Computer Graphics Memory Disk Space O.S.
Game Minimum: 486-33 VGA 4 MB 32 MB MS-DOS 5.0
Speech Pack: * --- -- 5 MB --
* A Soundblaster, OR 100% compatible is required for the Speech Pack.
Reviewed on: 486-66, 16MB, Soundblaster 16, MS-DOS 6.0.
Reviewer recommends: 486-33, 8MB, Soundblaster 16
Control: Keyboard, Mouse required (100% compatible MS mouse v7.0
or higher, Logitech driver 6.0 or higher, or 100%
compatible driver)
Sound: All major sound cards
Notes: Boot disk highly recommended
Copy Protection: None - Backups recommended
So Avatar, you've defeated the Guardian in ULTIMA VII. You pushed your limits in SERPENT ISLE to keep the upper hand. Somehow you feel that it's not quite finished yet. Something remains incomplete...looking back into the void you see his hand. That huge red hand, reaching for you, stretching ever closer to you. You think, "this can't be happening...I thought I'd done away with him. This should have been the end!"
You awaken in the Guardian's grasp, and he proclaims that you have given him trouble for far to long. His hand starts to turn, you can't hold on, and you find yourself plummeting towards open water. The Guardian's voice echos above you..."I banish thee to the World of Pagan...No one here knows of the Avatar."
The Adventure begins...
"I'm sure you have many questions Avatar. I will try and help guide your path to the correct answers. But beware! The journey ahead is full of danger! ...You ask of the Guardian? We were but teased by your previous victories over the Guardian, as you well know. And he has returned with a vengence! Seeking to regain control over Britannia and Earth, the Guardian has banished you to Pagan. How foolish of him to think that you, the Avatar, could not find your way back to Britannia. But first you must determine why the Guardian has left you here. Perhaps to try and tempt you with power. To beckon you down his path of evil...
What of your allies from previous encounters?...I am sorry, but they will not be joining you on this adventure. I assume that the Guardian has some special plans for you.
What is this place called Pagan?...It is a world of beauty, but scarred by evil pacts. It is a world that has long been conquered and divided by the Guardian. Ruled by the 4 Titans, Earth, Sea, Air, and Fire. You must discover the secret behind each of the Titans power, and determine if a fifth entity exsists. Perhaps it's the Guardian himself.
Will you return to Britannia, or confront the Guardian here on Pagan? Hurry Avatar...Britannia is already under attack, and the world of Pagan awaits!"
Upon reading the box, I noticed it stated the minimum disk space required was 25 megs. Well, that's a little underestimated. My total count during the installation was 31 megs, and after it completed it settled down to 28 megs.
ULTIMA VIII - SPEECH PACK adds another 5 megs into the equation. Saved games can account for an additional 10 megs.
U8P contains 8 3.5 inch floppys, and the Speech Pack contains 3.
** NOTE: The SPEECH PACK states a 386-33 is the minimum requirement. Don't get confused, the mimimum processor is a 486-33. **The kit also contains a cloth map, and a pentagram coin.
The map is a crude layout of the area of PAGAN you will be exploring. So crude in fact, that it was virtually useless to me. But none the less, it is a beautiful piece of work. There is no automapping feature, and your best directions will come in the form of conversations with others. The pentagram coin is a "gimme" when purchasing the game.
If you are a newcomer to epic RPG's then the Installation Guide was made for you. After rolling through 8 floppys, the guide explains in laymens terms how to optimize your system for U8P to run. Thus my high recommendation for a boot disk.
The guide explains step by step how to create the boot disk, along with creating your own autoexec.bat and config.sys files, line by line.
A Playguide is included and covers all aspects of the main character. The "Avatar" is the main character and is the one you'll be controlling. U8P is primarily mouse driven. Your hands and eyes are controlled with the left mouse button, and your feet are controlled by the right. Unlike the earlier Ultima games, you are not resurrected if you die. I learned early to save often.
"The Chronical of Pagan. A treatise on the glorious history of this fore- most society" by Bentic, humble scholar and student. Sounds good, huh? It's an Adventurers guide to Pagan. I heartily recommend reading this "history book" prior to playing. It lays out your quest without giving it away. Well written and conveyed from Bentic's point of view. It's enjoyable to read and finishes within forty-five minutes.
