Rating: 
Summary: A Diamond That Needs To Be Dusted Off A Little
Review: This review for the final release version of Ultima IX would have been 5 stars had it not been for the buggy state the game was released in. Some examples are a few broken quests, wolves strangley floating backwards in midair during combat, some game crashes. This is a lesson to be learned by the game companies that try to push software out just to make the seasonal buying sprees. Fortunately, a patch (and future subsequent patches) has already been released to fix some of the problems. Technical support has been quick to acknowledge and correct bug reports from the game players.Be forewarned that a full install of Ultima IX will take up approx. 900 Megs of hard drive space and is the preferred install method out of 3 choices. Also, there have been some issues with Direct3D that are being ironed out but 3DFX users should have no problems. Finally, if you don't have a 350mhz or above computer with a minimum of 128M of RAM, this game will crawl. Hopefully, future patches will speed up performance. With all bug issues aside, Ultima IX concludes the epic RPG series with spectacular graphics and, most importantly, an immersive story and excellent gameplay. I have enjoyed playing the game for the last few days and can't pry myself from it. Once some of these issues are fixed, it will definitely become a classic.
Rating:
Summary: A good game but it requires a MONSTER machine to run...
Review: First, the when the guys in Origin sit down to write a game, I am pretty sure that it is gonna be a hit. Now, the game is really good, the graphics are stunning if you run the game in enhanced mode, however, before you consider buys this game I recommend that you consider your PC (coz it aint fun to pay $$ and have a choppy game play). What the guys from Origin are saying is b.s., the PC you need needs to be much more powerful than the recommended requirements. For optimal performance: CPU: 600+ Mhz Memory: 256Mb 3D Accelerator with at least 32Mbs of memory. 1.6 GB of Hard Drive (you dont wanna switch disks, right). If your PC can meet that, I strongly recommend this game (my PC doesnt)...
Rating: 
Summary: After 11 years of playing Ultimas, I've fallen in love again
Review: I built a computer this fall knowing that U9 was coming out, got all the recommended things, and I am HAPPY I did. I have had no trouble with crashing, only a little lag at the highest settings. I find myself playing U9 like I used to play games as a kid--for hours on end without even realizing time has gone by. Just looking around is a treat; being able to play with everything in sight has me waiting to see what I can do next. This is the cure for all those lame pseudo-RPGs since the last serious Ultima--move over, non-tactical combat and set-in-stone storylines, Lord British is finally back!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest game ever made!
Review: This game is breathtaking, the graphics and technology behind it is amazing. I get totally lost in another world when i play this game. Only problem with the game, which i only see as a temporary problem, is that the game requires the fastest and most equipped computer money can buy and most people wont be able to play this game. But even if you have to struggle through low framerates and crashes on todays computers, its worth it because the game itself is a work of art, and i can see myself playing this game again a year from now with even better performance with a better computer.
Rating:
Summary: Good game, but it's a pig
Review: The playability of this game is good, although I would love to be able to turn using arrow keys. The graphics are beautiful and the story, so far, keeps on moving without dragging. The real downside to the game is that you need a screaming machine in order to have smooth movement.
Rating:
Summary: Ultima Ascension
Review: This game is breathtaking...graphics are beautiful, sound is as realistic as it gets, storyline just as good as the other Ultimas. This game would get 5 stars from me, however I had to buy a 3D accelerator and Sound Blaster Live sound card to get the game running without crashing (which is what I probably should have anyway) and the grand total of hardware additions alone set me back more then a couple of hundred spots...
