13-Aug-2001 It's Ultima Online in 3D, claims Origin. No it's not, says Chris Anderson
The prospect of Ultima Online in 3D, it has to be said, initially gave me the feeling I would be leaving EverQuest and Anarchy Online behind and returning to the only online RPG with any degree of depth.
Say what you like about UO - condemn it for the juveniles who regularly run around killing people and stealing all their possessions (er, I've done it myself), laugh at its archaic in-game chat system or even write it off as just another goblin game, but the fact remains it's miles ahead of the competition in terms of game design and game mechanics.
Despite this, droves of the UO faithful have left and moved on to EverQuest. The reason for this is simply because UO now not only plays like yesterday's news, it looks like it too.
Big things were promised for Third Dawn, the game that would hopefully revive UO's flagging fortunes. In particular, the move to a 3D game engine was touted as taking UO several steps up the technology ladder. In truth, the graphics have been given quite an overhaul, and player characters, enemies and buildings and so on look much more detailed. Spell effects are also a lot more impressive and new player and monster animations make the game feel slicker, but ultimately (no pun intended), it's still the same game wearing a new graphical hat. Even the addition of a whole new land to explore (Ilshenar is a fairly high level land that primarily features player versus monster combat) does not lift UO entirely out of the doldrums, and it certainly doesn't put it 'up there' with your EverQuests and Anarchy Onlines, or even Asheron's Call for that matter.
End of an era
This is all a bit ironic in the light of EA pulling the plug on what would have been Ultima Online 2. UO2, from what we've seen, featured a 'true' 3D environment not entirely dissimilar to the one used in Ultima Ascension, and could well have heralded the end of Ultima Online as we know it. Let's face it, who's going to play a top-down RPG when you can play what's more or less the same game in full 3D? As it stands, Ultima Online devotees must be wondering where the series goes from here. If Third Dawn is as technologically advanced as the series is ever going to be, there seems little reason for them to hang around when there are better online RPGs in existence, and many more already in development. Don't get me wrong, UO is a great game, but there are better ones around and if you're new to online RPGs and fancy trying your hand at one of them, you would be much better off taking a look at EverQuest or waiting until Anarchy Online arrives later this year.
// Overview
Verdict
Good, but not good enough
Uppers
New 3D engine with improved graphics A new land to explore with new monsters and items An RPG with considerable depth
Downers
Character graphics look dodgy Looks dated compared to the competition It's essentially the same game with a graphics overhaul
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New 3D engine with improved graphics
