create enough art for the game. According to Church, Spector "was able to co-opt several Origin artists" to help the team, which he believed was critical to the game being released on schedule. Church later said that most of the game's artists were independent contractor
s, which resulted in him "calling nine different area codes every couple days to check up on things". He noted the difficulty of describing the game's enemy designs by phone. The game's music was composed by Dan Schmidt and the recently hired Seamus Blackley
. The two wrote the game's music in Blackley's apartment over the course of a week. They attempted to give each world a unique sound, while also hiding variations of the game's main theme in the themes of each world. The music system from the original Ultima Underworld was retained with only minor alterations, but the team included digitized sound effects
, whereas the previous game's audio was synthesized.
Ultima Underworld II was developed in nine months. It was originally slated for a February 1993 release, but the date was later moved up to December 1992. The game underwent "two-and-a-half months" of playtesting by Origin and Looking Glass employees, and by remote testing firms. According to Church, the testing phase took more time than expected due to complaints from playtesters and the presence of numerous bugs. Church went to Origin Systems' headquarters in Texas during the final stages of development. The team "tried desperately to make Christmas", and the game was completed around December 18, with Church creating the final build on his laptop in Spector's office. However, according to Spector, the game could have shipped on time, but was held back for further playtesting. Church stated that "there was one bug we couldn’t reproduce, and everyone really wanted to go home for Christmas. We ended up taking a few days off, checking it a few more days and using that version anyway." The delay resulted in the game missing the holiday season. It was shipped in January 1993.
used for its predecessor. According to Church:
The team sought to improve the game's graphics over those of Ultima Underworld. The gameplay window is 30% larger than in the original game. Paul Neurath noted that the team "never got [the texture mapping] to look quite as good as we had hoped" in Ultima Underworld; new texture mappers were written for Ultima Underworld II, and Neurath believed that the team finally realized their original vision. According to Church, character sprites are higher resolution, and "250% bigger (areawise)", than those of the original game; they feature "1.5 times as many animation frames". The game features more 3D objects than Ultima Underworld. The game was built on an enhanced version of the Ultima Underworld game engine. A larger color palette
was added.
called the game "huge", and praised its atmosphere. He also lauded the game's increase in variety and graphical detail over its predecessor. However, he hoped that the next game in the series would support adventuring parties
, and wrote that, unlike its predecessor, the game does not feature "anything that takes it to a higher plateau to wait for the others to catch up". However, he summarized the game as "magnificent", and wrote, "If someone were to hand me £40 and say buy either Underworld I or II, I'd take the sequel any time." David McCandless of PC Zone
wrote, "Nothing can completely prepare you for the freedom the game gives you ... It's about as close to Virtual Reality as you are ever likely to get from your mouse driver." He praised the game's "atmosphere"-creating sound, and called its graphics "stunning"; he stated that, with a high-end computer, "dungeons can move like a film". However, he noted that the game's predecessor created a tighter and more involving atmosphere, and that Ultima Underworld IIs length meant that "there's a lot of empty space between 'excitement points'." He awarded it a score of 94 out of 100, and summarized that "there really is nothing you can do with this game except sit there, dribble slightly, and say 'blimey' every eight to ten minutes."
The Toronto Star
s William Burrill wrote, "Ultima Underworld II is without rival the best fantasy [...] role-playing game in this (or any parallel) world." He praised its automap, and noted that "those who played ... Ultima Underworld will appreciate the improved graphics". However, he believed that the control system "takes a little practice to get used to", and stated, "This is not a game you can master quickly or play in a night. It has its frustrations and its flaws, despite its brilliance of design". He finished by stating that "those who are patient will be richly rewarded with a game like no other." Computer Gaming World
s Doug Sencat enjoyed the game's graphics, and praised the plot, conversations and 3D world for giving a sense of "being there". However, he noted that the game's movement was "a pain", and found that learning to navigate the environment was initially "frustrating". He was unfavorable toward the linearity of the game's plot and conversations, and toward the NPCs' inability to take actions independent of the player. He described the game as "a long and grueling quest", and stated, "Many times, [it] seems more frustrating than enjoyable". Although he summarized it as "a relatively high-quality game", he finished, "By the time I finally saw daylight again, emerging from the Labyrinth, I must admit that it wasn't exultation I felt, but sheer relief."