Ahhh...the background music is subtle most of time. The tempo of the music changes with your surroundings. It's not overpowering enough to be a nuisance, yet it is a catchy tune. The sound effects are great! From the swish of your sword to the roars of the beasts. ORIGIN boasts 4 voice digital sound. I could actually hear footsteps, running water, and some beast howling all at the same moment.
I can say nothing but bravo! U8P has a perfect point and click interface while exploring your environment. Two left clicks on an object will "use" that item. One click will identify an object. One click and hold will "pick up" an item. Two clicks will bring the Avatar to arms. One click to advance on screen text. It's simple and effective. Every game should be this user friendly. It should take you all of 3 minutes to get the hang of it.
Get a sharp pencil and pad. You'll need them. With the details of your quest coming from conversations, you'd of thought that ORIGIN would have the game pause while talking. Not! Of course, with that fantastic point and click interface, you're only 3 swift clicks away from battle readiness. A lot of time is spent conversing with folks that have clues for your adventure. You're given anywhere from 2 to 4 "response" options to either question or answer with. The responses range from serious to antagonistic to humorous.
ULTIMA VIII SPEECH PACK is a wonderful addition to this great game. The speech is limited to the Titans, the Zealans, Khumash-Gor and the Guardian. So it's limited only in that aspect. The voices are crisp and clear. Why, they even offer up French and German accents. Playing the game late at night, I had chills run up my back several times by the voice of the Guardian booming out. It always seemed to me that it would happen when things were real quiet too!
ORIGIN did a good job providing a quick and simple interface to U8P. The Diary contains the intro, read diary (recalling saved games), write diary (saving games), the options, credits and quitting the game. My hat is off to ORIGIN. They had the forethought to deliver a whopping 12 save slots. These slots are complimented by a generous 4 line description field. The Options page is self explanitory. One thing I'd like to point out though. You can toggle on or off the "frame skipping" (skips every other frame, which I found un-noticeable)" and "speed limiting" (I haven't even figured out what it does! I couldn't see any change in U8P performance). ORIGIN does however, recommend turning them off on slower systems.
I won't be able to say enough about the graphics. The view is almost an orthogonal view as opposed to a three-quarter view. This new perspective helps pour the rich 256 colors onto the screen. The monsters...what a wonderful job ORIGIN has done. Every single monster I've encountered, (a ton!) has been rendered in full 3-D! These monsters can attack from 8 different directions, making it obvious that ORIGIN has a understanding of life-like 3-D animation.
Outstanding. (OK, by now you can tell that I love this game). The Avatar can carry a multitude of items for combat. Axes, swords, maces and so forth. He can equip himself in a range of armor. All this in the name of combat. The Avatar can attack from 8 sides, as well as defend those same 8 sides. He can kick, block, and strike. During an engagement, he can shimmy left or right. This guy can do it all!
This is the only mundane thing about U8P. It has the standard fare:
Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Armor Class, Hit Points, Mana and Weight.
I found it difficult to increase my strength. The documentation says to engage in more battles to increase it. I've hacked and slashed for days only to watch nothing happen. Although I did find other means to increase my characters strength.
Intelligence controls your Mana. Your max Mana is twice your intelligence. Got that? Now, in my terms...the intelligence goes up if I cast more spells. OK, more spells require more "spell ingredients". That requires more searching for those ingredients. These ingredients are found by random searching, and rarely by sticking directly to the quest at hand. My beef is, you are expected to read a lot of books. Like every one you encounter. I assumed as you "learned" what these books had to offer, your intelligence would go up. Not so, you gotta cast those spells!
(Please forgive me. I had hoped to leave a small clue or two on this game, but I wound up with a big dead giveaway).
I'm proud to say, that ORIGIN has topped the list with only... One bug!! But it's a doozie to me. Opening a saved game would instantly produce half a sentence from the Guardian, and it was usually garbled. All in all, one bug "aint bad!"
I am still deeply entrenched in this game. As well as you would be too! The graphics, the Avatars playability, the challenge. All combine to make a game that deserves to be at the top of everyone's list.
The seasoned or amature adventurer will love ULTIMA VIII - PAGAN.
This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by David Pratt for Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.