| Ultima VII, Part One: The Black Gate + The Forge of Virtue | ORIGIN Systems, Inc. | 1992 | |
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The Avatar sees a strange message on his computer screen. An unknown being who calls himself the Guardian claims that Britannia has entered a true age of enlightenment, and soon everyone, including the Avatar himself, shall bow before the new lord. At this moment, a moongate materializes, and the Avatar steps through it into Britannia. He emerges in the city of Trinsic, where his old friend Iolo tells him that two hundred years have passed since his last visit. A horrible ritualistic murder has just occurred - the body of the local blacksmith was found in the stables. The Avatar learns that a new organization known as the Fellowship has been recruiting more and more followers recently. The champion of Britannia must solve the murder and find out about the Fellowship's true purpose, while still pursued by the ominous warnings of the mysterious Guardian. Ultima VII: The Black Gate features revamped graphics and controls. The traditional Ultima top-down view of the world now fills the entire screen, with other informational windows overlaid on top of it only when necessary. Both world interaction and dialogue are fully mouse-controlled. Objects can be physically interacted with by dragging them with the mouse. Objects can also be stacked upon each other, and some puzzles are based on this feature. The tactical combat system of previous Ultima games has been replaced with a real-time system where only general strategies can be set and party members fight automatically, the player taking control of the Avatar alone. The game's world is vast, populated by many non-playable characters with their own schedules. There are more extensive dialogue trees and individual conversation topics compared to the series' previous installments. Ultima VII: The Forge of Virtue is an add-on disk to Ultima VII: The Black Gate that adds new areas and quests to the game. Once the disk is installed and a previous game is loaded (or a new one begun), an earthquake shakes Britannia, signalling the rising of the Isle of Fire from the oceans. The Isle was last seen in Ultima III, serving as the stronghold of Exodus. And while Exodus was destroyed, some of his essence remains in the Dark Core, which must be destroyed to rid Britannia of his evil once and for all. To accomplish this, several tests of virtue must be passed, originally designed by Lord British as part of the Quest of the Avatar. The rewards of completing the add-on's quests are plentiful and can make the main game easier: the Avatar's stats will be raised to their maximum and a new, powerful weapon will be made available, able to vanquish even the most dangerous foes with a single strike. See also: #Ultima Collection | ||
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