Usually, any title containing the word "ultimate" is a sure indication that we're in for a disappointment, but
Ultimate RPG Archives is a pleasant exception. Gamers who settle for nothing less than the latest technology will want to give this collection a wide berth, but anyone who values gameplay and enjoys the history of computer games will find that this package represents an incredible gaming bargain.
The entire
Bard's Tale epic is here, although gameplay for all the titles in this series is a little simplistic and won't appeal to the majority of modern gamers.
Dragon Wars is another game that falls into this category, but surprisingly the equally old-school
Wasteland was incredibly fun to play. Set in a postapocalyptic America,
Wasteland eschews swords and shields in favor of assault rifles and body armor and is an exciting change of pace from the standard dungeon crawl. The game was a bestseller on the Commodore 64 computer and inspired the modern hit RPG
Fallout.
Stonekeep, one of the more modern games in the bundle, has decent graphics but is thin on gameplay. The best games are the two
Ultima Underworld titles and the
Might & Magic: World of Xeen compilation. The former thrusts players into an interactive underground world full of crafty traps and compelling encounters with other characters. Despite the dated graphics, we were sucked into the story immediately and couldn't stop playing.
World of Xeen cast a similar spell of addiction on us, causing many a sleepless night and many a missed deadline until our massively powerful characters entered the final showdown. In all,
Ultimate RPG Archives proves that when it comes to role-playing games, it's what's on the inside that counts.
--T. Byrl Baker Pros: - Many of these games are true classics
- Comes with printed documentation for each game
Cons: - Novices will have a hard time getting many of these games to run properly
- The older games in the collection have extremely poor graphics
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