Rating: 
Summary: Truly Addictive World and Community
Review: I have been waiting for Ultima X: Odyssey (UXO), the next-in-line Ultima MMORPG and then got sick of waiting so I grabbed Ultima Online: Age of Shadows (UO) and have never looked back because, although it doesn't have the Latest and Greatest graphics engine and doesn't look like the 3rd Person shooter where you're shadowing your character; in fact, its pretty retro and looks a lot like the old single player Ultima games -- it uses 2D God Mode. So it seems like it would be challenging to get lost and swept away in the game. Au contraire, mon frere! I am sucked in and even when UXO comes out, I am sure I am going to stay subscribed to UO. In fact, if you're a member of UO, you can get a discount on UXO, so bonus for me!
Rating:
Summary: Good? Bad? Here is the real deal
Review: Ultima Online is a unique game. I have played many Online games, including DAOC, Everquest, Ragnarok Online, Diablo 1&2, Star Wars Galaxies, and many more. So I think it is fair to say Im experienced with online gaming. In Ultima you can do so many thing, there are dozens of skills, and an endless ammount of playing styles. You can be a hunter, a fighter, a merchant, a thief, a bard, a smith, a carpenter, a tailor, an animal tamer. there is SO much you can do in UO.The thing that really sets it apart from the rest of the games out there, is that it has the best social system of any game. You can join a guild, you can join an army, or you can join a mall (a large player owned house of merchants). I have been playing UO for almost 3 years now and I have made great life long friends because of it. Most of the other online games out there, you fight a rabbit-level up, then you go and fight stronger rabbits- level up, then you go fight super rabbits-level up, you dont have much freedom. We know UO is a unique game, now lets get down to the ratings.Combat 3/5 ( Its fun at first but after a while the automantic combat gets kinda lame) Sound 2/5 ( the town music is ok, but it gets so anoying after a month or two, you will end up muting it) Graphics 2D 3/5 ( Its nothing to jump over, but for 2d graphics it is clean and smooth) Graphics 3D 2/5 ( the 3D graphics have been dubbed 2 and a half D, your char, and monsters are sort of 3D but the background is 100% 2D so its not like you can zoom around) Gameplay 5/5 ( It has the best gameplay I have ever seen, your first few months will be building your char(s), next 3-4 months will be collecting items, maybe buying or building a house, and finishing your char(s) skills, after that its mainly hanging out with the friends you have made, running vendors, running guilds, fighting other players, doing whatever tickles your fancy. Like I said I have been playing this game for near 3 years, If you can get past the outdated graphics, and are a social type of person you will Love this game). HOWEVER, If you only like to Pvp(player vs player) and need good graphics you will Barf when playing this game, it is all about your style. Down to AOS its self, it gives you a whole new land, about 50% the size of the normal land, a large new dungeon, a few new monsters, some new weapons&armor graphics, and of course the 2 new classes, Palidan and Necromancer, Chivalry(palidan) is one of the best skills in the game now, it near doubles any combat type char's fighting potential, Necomancy isnt all that great of a skill but its great for roleplaying. so if your already a big fan of UO or a begininer it is worth investing into AOS
Rating: 
Summary: Complete, utter, overrated GARBAGE
Review: I don't get it. I really don't. I expected an intricate, fun, community experience with this game. I was excited throughout the registration process, looking at the box and reading about the handfuls of trades to take up and all of the other wonderful features of the Ultima Online experience. I was pleased to hear about the 30 day free trial. I made it to day 5.This game is boring. The trades system is a joke, seeing as how the apparent goal of UO, to most of its gamers, is to make money. Well the truth is only one or two trades really make you any money in this game. PvP combat is restricted to specific areas. I'm sorry, but PvP is a fact of life with online RPG's. Player killers were always all the more incentive to be careful outside city limits, and to hone your combat skills. There is very little to even do in the game. All I ever see is players huddling around the bank, trading items and selling their properties. Maybe I just don't understand this style of game, but this was the biggest waste of money I have ever spent, and I only spent 10 dollars on it. Really, I want my 10 dollars back.
Rating: 
Summary: UO:R.. not for the weak minded
Review: For a newcomer to the world of Ultima, this game would seem pretty boring and painstakingly hard to build up a character. But as you progress through the game, friendships are built and lessons are learned. You realize that not everyone is to be trusted and you build your character based on that sort of dependancy. First off, there are many different towns, and 2 different facets to top it off. Personally, i'm a fan of felucca - a pvp (player vs player) oriented facet. It was the original facet of UO until more newcomers to the game began to leave the game because of tough gameplay caused by other RPers which led to the creation of Trammel - a pvm (player vs monster) world. Second of all, the gameplay gets very monotonous. There is a limit of what's fun and what's exciting after you've seen it all.. which actually does take quite some time unless you know how to go about building a strong character quickly. That's what leads to the bad thing. You pay 10 dollars a month to have good clean fun.. but in fact, there are so many others out there that use third party programs and stuff like that to ruin your fun. If you can get around that then i'd say it'd be alright to get this game. Of course, there is also the "reality" part of this game. You can get married, buy quite a few different types of housing, and a few ships. You can even make characters that can actually build things and sell them. It's actually kinda surprising how much a person would pay for some things. Then there's the battle system. There are about 64 spells for the mages but the funny thing is that you would probably only use about half of them most of the time. Especially when it comes to PvP. The fun thing about spellcasting in PvP though is trying to figure out strategies and defense tactics against other mage combinations. If you're gonna get UO i strongly reccommend learning the magics of the game. As for the warriors, there are 3 main melee skills to master. Fencing, Swordsmanship, and Macing. Basically all you do is build up your skills to GrandMaster (the highest level of any skill you can go), go into attack mode, and double click on anything you want to attack.. Not much excitement there right? Overall it's a great game. If you plan to fully enjoy this game i hope you have a connection of Cable or higher.. you're gonna be really frustrated if you try to play with a dialup connection as this game really puts a strain on your connection. Also, if you're the kind of person that will get bored from repetitive gameplay and hate rather harsh playing conditions, i suggest you go buy something else. There are a lot of things that i haven't covered because it's all just stuff you're gonna have to find out for yourself. I guess the only other downside is that you'd be paying 10 bux a month for your account. So really think before making a decision.
