Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!eagle.wesleyan.edu!jtreworgy
From: jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu (James Treworgy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Ultima 6 impressions, adventuring on Amiga...
Message-ID: <1990Nov14.105041.35786@eagle.wesleyan.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 90 15:50:41 GMT
Organization: Wesleyan University Computing Center
Lines: 37

I recently had a chance to see Ultima VI (IBM version). A few comments: I think
the Amiga community should stop despairing in the long delay in producing
Ultima games and be thankful that we have original Amiga games which blow
Ultima away.

My immediate first impression: The Faery Tale Adventure. Remember when that
came out about 3 years ago? Ultima 6 borrowed a great deal from it. Except the
graphics aren't as good. (I can't, frankly, understand why IBM graphics don't
look good. Technically, VGA should be BETTER than Amiga 320x200 which most
games use. So why do IBM games always look so cheezy? They just don't use the
right colors. I think Amiga graphic designers just care more...) Anyway, the
game just doesn't look that interesting... in comparison to Ultima III or IV
(played on my '64), it looks like the world is smaller and has fewer surprises.
The person I talked to said he finished it in a week (admittedlty heavy game
play). I think it took me several weeks of very heavy game play to finish
III... and IV took somewhat less time, but still pretty significant.

Other things: you see each member of your party, not just the party, and each
can go around individually if so desired. Combat is on screen, not separate
combat mode (great improvement). It still uses "block world" though...
everything is on a grid, and everything relates to positions on the grid... a
step behind Faery Tale, definitely. Music is pretty cheesy.

Anyway, 3-year old FTA kicks Ultima 6 in terms of size of world, graphics,
playability, if not in plot continuity (I never really understood what
everything did in FTA, but that didn't detract). If Amiga Ultima 6 is not a
great deal better then the IBM version, I will be disappointed. 

So my original point: we have great adventure games, and I would rather see new
original adventures than ports from IBM adventures which are based on a 10 year
old Apple II game. Let's hear it for new innovations in adventuring, rather
than trying to patch up an old machine to make half-baked half-new adventures.
Let's hear it for FTA, Dungeon Master, the Kristal, many others, and many to
come!!
--
James A. Treworgy    -- No quote here for insurance reasons --
jtreworgy@eagle.wesleyan.edu         jtreworgy%eagle@WESLEYAN.BITNET