In a 2004 retrospective review, PC Gamer UKs John Walker stated that Ultima Underworld II "was new and exciting in half a dozen areas at once, not just one. Somehow, no game has quite achieved that since". The magazine has included it in multiple lists of the 100 best PC games ever released, placing it variously at 54th in 2001, 39th in 2007, and 90th in 2010. One writer for the magazine stated, "Like Ultima Underworld but again and better. No, that won't do. Ultima Underworld [II] needs to be hailed from the roof-tops for being one of the best dungeon-based adventure RPGs of all illustrious gaming history." Another wrote, "Underworld didn't just give us the first 3D game world. It gave us the freedom of action we expect from modern first-person RPGs, too. ... No game since has raised the bar half as high." In 2010, a writer for the magazine called it "so antiquated that it’s now very hard to play", but noted that "the sheer verisimilitude of UWII’s little world was like nothing we’d ever seen before, and still impresses."
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed by Looking Glass Technologies
Looking Glass Studios
Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s.The company originally formed as Looking Glass Technologies, when Blue Sky Productions and Lerner Research merged....
and published by Origin Systems
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
. It is the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Blue Sky Productions and published by Origin Systems...
. Set in the Ultima fantasy universe, the game puts the player in control of the Avatar, the protagonist of the Ultima series. The player adventures through multiple dimensions in order to prevent the evil Guardian from achieving world domination.
Ultima Underworld II began development in April 1992, and was created in nine months. Looking Glass' goal was to improve upon the foundation laid by the game's predecessor. The game's size and number of interactive elements were increased, the graphics technology was enhanced, and tweaks were made to the role-playing systems. During development, the team experienced problems insufficient staffing and extensive playtesting; the latter caused the game to miss its planned Christmas 1992 release.
Ultima Underworld II received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics, size, design and non-linearity. However, one reviewer found the game to be too long, and considered it dull. Following the game's completion, Looking Glass decided to alter its design approach, and began work on System Shock
System Shock
System Shock is a first-person action-adventure video game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994, the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a cyberpunk vision of 2072...
. A sequel to Ultima Underworld II was pitched multiple times, but Origin Systems rejected the idea; this later resulted in the creation of a spiritual successor, Arx Fatalis
Arx Fatalis
Arx Fatalis is a partially open source first-person role-playing video game for the Xbox and PC, released on November 2002 by Arkane Studios, a video game developer based in Lyon, France....
.
Gameplay
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
that takes place from a first-person perspective
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
in a three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
(3D) environment. As with its predecessor Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Blue Sky Productions and published by Origin Systems...
, the player's goal is to adventure through large, enclosed areas. A freely movable mouse cursor
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
is used to interact with the game's world and heads-up display
HUD (computer gaming)
In video gaming, the HUD is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface...
(HUD) interface. Icons on the HUD let the player examine objects closely, speak to non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s (NPCs) or ready the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
's weapon. The game's worlds are accessed from the hub world of Lord British's castle. Environments are added to the game's automap when explored.
The player begins the game by creating a character. Selectable traits include gender, character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
and skills; the last ranges from diplomacy and bartering to weapon proficiency and blacksmithing
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
. By fighting, completing quests and exploring, the character accumulates experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
s. When a certain number of experience points is earned, the character levels up
Level Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
and gains hit points and mana
Mana
Mana is an indigenous Pacific islander concept of an impersonal force or quality that resides in people, animals, and inanimate objects. The word is a cognate in many Oceanic languages, including Melanesian, Polynesian, and Micronesian....
. Levelling up also allows the player character to receive training from NPCs, which increases proficiency in certain skills.
The game was designed to be "non-linear", in that players are required to "visit and revisit" areas as the character gains abilities and becomes more powerful. The game's eight worlds may be visited at any time after they become accessible. In each world, the player must find a "blackrock" gem that grants access to the next world.
Story
One year after the Black Gate incident, the Avatar is invited to a feast at Lord British's castle to celebrate a year of rebuilding in Britannia. In the early morning afterwards, a great dome of blackrock crystal forms over the castle; everyone within, including the Avatar, is trapped. The blackrock was created by Mayor Patterson, on behalf of the Guardian, who intends to invade Britannia, now cut off from its greatest defenders. Searching down through the sewers under the castle, a smaller crystal, a 'reverberation' created by the sheer power of the Guardian's spell, is discovered. The Avatar has to use this crystal to travel to other worlds under the Guardian's control in order to free the castle from the spell. These worlds include:Setting
- The "Prison Tower" - Situated on Fyrna, a world ruled by goblinGoblinA goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
s. - Killorn Keep - A fortress floating in the sky, situated on a parallel universeParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
opposite to Britannia. - The Ice Caves of Anodunos - A frozen world littered with the remnants of a civilization destroyed by the Guardian.
- The World of Talorus - An alien world populated by the enigmatic taloroids and the servile vorz.
- The Scintillus Academy - A mage school, devastated by the Guardian.
- The Pits of Carnage - A prison and dueling arena where the Guardian deposits his foes.
- The Tomb of Praecor Loth - A tomb of the king of the world of Rhiannon. He was killed in a war with the Guardian.
