Ultima V - Origin RRP œ29.95
                      (RPG)

Ultima V has been out for a while on the ST but it's only recently
that I've seen it and been able to have a go at it.  Those of you
who know a lot about the early games won't need any introduction
to them, but, briefly, in each game you, an ordinary person, find
yourself transported to the magical land of Britannia, ruled by
Lord British, where you are called upon to fight evil and right
wrongs. In Ultima I (was it ever out on the ST?), you had to
defeat the evil wizard Mondain. In Ultima II, it was Minax,
Mondain's apprentice, now grown into an accomplished Enchantress,
who was causing problems to Britannia. By Ultima III, further evil
was abroad in the form of the offspring of Minax and Mondain,
known only by the name Exodus which was found written in blood on
a boat.

Ultima IV was set in a more peaceful Britannia where you had to
show your worth to become an Avatar, a being of great wisdom and
virtue. At the end of this game you returned, as always, to your
own land, waiting the call which you felt sure would come when
Britannia once again needed your services.

At last, one dark and cloudy night, you wake to see the symbol of
the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom on your bedroom wall, surrounded by
light. The light fades and an amulet falls onto your bed - the
sign from Britannia! Dressing and collecting your Ankh, the symbol
of your Avatarhood, you leave the house for the circle of stones
near your home. How many times have you stood here before, longing
for a gateway to appear into Britannia.... but as the amulet falls
from your hand and glows on the ground, you place the Ankh beside
it and a blue door opens in the air.  Stepping through, you meet
your old companion Shamino. As he starts to explain why you've
been summoned, three Shadowlords appear and attack. Shamino falls
wounded before they flee from the sight of your amulet so you
carry him to the hut of your other friend, Iolo, for healing.

There you learn the full story. A huge void connecting the
previously-sealed dungeons below Britannia has appeared. Lord
British led an expedition into the dungeons but only one survivor
returned - Lord British has vanished! In his absence Lord
Blackthorn has taken charge but seems to be under the spell of
the Shadowlords, making his reign one of tyranny, corrupting the
virtues round which life in Britannia revolves. Iolo, Shamino and
others have been declared outlaws. There's only one solution, to
find the fate of Lord British, and, if he still lives, bring him
back to rule Britannia again.

A long introduction to the game, I know, but the story is
illustrated with glowing graphics which make it compelling reading
when you start the game. Graphics also play a big part in the
creation of your character as a gypsy woman reads your fortune,
asking a series of questions relating to the virtues, the answers
to which will force you to choose between, say, honesty or
humility, compassion or justice.

Once in the game proper, the detail of your viewpoint varies
depending on whether you are inside a building or town or
wandering the land of Britannia. The usual cloth map is provided
in the packaging, showing the major land masses, islands, towns
and castles etc but the area covered is h-u-g-e, with around 30
major places to visit, not counting the dungeons. Some may be on
several levels so if you like mapping, you'll enjoy the challenge
of this game for that alone! Each location has several
inhabitants, some merchants, others who have useful information
which you can gain on a key word basis eg if one says "I have a
job for you" and you enter the word "job", more detail will be
given, providing other words for you to try and gradually building
up the information you'll need for your quest. Certain inhabitants
will be willing to join your quest but others will do all they can
to hamper your efforts, as will any monsters you meet while
wandering the land.

Magic and the virtues play a large part in the game. You can
advance your character by visiting a shrine. There are several in
Britannia, all near a centre of habitation but not too close to
make them easy to find. Each shrine is linked to a specific virtue
and each has an associated mantra which must be discovered before
you can use it.

There are eight levels or circles of spells, the higher ones can
only be used by high level mages. Each spell needs to be mixed
from reagents, some of which are hard to find. Then specific
syllables are uttered to cast the spell. With magic you can
increase your chance of succeeding in combat, cure poison, summon
creatures and so on.

Travel round the land can be on foot, horseback, by boat or
through moongates. These only appear at certain times and can be
used to cross vast distances. However, the ultimate destination of
a moongate is determined by the phase of the moon closest to
midheaven so the process isn't entirely without risk.

For a long time, I'd been told how good the Ultima series is and
how each game was even better than the one before. They are
certainly complicated and as someone who has only ever completed
one RPG (Demon's Winter which I thoroughly enjoyed) I would say
without hesitation that it will take me a long time to complete
Ultima V. I fully intend to try, though, and will let you know how
I get on - but don't expect a report for a while.

Looking ahead, Ultima VI is already out on the PC and is said to
be an improvement on Ultima V and there is a further new series
being created by the Origin team, based in a different universe.
All I need is the time to catch up with the old games before they
bring out even more!
                                            Sue