Ultima Online

Ultima Online is a massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in Medieval Brittania, released September 30, 1997. It was developed by Origin Systems and published by Electronic Arts. It is a 2D fantasy that has since been upgraded to 3D with the addition of nine expansion packs. It has kept a loyal player base despite the age of the game. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/12

Ultima Online (UO) continues to keep the gameplay new by adding new content. The most recent expansion was Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss, released September 8, 2009. The recent expansion had an Entertaining Software Rating Board (ESBR) rating of Teen.http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/74263

The Gem of Immortality is the key to the world. When Mondain, an evil mage, possessed the gem he had the world at his calling, but the Stranger was able to defeat the malevolent mage. In the process, he shattered the gem into shards, thus, shattering the world into shards as each piece of the gem was a likeness to the world Sosaria. They were mirror images of each other, yet, they each possessed their own individuality. As time passed, each individual shard became unique and different from the others. Characters begin their lives on the shard in which they are born. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/ultimaonline/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-reviewhttp://www.uoherald.com/node/55

Ultima Online gameplay resembles the text-based multi-user dungeon (MUD) games more than it does the typical MMORPG. The game is played in a third-person view by using the mouse to control the character. The gameplay is completely open-ended, meaning a player can go and do as they wish and live out a virtual life in the gaming world as whatever character or profession suits them. It is not filled with scripted characters and quests, but it is filled with detailed crafting of items and a persistent world. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/ultimaonline/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary%3Bread-review

There is not a specific task to accomplish to win the game. The player begins the game and upon login is asked to choose race, profession, skills and character bodily features. The player increases his characters skill levels my practicing those skills, either by killing monsters or using them in other game settings. Some of the skills are passive and gain levels as your character goes about life in Ultima Online. The game has a chat feature so players can communicate. Many of the gameplay mechanics now considered traditional to newer MMORPG’s like crafting, exploring, moving up levels, players building cities and other aspects of modern games originated in Ultima Online. http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/12

Ultima Online: The Second Age October 1, 1998

• new area of land called the Lost Land
• introduced an in-game chat system and new creatures.http://www.uoguide.com/The_Second_Age

Ultima Online: Renaissance May 4, 2000

• doubled the size of the world making one area geared towards fighting monsters and the other with player-versus-player gameplayhttp://www.uoguide.com/Renaissance

Ultima Online: Third Dawn March 7, 2001

• included a 3D client
• included Third Dawn only gaming areahttp://www.uoguide.com/Third_Dawn

Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge February 24, 2002

• improved game artificial intelligence
• in-game help
• improved character creationhttp://www.uoguide.com/Lord_Blackthorn%27s_Revenge

Ultima Online: Age of Shadows February 11, 2003

• added Malas gaming area
• added Paladin and Necromancer classes
• added custom housing design
• completely new item systemhttp://www.uo.com/ageofshadows/index.shtml

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire November 2, 2004

• introduced Japanese folklore into the game
• added Ninja and Samurai classes
• added game areas to explorehttp://www.uoguide.com/Ultima_Online:_Samurai_Empire

Ultima Online: Mondain's Legacy August 30, 2005

• added elves race
• added new skill spellweaving
• added multiple dungeon areashttp://www.uoguide.com/Mondain%27s_Legacy

Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss September 8, 2009

• added new race Gargoyle
• new gaming areas
• new skills imbuing, throwing and mysticismhttp://www.uoguide.com/Ultima_Online:_Stygian_Abyss