Rating:
Summary: An incredible game! (even with all the bugs)
Review: Being a fan of the Ultima series, (especially the Ultima Underworld games) I had to buy Ultima IX. I was a little disappointed when I received an "illegal operation" error during the installation program, but after installing the most recent patch, I was able to set up my video card and begin playing. I was satisfied with the performance on my computer (Pentium III 500Mhz, 192MB RAM, Diamond Stealth III S540 AGP.) Running at 800x600x32 with the game's MIP mapping option set to high, the frame rate was fairly smooth, slowing only occurred in complex areas such as cities. I was simply amazed at the quality of the game world. Days and nights pass gradually with colorful sunsets and sunrises. The weather varies from sunny to cloudy to rainy. There are mountains, swamps, beaches, hidden caves and shipwrecks to explore. The non-linear gameplay gives you full freedom to explore wherever you want, while at the same time providing a solid plot. Even if you lose your way, you will still enjoy finding secrets and exploring the world. A few tips for anyone who buys Ultima IX: 1. Install the most recent patch before you even start playing! This fixes most of the quest-stopping bugs. (I learned the hard way) 2. Save your game frequently! I have had problems with the game suddenly (and without warning) dumping me back to the windows desktop. This can be very frustrating if you haven't saved for an hour or two. (I also learned this one the hard way) 3. Keep multiple save files. I would suggest creating a new save file each time you complete a quest before moving on to the next one. There are a couple of bugs that might force you to restart the game from the beginning. I think the patch fixes these, but keeping multiple save files is always a good idea in complex games like Ultima IX. 4. If you only have 64MB of RAM, upgrade to at least 128MB. It will improve the performance significantly. In summary, I would recommend Ultima IX - Ascension to any fan of the the Ultima series or anyone who enjoys RPG/Adventure games. Ultima IX contains some references to the previous Ultima games, but nothing that will stop you from enjoying the game if you haven't played them. Without all the bugs, Ultima IX would deserve a solid 5 stars, but even with them, it is a brilliantly designed game and an excellent ending to the Ultima series.
Rating: 
Summary: What should have been a great game
Review: I bought this with the hopes of a fun, addictive and diverse roleplaying game. Unfortunatly that didn't exactly turn out to be the case. The only way I see fit to best describe this game is by listing the pros and cons. PROS:
1. AMAZING graphics, makes you really feel like your in an actual world.
2. NPC's have sets of speech that actual actors speak.
3. Easy to play
4. Fully Useable Terrain, climb mountains, swim, get lost in the forest.
5. Day and Night Cycles and Rainstorms CONS: 1. Huge Requirements, This required(s) a beastly system to play on otherwise it's really choppy or in some cases doesn't even work.
2. BUGGY, There is tons of bugs that managed to make it on here that can make you very frusterated while playing.
3. The main quest is almost always boring! Even worse most of the side quests pertain directly to the main quest. This makes almost everything seemed forced. When your doing something, your doing it because according to the quest your on you have to. 4. Combat is also very boring, Archer,Staff fighter, Swordsman, its all the same (just run up to what your fighting and click away BORING)
5. There is no "working up skills" The only advances your character gets are from completing part of the quest. ONCE AGAIN VERY FORCED PLAYSTYLE.
6. Sure the magic spells are neat, but most of them are useless. (I easily got through the whole game using minor heal and fireball)
7. The game is often to challenging to be fun, I cant count how many times I absolutly HAD to refer to a walkthrough because I was stuck. Most of the time the solution to being stuck was something i truely would have never found without looking at the guide.
8. Dungeons are almost all based on puzzles, Sure the puzzles were cool but with the exception of a few rats you might have to kill here and there the puzzles are all you do! BORING
9. Your Virture you get in the beggining of the game had nothing to do with anything! It may say you start on the path of a druid, but all that actually means is you will start with different equipment than that of a shepard. (I was a tinker, {did hat i start with have anything to do with a tinker NO})
10. I thought the ending was terrible, I played the game for about 80 playing hours for this!
11.. I Save the worst for last. ITS QUITE EASY TO SCREW THE GAME OVER. You have to do the quest exactly as your told or you can screw up the game and have to reload (this should never happen in a game.) In worst cases you may be following the quest and do something wrong withen it which causes the game to screw up. I vividly remember having to reload way back in time because i did the Sacrifice quest before the Justice quest, even though the option to do the Sacrifice quest was given to me, The game apparently wanted me to do the Jusstice quest first. If you want a good roleplaying game I really wouldn't recommend this. This game was hardly diverse, boring and virtually everything you did in it was forced.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as I thought it would be
Review: I kept hearing about all the bugs in this game, so I was a bit reluctant to get this game, but I'm glad I did. I had been first exposed to Ultima way back in 1985, with Ultima III: Exodus for the Atari 800XL. That was the Ultima game that premiered music, a multi-player party system, and a separate battle screen. The graphics, by today's standards, are extremely primitive, but I still enjoy that one very much (even if now I have the PC version included on the Ultima Collection CD-ROM). I then got Ultima IV for the same Atari, but then no future Ultimas were made for the Atari 8-bit, and then I had to do some catch-up work when I bought the Ultima Collection CD-ROM (it included all the Ultimas from I to VIII, although Ultima I was the 1986 remake, not the 1980 original). Since 1989 I imagined a fully 3-D Ultima, not just 3-D in the dungeons (like you do I through V), but the entire land and with Ultima IX, they delivered, but of course, this was ten years after I imagined such a game. After all, many adventure games in the 1980s that were 3-D didn't go beyond the dungeon-type graphics of say, Wizardry, the Bard's Tale, Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (which had the best dungeon graphics of any Ultima up to that point), or Alternate Reality: The City.