Rating:
Summary: If there was an option for 0 stars I would of gave it
Review: EA took a once great game and added 1000's of bugs and hacks. Its the worse thing to happend to an online game.
Rating:
Summary: Relax!
Review: I am a semi-devoted 2 year UO vet, and I am here to tell you that every expansion pack goes through the same "dead" period at the beginning. I purchased UO: Third Dawn when it first came out, installed it, and found it to be horribly laggy and bugged. About a month later, I decided to try it again on my new computer, and it works perfectly. The thing you have to understand is that for the first month or two, it has to "get settled in". After that very buggy stage, the game will work superbly. Therefore, I recommend that you wait about a month, until prices go down, then purchase this game. This will allow you to miss this horrific stage of its lifespan, and come in when it is reaching its peak. I know a lot of you are angry with the housing issue, but you need to get over it. I'm sure that, sooner or later, they will find a way to make a TON more space for housing. Perhaps an alternate universe? To review the gameplay, the adding of two new professions (the necromancer and the paladin) is excellent. I am glad to have magic without having to carry around those regs. And the new item properties are very nice. In the end, you can buy now, and suffer through the buggy part (which isn't too bad), or wait a month and miss the first-settler advantages (but not have to go through the 'new expansion pack' start). Either way, this is a great game.
Rating:
Summary: Good? Bad? Here is the real deal
Review: Ultima Online is a unique game. I have played many Online games, including DAOC, Everquest, Ragnarok Online, Diablo 1&2, Star Wars Galaxies, and many more. So I think it is fair to say Im experienced with online gaming. In Ultima you can do so many thing, there are dozens of skills, and an endless ammount of playing styles. You can be a hunter, a fighter, a merchant, a thief, a bard, a smith, a carpenter, a tailor, an animal tamer. there is SO much you can do in UO.The thing that really sets it apart from the rest of the games out there, is that it has the best social system of any game. You can join a guild, you can join an army, or you can join a mall (a large player owned house of merchants). I have been playing UO for almost 3 years now and I have made great life long friends because of it. Most of the other online games out there, you fight a rabbit-level up, then you go and fight stronger rabbits- level up, then you go fight super rabbits-level up, you dont have much freedom. We know UO is a unique game, now lets get down to the ratings. Combat 3/5 ( Its fun at first but after a while the automantic combat gets kinda lame) Sound 2/5 ( the town music is ok, but it gets so anoying after a month or two, you will end up muting it) Graphics 2D 3/5 ( Its nothing to jump over, but for 2d graphics it is clean and smooth) Graphics 3D 2/5 ( the 3D graphics have been dubbed 2 and a half D, your char, and monsters are sort of 3D but the background is 100% 2D so its not like you can zoom around) Gameplay 5/5 ( It has the best gameplay I have ever seen, your first few months will be building your char(s), next 3-4 months will be collecting items, maybe buying or building a house, and finishing your char(s) skills, after that its mainly hanging out with the friends you have made, running vendors, running guilds, fighting other players, doing whatever tickles your fancy. Like I said I have been playing this game for near 3 years, If you can get past the outdated graphics, and are a social type of person you will Love this game). HOWEVER, If you only like to Pvp(player vs player) and need good graphics you will Barf when playing this game, it is all about your style. Down to AOS its self, it gives you a whole new land, about 50% the size of the normal land, a large new dungeon, a few new monsters, some new weapons&armor graphics, and of course the 2 new classes, Palidan and Necromancer, Chivalry(palidan) is one of the best skills in the game now, it near doubles any combat type char's fighting potential, Necomancy isnt all that great of a skill but its great for roleplaying. so if your already a big fan of UO or a begininer it is worth investing into AOS
Rating:
Summary: So you'd like to play UO?
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Addictive, Immersive, Absorbing MMORPG
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Playing UO until Ultima X: Odyssey comes out
Review: I have been awaiting Ultima X: Odyssey for a few months now and so when I found out that EA is offering a deal for UO players who want to play UO, I thought I would give UO a try and guess what? I LOVE IT. The best thing is that UXO is going to take a pretty amazing PC, but when I installed the 2D installation of UO onto my subnotebook -- I can play this super cool "Old Skool" UO and since I don't have any history on it, I can say that I am pretty psyched. But I am still waiting for UXO. The lyric is true, though: "And if you can't be with the one you love / Love the one you're with" So, now I am addicted to it and really can't get enough it the game and even play it during my breaks at work since I am sill that way. And its really only a little over $12/month, so its cool with me. And its been around so long that I have neven gotten into a corner I couldn't get out of.
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