The Ultima Underworlds
                    (RPGs for PC)

      Ultima Underworld  I - The Stygian Abyss
      Ultima Underworld II - The Labyrinth of Worlds
      From Origin - RRP œ39.99 each
      Or both on one CD-ROM for œ49.99

                   Reviewed by MerC

Once you've sussed that Underworld I (The Stygian Abyss) and II
(The Labyrinth of Worlds) have nothing at all to do with Ultimas
1-8, and have actually got round to trying them, you could well be
hooked for the next several months. Both are extremely atmospheric
and once started, difficult to leave alone. They have the same
type of game engine: 3-D 1st person perspective continuous
scrolling. This is a vast improvement over stepping, provided the
movement is smooth. A fairly high-powered system is required,
especially if you have full sound, music and detail selected. Even
a 486 DX slows down when there are a number of characters in the
vicinity.  The second game has a larger play area, though this can
increase the problems. They do not suffer the screen-splitting
that full screen areas are prone to, as seen in, for instance, The
Elder Scrolls. They have the usual creature bashing, item
collecting and problem solving. Graphics are superb, but close-ups
are pixellated. (Is this really necessary? The Legacy does not
suffer in this way.) If too taxing for the system the detail can
be turned down.

Sound effects are good, but why are the voice characterizations so
amateurish? Whilst on this particular soap-box, I might also ask
why so much effort is put into the once-seen-never-looked-at-again
introductory sequences?  This is all the more inexplicable when
the ending (especially of the first game) is of such poor quality,
obviously warranting far less effort.  And this is where the story
really starts...... why is such potentially ground-breaking
software so full of avoidable flaws - most of which could have
been eliminated by having decent adventure players test them
first?  Where, oh where, do software houses find their testers??
Not from the ranks of SynTax readers, I'll be bound.

Both these games crash if you have earlier versions, though Origin
will send upgrades on request.  In U1 this cures only one problem:
that of the inability to pick things up on Level 2 and beyond.
There is, however, a more subtle corruption, which eventually so
ruins your inventory as to make further progress impossible. To
avoid this, do not descend to Level 5 via the Bullfrog puzzle.
There is another way you have to find, and once done you can then
go back to the Bullfrog. If this happens to your character, there
is nothing for it but to start again. Fortunately, once you know
what you need to do, traversing the levels is much quicker. In U2
the game without the patch disk locks up in crowded situations.

None of these problems need have happened if the play-testing had
been done properly.  Whether or not the quality of the poorer
parts would have improved is another question. In U2, the Ethereal
Void is far inferior in look and feel to the rest of the game. It
is mostly black empty space anyway, and does not map.  It is
crudely drawn and is not particularly logical to solve. In short,

it looks like a bit of filler added at the last minute, and, as
such, adds nothing to the game.

There is a bit like this as the final sequence in U1, and believe
me, it is a complete let-down.  After opening the final door, you
meet the last beast, but instead of having to kill it, you can set
the final sequence in motion from a distance, ignoring it
completely. All you need to do then is run down a long green path
rather quickly. Poor stuff.

Why not something on these lines: when the final door is opened
on the lowest level, the last beast has to be defeated (though not
killed) before the collected items are used. This could then set
in motion a stone platform, raising you through the central
volcano vent, which is present on the maps of all the levels, and
which you have been able to see through small windows at intervals
during your journey. Once back to the top level, you make your way
to the entry door (which the intro says will not be opened until
the guard hears Arial's voice) and find the beast trying to
escape. You then have to defeat it finally, and it drops what you
require to let the people waiting outside know that you want out.
Much more in keeping with the rest of the story, and eliminating
the graphically crude bits. A little more thought, care and
testing and these games would have been unbeatable for years to
come.














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