Ultima Online.

So I've somehow found my way back to Ultima Online. The game is about 10 years old now and it looks it. But it still doesn't change that its still charming for all the old reasons.

This game demonstrates a critical divide between older MMO’s and Newer ones. Ultima Online and Star wars Galaxies “Virtual Worlds” if you look at their old packaging the emphasis on freedom and community was always pushed first and formost. EQ eventually paved the way to herald the coming of the new MMO’s which are really Massively Multiplayer “Games” as apposed to “Simulations”. Where as the box for Ultima Online might tell you how you could become anything you wanted, and form a community. A game like WoW’s box informs you of all the dangers you’ll be facing, and places you’ll be exploring. The difference? Well in WoW and similar games every player is an adventurer, There’s tons of classes and races but untimely everyone is a Hero. UO and SWG are the only game’s I’ve ever played where it a valid and fulfilling choice to make a character who had no combat abilities at all. In Ultima Online I played a Miner for close to a year. I went out, Mined ore and brought it back to town to sell to smiths. I made a fare amount of money and eventually purchased my own house. In SWG because I simple couldn't stand the combat systems that seemed to change every other day, My main character was a Musician who spent the majority of his time in the local cantina playing music and talking with the other people in there. Eventually I earned enough money from that to open my own theater in the player run city my guild owned.

I guess the problem is most people already have a job and don’t need a “virtual” one. They want to just log online, kill a few things and get off. I was never like that though. I’ve always played computer games, but when I heard about UO I was so eager for it because it provided something that was more then just a game, It was a virtual fantasy life, a geeks dream I imagine. I’m not surprised that WoW has done so well. At its base its really just a massively Multiplayer Diablo. Diablo was and still is incredibly popular. Its sad however that WoW’s success has all but destroyed the chance of another game like UO coming out.