Ultima X: Odyssey (Preview)

Four-eyed dragon, GamePro

21/01/2004 16:43:33

It may not be the largest or even offer the most features, but Origin’s MMORPG has survived since it first introduced this addictive genre to millions of fantasy buffs in 1997. After a bevy of expansion packs, the Ultima Online legacy finally reshapes its world, moving to the next generation of massive role-playing.

At the heart of Ultima X: Odyssey is its new adventure customization system. With it, you and your medieval cohorts can enable private quest zones on demand. Uninvited “griefers” won’t interrupt you, plus you can challenge other guilds to gladiator-like battles in these created zones. Fighting is in real-time, and the battle scheme allows you to choose from a variety of combat styles and degrees of aggressiveness, putting more emphasis on players’ actions rather than their characters’ strength. The gameplay also centers on Ultima’s Virtues.

You can now build your characters to become the Avatar once you master all eight Virtues, which unlocks special powers and creates disciple characters. Virtue abilities like experience points can also enhance your weapons and armor.