- The Ethereal Void - A strange dreamworld with floating glowing paths and teleports.
Development
Looking Glass TechnologiesLooking Glass Studios
Looking Glass Studios was a computer game development company during the 1990s.The company originally formed as Looking Glass Technologies, when Blue Sky Productions and Lerner Research merged....
began development of Ultima Underworld II in April 1992. The team's goal was to build upon the foundation laid by the game's predecessor, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss is a first-person role-playing video game developed by Blue Sky Productions and published by Origin Systems...
. For example, they sought to include a better and more complex plot, as well as superior simulation elements and "play value". According to project leader Doug Church
Doug Church
Doug Church is an American computer game designer and producer. He attended MIT in the late 1980s, but left and went to work with Looking Glass Studios, when they were making primarily MS-DOS-based first-person adventure/shooter/roleplaying games, including Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld II,...
, the team's "biggest advantage" was the presence of four dedicated designers; in contrast, each member of the original game's team had assumed multiple roles. This allowed the Ultima Underworld II team to make "multiple editing passes on the layout of each level", with the goal of creating "interesting stuff" for players to see and do each time they explored an area. Designer and lead writer Austin Grossman
Austin Grossman
Austin Grossman [b. ] is a writer and game designer who has contributed to the New York Times and a number of video games.He is the author of the novel Soon I Will Be Invincible, which was published by Pantheon Books in 2007....
played a large role in designing the game's tomb dimension, which was based on the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
module Tomb of Horrors
Tomb of Horrors
Tomb of Horrors is an adventure module written by Gary Gygax for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was originally written for and used at the 1975 Origins 1 convention...
. The team tried to balance the different types of characters players could create, such as by making the game's skills more useful and lowering the strength requirement for carrying items. More puzzles and interactive elements were added to the game than had appeared in its predecessor, and the overall size of the game world was increased to "3 or 4 times" that of Ultima Underworld, according to Church. However, he later stated his belief that the team lost their focus and overreached in creating the game's world, and was not able to polish it as thoroughly as they had hoped.
Like its predecessor, Ultima Underworld II was produced by Warren Spector
Warren Spector
Warren Spector is a role-playing game designer and a video game designer. He is known for having worked to merge elements of role-playing games and first-person shooters. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, fantasy writer Caroline L. Spector...
, who was Looking Glass' main link to publisher Origin Systems
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
. Church later praised Spector's advice during the game's development, noting that he was able to help him refocus creatively during their weekly phone conversations and monthly meetings. During development, the team was unable to create enough art for the game. According to Church, Spector "was able to co-opt several Origin artists" to help the team, which he believed was critical to the game being released on schedule. Church later said that most of the game's artists were independent contractor
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when...
s, which resulted in him "calling nine different area codes every couple days to check up on things". He noted the difficulty of describing the game's enemy designs by phone. The game's music was composed by Dan Schmidt and the recently hired Seamus Blackley
Seamus Blackley
Seamus Blackley is a former agent with Creative Artists Agency representing video game creators.After entering Tufts University to study jazz piano, Blackley switched to study physics and graduated Summa cum Honore en Tesis. As a sophomore, he published his first paper in the Journal of Magnetic...
. The two wrote the game's music in Blackley's apartment over the course of a week. They attempted to give each world a unique sound, while also hiding variations of the game's main theme in the themes of each world. The music system from the original Ultima Underworld was retained with only minor alterations, but the team included digitized sound effects
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
, whereas the previous game's audio was synthesized.
Ultima Underworld II was developed in nine months. It was originally slated for a February 1993 release, but the date was later moved up to December 1992. The game underwent "two-and-a-half months" of playtesting by Origin and Looking Glass employees, and by remote testing firms. According to Church, the testing phase took more time than expected due to complaints from playtesters and the presence of numerous bugs. Church went to Origin Systems' headquarters in Texas during the final stages of development. The team "tried desperately to make Christmas", and the game was completed around December 18, with Church creating the final build on his laptop in Spector's office. However, according to Spector, the game could have shipped on time, but was held back for further playtesting. Church stated that "there was one bug we couldn’t reproduce, and everyone really wanted to go home for Christmas. We ended up taking a few days off, checking it a few more days and using that version anyway." The delay resulted in the game missing the holiday season. It was shipped in January 1993.
Technology
Ultima Underworld II was built with an improved version of the game engineGame engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
used for its predecessor. According to Church:
- "Underworld II is 2.2 Mb of C, 2MB of Assembler, and about 800K of conversation code (an internal language which we wrote a compiler for, as well, of course, as an interpreter for running them in the game). The support code for various tools (the conversation compiler, the packers and archivers, picture and animation conversions, and so forth) is about another 1MB of C. Underworld I is similar, though probably only about 70% as big. Second project syndrome definitely hit UW2."
