"The Ethics of Britannia, of the accepted measure
of proper behavior, were long based on the Way of the Avatar. As
time progressed, the lessons of this historic tale came to be
interpreted in many ways. In fact, many people interpreted the Way
of the Avatar in ways that wouldn't require them to strive to
uphold these virtues. Now, Lord Blackthorn, acting king of all
Britannia, has enacted a Code of Virtue that leaves no room for
misinterpretation..."
-- from The Book of Lore
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| What if virtue became law? That is the plot behind
this fifth tale of Britannia. While the story and actual game are
interesting - this is arguably the longest and most complex of the
Ultimas, except possibly for Serpent Isle - what I liked were the
little touches of reality. For the first time, characters in a game
didn't just sit and parrot simple sentences, they carried on
complex conversations, reacted to your behavior, and even carried
out their own daily routines. But what I'll always remember about
Ultima V is stepping outside of Britain the first night, and seeing
the beams of the lighthouse sweep past me in real time. |
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 Ultima V:
Warriors of Destiny
- Platform: Apple II.
- Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc., © 1987.
- Characteristics: UPC 17814-75350. 5.25" (4).
- Included: Book of Lore book; Underworld Journal; Player
Reference card; Quick Reference card; Codex coin; cloth Ultima V
map.
- Original List Price: $59.95
- Platform: Commodore 64.
- Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc., © 1988.
- Author: Conversion by Dr. Cat.
- Characteristics: UPC 17814-75350. 5.25" (4).
- Platform: PC.
- Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc., © 1988.
- Author: Conversion by John Fachini et al.
- Characteristics: UPC 17814-75310. 5.25" (4).
- Platform: Atari ST.
- Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc., © 1989.
- Author: Conversion by Binary Vision.
- Characteristics: UPC 17814-75325. 3.5" (3).
- Platform: Amiga.
- Publisher: Origin Systems, Inc., © 1990.
- Author: Conversion by Imagitec Design Ltd.
- Characteristics: UPC 17814-75335. 3.5" (2).
Dallas Snell is credited with having been project director for
the original Apple version of Ultima V, and John Miles (Captain Johnne in the
game) was lead progammer. This would be the last Ultima for the
fading Apple platform. An interesting bit of trivia: about the time
the finishing touches were being put on this Ultima V, John Romero
was sitting in another room down the hall, working on his own first
commercial game. Yes, THAT John Romero, the one who co-wrote Doom
and Quake: his first job as a software developer was for Origin in
1987, porting 2400 AD to the Commodore 64. Small world, eh? Anyway,
Ultima V is not too difficult to find via the Internet, usually for
under $20, though if you're looking for a particular platform your
mileage may vary. One other note: someone has pointed out to me
that the backs of the boxes for different platform releases used
different screenshots, so they look slightly different. |
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|
 Ultima: Warriors of Destiny
for the Nintendo Entertainment
System
- Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System.
- Publisher: FCI, © 1993. Developed by Origin.
- Characteristics: UPC 22909-10014. Cartridge.
- Included: Instruction book, Hint book.
This was Origin's last game for the NES, though not their last
for Nintendo. As with the others, Origin did all of the actual
development. And as with the port of Ultima IV, FCI included a hint
book / walkthrough for the entire game with the cartridge. |
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