As for the bugs, it didn't seem to be so bad with the system I use. I still had to download a patch, one reason was you couldn't retrieve the key from Raxos in Cove to release the prisoner named Nico, but after the patch, you could. And the other reason was when you cleansed the shrine of Justice and it asked you what attribute you wanted to advance in, you couldn't see the selection. Again the patch fixed that one. I never had any problems with the game freezing, although it does get slow in the more graphics intense areas like the towns of Britain or Moonglow, but the game runs smoothly while you're in the dungeons or in the countryside. There were occasions the game booted me off to the Windows desktop for no apparent reason.
This is without a doubt the most realistic Ultima yet, you get the benefit of actual speech (unlike say, Ultima VII: The Black Gate, where you only occasionally hear the Guardian say something like, "Now, that is the proper direction to travel, Avatar"), and one-on-one combat. Of course one does miss the multi-party system found on all the Ultimas from III to VII: Serpent's Isle.
I hadn't been to keen on the music to this game, so I simply have the music off. A lot of it is really cheesy or overly repetitive. Although the dialog to many of the characters you encounter can be a bit annoying, there are a few worth hearing, because they're so funny. Like this one guy in Yew who keeps stuttering and accusing you of being a pumpkin thief, or the troll who guards the bridge to Cove, when you ask him how much is ten gold, he has a hard time counting and starts hyperventlating and even crying.
Anyway, the virtues in Britannia have been corrupted, many thanks to the Guardian erecting these giant columns. You're supposed to get the glyphs and sigils pertaining to each virtue and cleanse each shrine, and continue on. Many towns you visit for the first time, you notice many of its inhabitants have a bad attitude, are dishonest, not caring about anyone but themselves, etc. but it's pretty easy to understand why in this game. The one thing that often bothers me are all these puzzles you have to solve, especially in dungeons, but at least they're nowhere as frustrating as say, the MYST games can often be. Usually these puzzles simply open up new passages for you to continue on. Near the end of the game, you get the chance to get rid of the Guardian, but warning: don't try to fight the Guardian by sword, because the blows will reflect back on you (although you have to do this the first time you meet the Guardian, which is about halfway during the quest, just to let you know).
Another good thing about Ultima IX is you don't have to bind every magic scroll to your spellbook, many of the spells aren't essential to your quest, but always make sure you do have some heal, cure, and even fireball spells. The one frustrating thing about Ultima IX is binding spells, because it's often very tedious, and the reagents will roll off the scroll too frequently. I also like the fact there's a journal featured in the game, so all important info is saved in to the journal which you can look for reference, saving you the hassle of lots of paperwork to look for that bit of information (like you have to for previous Ultimas).
I am lucky to get the complete package, with cloth map, spell book, another book telling you about the towns, castles, dungeons, bestiary, etc., and eight tarot cards, each representing a specific sacred Virtue (Honesty, Compassion, Valor, etc.). Luckily even if you don't have these things, the spellbook (on the game itself, not the actual book) tells you the reagants required to bind the spell and the incantation required.
It really isn't that bad, and it took me just one month to win the game. Certainly some of those bugs are a bit annoying (platforms that don't move correctly, and even with the patch, the ferry that floats above Moonglow is still difficult to use), and if Origin Systems put more time getting rid of the bugs before releasing the game (even if it meant missing the Christmas 1999 rush), than this game would be even better. Still, it gives a four star rating, because I do enjoy the game.
Rating: 
Summary: An open letter to 1Software
Review: okay, so i've read the reviews here 2 years after i've purchased this game--just to see what people think. i probably have the slowest computer of the this lot and have never had a problem with this game. i have a 466mhz celeron and no graphics card (bought the computer in 1999)and the game runs perfect for me. it's not choppy, it's never crashed, and no bugs. maybe i've just been lucky. as far as the game being linear, i rather enjoy it. one reviewer said that he did not go through the cave to get to yew, well, neither did i and i never had a problem with the game. yes, you do have to do things in a certain order, but that really never bothered me. i guess i'm not such a hard core RPG person. i recommend this game, even now, in 2003. it's a lot of fun. if you're just starting out getting involved with RPG, start with this game--that's what i did.
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