Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar

Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar description

The destruction of Exodus and flooding his castle ended the Era of Darkness in the history Sosaria. Scattered settlements United under the rule of Lord British, and in the life of a new country called Britain, comes the long-awaited Era of Enlightenment. Lord British and the Council of the local leaders of the largest cities take the concept "Virtue" of ethical principles designed to help in gaining spiritual balance and well-being of others. Again in Britain comes the Hero from another world, but this time his goal is to find a legendary Code of Wisdom lurking in the depths of the Stygian Abyss and become the avatar: incarnation of Virtue, an example for all the young people of the country.

The fourth installment of the Ultima series, published in 1985, made a real revolution in the genre. It was the first game in which the person in the process of passing it was necessary to "play the role" a really good character, in spite of crpgs of that time and in previous Ultima tradition to steal and kill in the name of a good cause. Revolutionary was the concept of the game - there is no need to save the world or search for the main villain; the essence of the game - the player passing the path of enlightenment, spiritual and moral enrichment. The main character, whose identity early in the game is generated by simulating different situations - it becomes "the embodiment", "avatar" of the person behind the computer that allows to achieve the effect of immersion in the game world - this is the idea Garriott, brilliantly implemented in the technical framework of the mid-eighties.

The basic gameplay is similar to the previous game in the series. In stock is a vast world, lots of towns and villages inhabited by a variety of characters, and dungeons. The first major difference in the mechanics of the game is a redesigned dialogue system. Now, the people of Britain react to player input keywords, which creates the illusion of a real conversation. Albeit very simply implemented, this approach creates a sense of reality of the interviewee, as well as the fact that in conversation now, you can choose to lie or tell the truth. The second difference is the influence of human actions on the game world on many different levels. "Non-virtuous" actions - cowardice in battle, lies, theft and so on - really hampered the passing game.

Unlike Ultima 3, the number of satellites of the hero in this part of the increased to 7, and each of them joins him during his travels through the game world and not created in advance. The key to successful passing is now collecting huge funds for the procurement of skills and transformation of the hero into a killing machine, and lots of quests. The changes were made and systems of magic - spells now require mixing of different reagents.

Ultima 4 can be called the first "true" Ultima. Here first appeared the characters and elements of the game world - the Virtues, the Avatar, Britannia, which will last until the very end of the series, and touched upon problems and game concept are brilliantly revealed in the next parts. Not without flaws and conventions, this is a real legend. A legend not only in the context of Ultima, but in the history of video games.

Alternative description from Aleosha
Fourth of Ultima is the first part of the trilogy Era of Enlightenment. It is here that you first encounter with the concept of the Avatar and in fact it was laid on the basic concepts of the world of Britain as we know it. The death of Exodus (Exodus) resulted in the cataclysm that partially modified the shape of the continent. After the destruction of Lord British, a man from our dimension, finally becoming the king of the United lands Sosaria and be named your Kingdom of Britain.

Do good in this world there are three foundations: Truth, Love and Courage. For each of the fundamentals of Lord British have built a castle. In order to help people in their daily life, was founded eight cities, each of which was dedicated to a specific virtue. But the newborn Britain needed someone else, which is a combination of all these virtues together, and who would become to its inhabitants a living example to follow, avatar. This avatar you will become. You must prove that you are worthy of each of them, and find the Codex of Wisdom, taking it from the heart of the Stygian Abyss.

In the course of your adventure you need to very carefully monitor their actions, because to lose one of the eight virtues, making vile act, much lighter than then again to find it.

You will meet many people wanting to join you in your quest. Do not neglect them, because they will not just save your life.

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Source: Archive.org, Mobygames.com