The team sought to improve the game's graphics over those of Ultima Underworld. The gameplay window is 30% larger than in the original game. Paul Neurath noted that the team "never got [the texture mapping] to look quite as good as we had hoped" in Ultima Underworld; new texture mappers were written for Ultima Underworld II, and Neurath believed that the team finally realized their original vision. According to Church, character sprites are higher resolution, and "250% bigger (areawise)", than those of the original game; they feature "1.5 times as many animation frames". The game features more 3D objects than Ultima Underworld. The game was built on an enhanced version of the Ultima Underworld game engine. A larger color palette
Palette (computing)
In computer graphics, a palette is either a given, finite set of colors for the management of digital images , or a small on-screen graphical element for choosing from a limited set of choices, not necessarily colors .Depending on the context In computer graphics, a palette is either a given,...
was added.
Reception and legacy
According to Paul Neurath, Ultima Underworld II and its predecessor together sold half a million units. Paul Presley of PC ReviewPC Leisure
PC Leisure was the United Kingdom's first magazine dedicated exclusively to IBM PC compatible entertainment and was published by EMAP between spring 1990 and September 1991. A total of nine issues were published in its lifetime, the first four being quarterly with the remaining five bimonthly...
called the game "huge", and praised its atmosphere. He also lauded the game's increase in variety and graphical detail over its predecessor. However, he hoped that the next game in the series would support adventuring parties
Party (role playing games)
A party is a group of characters adventuring together in a role-playing game. In tabletop role-playing, a party is composed of a group of players, occasionally with the addition of non-player character allies controlled by those players or by the gamemaster. In computer games, the relationship...
, and wrote that, unlike its predecessor, the game does not feature "anything that takes it to a higher plateau to wait for the others to catch up". However, he summarized the game as "magnificent", and wrote, "If someone were to hand me £40 and say buy either Underworld I or II, I'd take the sequel any time." David McCandless of PC Zone
PC Zone
PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published...
wrote, "Nothing can completely prepare you for the freedom the game gives you ... It's about as close to Virtual Reality as you are ever likely to get from your mouse driver." He praised the game's "atmosphere"-creating sound, and called its graphics "stunning"; he stated that, with a high-end computer, "dungeons can move like a film". However, he noted that the game's predecessor created a tighter and more involving atmosphere, and that Ultima Underworld IIs length meant that "there's a lot of empty space between 'excitement points'." He awarded it a score of 94 out of 100, and summarized that "there really is nothing you can do with this game except sit there, dribble slightly, and say 'blimey' every eight to ten minutes."
The Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
s William Burrill wrote, "Ultima Underworld II is without rival the best fantasy [...] role-playing game in this (or any parallel) world." He praised its automap, and noted that "those who played ... Ultima Underworld will appreciate the improved graphics". However, he believed that the control system "takes a little practice to get used to", and stated, "This is not a game you can master quickly or play in a night. It has its frustrations and its flaws, despite its brilliance of design". He finished by stating that "those who are patient will be richly rewarded with a game like no other." Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
s Doug Sencat enjoyed the game's graphics, and praised the plot, conversations and 3D world for giving a sense of "being there". However, he noted that the game's movement was "a pain", and found that learning to navigate the environment was initially "frustrating". He was unfavorable toward the linearity of the game's plot and conversations, and toward the NPCs' inability to take actions independent of the player. He described the game as "a long and grueling quest", and stated, "Many times, [it] seems more frustrating than enjoyable". Although he summarized it as "a relatively high-quality game", he finished, "By the time I finally saw daylight again, emerging from the Labyrinth, I must admit that it wasn't exultation I felt, but sheer relief."
In a 2004 retrospective review, PC Gamer UKs John Walker stated that Ultima Underworld II "was new and exciting in half a dozen areas at once, not just one. Somehow, no game has quite achieved that since". The magazine has included it in multiple lists of the 100 best PC games ever released, placing it variously at 54th in 2001, 39th in 2007, and 90th in 2010. One writer for the magazine stated, "Like Ultima Underworld but again and better. No, that won't do. Ultima Underworld [II] needs to be hailed from the roof-tops for being one of the best dungeon-based adventure RPGs of all illustrious gaming history." Another wrote, "Underworld didn't just give us the first 3D game world. It gave us the freedom of action we expect from modern first-person RPGs, too. ... No game since has raised the bar half as high." In 2010, a writer for the magazine called it "so antiquated that it’s now very hard to play", but noted that "the sheer verisimilitude of UWII’s little world was like nothing we’d ever seen before, and still impresses."
External links
- Bootstrike's Ultima Underworld II Files Collection, a UW2 file resource center
- Ultima Underworld II on the Ultima Wiki