The Ultima Series I– IX
In the gaming world the Ultima series of role playing games are considered a standard in the industry. Not only did various Ultima titles unleash new concepts, they were also a study in various fields of the gaming world today. The Ultima series is also famous as the longest running franchise in role player gaming history it is also the longest running game series, although certain critics would love to dispute this statement.
The Ultima series is divided in to three main paths known as the ages. The first of these parts consists of about 3 editions and it is known as the Age of Darkness. The Age of Darkness was launched in 1980 with the first of the series called: Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness. At that time the publisher of the series was the California Pacific Computer Company. The story behind this game was to find and destroy the item known as the Gem of Immortality. The Gem of Immortality was the object with which a certain wizard used to enslave the lands of Sosaria and without which these lands could not be freed.
The second part of the Age of Darkness series is Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress. The release year was 1982 and this particular game centers around finding a particular evil enchantress intent on destroying the home planet the Ultima series is centered on and destroying her. This particular edition was published by Sierra Online and a re–release was made by Origin Systems in 1989. The final and last part of the Age of Darkness series is Ultima III: Exodus. The game was launched in 1983 and the aim of the game was centered around destroying the remnants of the evil empire. This was the first Ultima edition published by Origin Systems.
The second age in Ultima lore was the Age of Enlightenment , another age with three series in it. The first of these series was Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar. Ultima IV was published in 1985 and it was the first of the Ultima series to be created for playing on multiple systems such as the Commodore 64, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the PC and the Sega Master System. Unlike its predecessors there is no great evil to be vanquished in this game. The game focuses just on the understanding of the Eight Virtues all in a bid to help the main character enjoy a more virtuous life. Ultima IV was followed by Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny in 1988, this game focuses on vanquishing an enemy known as the Shadowlords, enemies of the realm and enforcers of the evil Lord Blackthorn who has taken over the kingdom following the mysterious disappearance of Lord British.
The final part of the Age of Enlightenment was Ultima VI : The False Prophet launched in 1990. This game focuses on another quest of the hero : The Avatar in which this hero aims to retrieve a set of stolen artifacts from creatures known as the Gargoyles.
The last set of the series was The Age of Armageddon which was launched in 1992 in two parts. Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII: Part Two : Serpent Isle. This was followed by two sets of expansion disks : Ultima VII: Forge of Virtue and Ultima VII Part Two: Silver Seed. The next series Ultima VIII : Pagan was launched in 1994 followed by the last of the main Ultima series Ultima IX: Ascension.
