Platform: PC (MS-DOS)
Release Year: 1992
Stephen's Rank: 9/10
Ultima Underworld is a 3D action role playing game developed by Origin Systems. For its time it took technology to the limit and paved the way for a whole new era of video games.
Basic Plot
As with all the other Ultima games the character plays the role of the Avatar, a hero who travels to the world of Britannia to save it from various disastrous circumstances. This time, however, the Avatar is transported to the scene of a crime of which he is wrongly accused. For his supposed crime he is locked inside the the Stygian Abyss - a dungeon situated on the Isle of the Avatar, which no man or woman has ever escaped.
Throughout the game your goal is to escape the dungeon, and find out what happened to the Baron's daughter (her kidnap was the crime you were wrongfully convicted of).
Gameplay
The game ran in a basic 3D engine which allowed for basic physics and freedom of movement. The dungeon was divided into 8 levels, each with its own story to tell and areas to explore. There were multiple points of access between levels which you opened up as you progressed through the game. There were different views you could open - an inventory, and a map (which you could make markings on and became incredibly important).
Jumping across pillars.
The experience and magic systems were quite different from traditional Ultima games.
Experience was gained by defeating enemies. Each level you gained provided you with experience points to spend. The method of spending these was to find a shrine, and chant a mantra at the shrine to convert that experience into proficiency in a certain skill. For example: changing "amo" at a shrine increased your swordsmanship skill. The trick was that these mantras were not provided to you at the start of the game. Instead you had to find them scrawled on notes throughout the dungeon. The game manual does provide you with three basic mantras which give you a random amount of either fighting, utility, or magic skills.
The magic system was also quite different. Whereas the traditional Ultima games involved having a spellbook, and then reagents to expend each time you case a spell, in Underworld you had a bag of runes. There were no reagents. You collected various runes, and each one had a particular meaning/association. For example "lor" was the rune for light. Casting spells involved combining runes into runewords. These spell combinations were provided in the game manual but additional secret spells were hidden throughout the game. Additionally, you had to find the right runes in order to cast a spell - some of them were very rare.
There was also a mechanic which allowed you to die but still continue. Early in the game you find a plant called the Silver Sapling. By taking the sapling and planting the seed somewhere, if you died you would appear again wherever you last planted the sapling. This was pretty important as the game became incredibly difficult in the latter stages.
The Positives
As with other Ultima games the sense of history really added to the depth of the games story. The Stygian Abyss was a place falling apart - but had once been a place of hope and new beginnings. A story unravels about an inspirational knight who forged a multi-race society in the dungeon. There was a real sense of a place that was once great which had fallen in the game.
The detail of any Ultima game is what makes it unique and Underworld was no exception. Each level had its own groups of people - whether it be the warring Gray and Green Goblins; the Mountainmen; the Green, Gray, and Red Lizardman; the Trolls; the Knights of the Crux; the Seers of the Moonstone; or even the Outcasts - each group had their own distinct society which was easy to become immersed in.
Fighting a rogue Green Goblin.
Funnily enough the music was a real positive. It isn't the kind of music I hum in my head (as is the case with Ultima VII) but it did its job well, which was to provide the ambient feeling required in a dark and dangerous place.
The Negatives
I have tried playing Ultima Underworld II (which uses the same engine) in more recent years (as I never played it when it was recent) and after becoming used to modern 3D engines it is practically unplayable. The area of the screen where the action actually plays out is tiny. Likewise the physics can be frustrating.
Whether or not this is actually a negative or not, Ultima Underworld has a long and open ended plot. It can be easy to get lost without looking up a walkthrough online. Likewise some of the puzzles are particularly frustrating. If you like a challenge and like to keep a genuine journal of your activities, this game is for you.
Memorable Moments
I've played the game through only once, but had some half attempts along the way. On at least one run I killed all of the Mountainmen and took all their treasure for myself...
Spells could either be cast using your runes (which took mana and required the correct runes) or you could also find spells on scrolls which were a "one time use" item which didn't cost any mana to cast. There was, however, an exploit in the game which allowed you to make a scroll into an unlimited use item. I would play the game until I'd found two fireball scrolls. Then, I'd cast fireball at the other scroll and turn it into "debris". However this was no ordinary "debris", in fact I think if you put your cursor over it the name is "debris of fireball". From that point on you have an inifinte use fireball which you can then use to cast on other spell scrolls to build up a collection of magical debris. Very fun, and makes the game a lot easier.
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