Ultima IV is Free on iOS

[StewShearerOld]

Ultima IV is Free on iOS

Elite Systems has ported the Commodore 64 version of Ultima IV to iOS.

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar easily stands among the most interesting role-playing games ever made. The brainchild of nerd extraordinaire Richard "Lord British" Garriott, it dropped players into the unified lands of Britannia and set them on an epic quest of personal enlightenment. Rather than going up against some big bad, you were instead tasked with transforming yourself into the Avatar, an exemplar of spiritual and moral strength that people could look up to. It's widely accepted as one of the genre's classic entries and now, if you have an iOS device you have a new opportunity to try the game for free.

This chance comes courtesy of Elite Systems, a UK-based developer which recently launched a free port of the game (Commodore 64 version) on iOS. Far from being an act of pure philanthropy however, this free game includes advertisements in its main menu for Ultima Forever, Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Art's recent iOS addition to the long running franchise. Honestly, if that's the price we have to pay for a mobile edition of this title, we'll take it. Of course, if you'd rather play the game on PC, <a href=http://www.gog.com/game/ultima_4>GOG also sports a free edition complete with some extra goodies including maps and hint books that you'll probably want. Ultima IV is a classic, but it's also kind of hard.

Source: <a href=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id668349917?mt=8>iTunes App Store via <a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/6/4701174/commodore-64-version-of-ultima-4-hits-ios-for-free>Polygon


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[Ciler]

It's 135 MB! Somehow this game used to fit on a floppy disk...

 

[Schadrach]

It's 135 MB! Somehow this game used to fit on a floppy disk...

I know. Also, in reverse of nowadays, the console version was much easier on the eyes.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Isn't this the worst of the Ultima games given the overcomplexity and utter inactivity of the game? Why can't it just be left behind in time like most bad mechanics?

 

[saintdane05]

Isn't this the worst of the Ultima games given the overcomplexity and utter inactivity of the game? Why can't it just be left behind in time like most bad mechanics?

Oh, this is not the worst Ultima game. Not at all...
<youtube=Otf9Bnm48Kk>

 

[klaynexas3]

It's 135 MB! Somehow this game used to fit on a floppy disk...

That is over 4 times the size of it on GOG. What did they do?

Isn't this the worst of the Ultima games given the overcomplexity and utter inactivity of the game? Why can't it just be left behind in time like most bad mechanics?

Um...Ultima IV was seen as one of the best Ultima games, as it was the pivotal point in the series where the story was more than just "he's bad, go kill." It's the reason why it's the one that's always given away for free, as the earlier ones were actually overly complex and wouldn't tell you things that were necessary to beat the game, and the later ones used IV as the jumping off point. It is probably one of the most immersive RPGs I've played, making most modern RPGs look like the kid's pool in comparison. In terms of being "overly complex," it's only as such if you don't read the manuals to go along with it.

If you want to see bad Ultima games, just look at the newest few, except maybe the "Ultima Forever," which isn't really Ultima, but isn't really bad either.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I all ready have it on GOG, but on my phone is good too. *downloads*

 

[mistwolf]

Isn't this the worst of the Ultima games given the overcomplexity and utter inactivity of the game? Why can't it just be left behind in time like most bad mechanics?

Can't tell if you are a troll... Ultima IV is one of, if not the, most beloved in the series. And the C64 version was one of the best because of the on-board SID audio chip.

I will definately be getting this, though curious how they made the interface worked. Like Nethack, all the keys did things IIRC making porting sans keyboard tricky.

As for size, it came on 4 floppies at the time, and more modern versions/ports are bigger because, IIRC, they have to essentially be running a full emulator and stuff.

 

[otakon17]

Nice, but I would have rather have had the NES version. It was far easier on the eyes.

 

[fractal_butterfly]

Um...Ultima IV was seen as one of the best Ultima games, as it was the pivotal point in the series where the story was more than just "he's bad, go kill." It's the reason why it's the one that's always given away for free, as the earlier ones were actually overly complex and wouldn't tell you things that were necessary to beat the game, and the later ones used IV as the jumping off point. It is probably one of the most immersive RPGs I've played, making most modern RPGs look like the kid's pool in comparison. In terms of being "overly complex," it's only as such if you don't read the manuals to go along with it.

If you want to see bad Ultima games, just look at the newest few, except maybe the "Ultima Forever," which isn't really Ultima, but isn't really bad either.

I don't get it why they use this game to promote their new Ultima. Compared to today's RPGs, this hasn't aged very well. I don't even mean graphics-wise, I mean complexity, playability and storytelling. I tried to play this even with the help of the manuals provided by GoG.com. I didn't get very far, I had to turn to internet tutorials to get several mechanics. Lacking feedback and no idea what does what was my main gameplay experience with this, additionally to unfair gameplay situations. How am I supposed to know the standard keywords when talking to the NPCs in this game? Was it somewhat like WASD today, so everybody knew it?

I still think, that the breaking of the pattern "Kill things" and replacing it with the quest for the Virtues was something new and revolutionary, but the rest of the game can definitely NOT keep up with current games, especially certain Indie titles.