Rating: 
Summary: Antic
Review: A nice collection of antic games, but it lacks refurbishing. The box is highly deceptive - none of the games run under Windows 95/98 - only the helps system and the sneak peaks. Several interviews with the creator add some spice for the hardcore fans though. I wouldn't recommend it for anybody but the hardest fans or the extreme enthusiasts. My recommendation to Origin - update the games before republishing! Follow the LucasArts example with X-Wing and Tie Fighter.
Rating: 
Summary: This review is for Ultima III & IV
Review: Back in 1985, my dad bought for my Atari 800XL home computer Ultima III: Exodus. He gave up trying to get the thing going, so it was handed over to me and once I got the thing running, I was hooked. Remember, this was back in 1985, and U3 came out in 1983. The really silly thing was when I ran it on the Atari 800XL, the water was green and the brush and grass was blue (when you ran the disk on the original Atari 800, the brush and grass was green and the water was blue, like it should be). Anyway, Ultima 3 was a very fun and challenging game. The thing I disliked was if any of your players got killed in combat, the disk drive would run and your player's death was permanently saved (but of course, you could always resurrect your player if you have enough gold to visit a healer or if you have a powerful enough cleric, although a cleric trying to resurrect your player, even with the full wisdom points required, was not always successful, and if the spell failed, the dead player turned to ash). The graphics were very crude, but then this was 1983 for you and you have to have lived through the 1980s to appreciate these early Ultimas. Ultima IV was a vast improvement. No longer are you trying to rid the land of evil (that was Exodus), but of course, you still have to encounter evil monsters (but this time there are also non-evil creatures to encounters, like spiders and snakes), you try to rid yourself of the evil by being enlightened in all eight virtues of the Avatar (Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility). To check on your progress on your virtues, you must visit Seer Hawkwind (kinda strange if you are at all aware that Hawkwind was actually a name of a little known space/prog rock band that once had Lemmy of Motorhead in their lineup). The land of Britannia was much larger, finding all the towns, castles, dungeons, and villages were much more difficult, and there was just plain more detail. Plus for the Atari 8-bit version, you had the option of switching the colors so the water and the brush and grass are the appropriate colors. You could actually interact with the inhabitants of the townes, castles, and villages by asking their job, health and of any important things they might help you on, whereas on Ultima III when you talk to an inhabitant, you only get one type of response, mostly "Good day", but a few will give you important one sentence clues and you can't talk back to them. Ultima IV is way more difficult to win than III. Going down the Abyss is a real pain. You have to be really stockpiled with tons of spells, your best bet is to include lots of Heal, Resurrect, Tremor, Kill, Awake, Negate, and Cure spells. Plus mystic weapons and armour are required when going down there in the Abyss, but I found out magical weapons (particularly the Magic Wand, which your wizard can use) works just fine, but if you forget to arm your players with any magical or mystical weapons, you will never be able to kill foes. The worst was the room that was full of reapers. They have a very nasty habit of casting sleep spells very often, and for some weird reason, if one of your players was poisoned, he would be immune to the sleep spells, which having a poisoned player actually helps when fighting many reapers in one room. Plus if you ever answer any incorrect answers, you will be forced back to Lord British's castle with most of the weapons and wealth stripped (you'll return with cloth armor and daggers). In fact I didn't win Ultima IV until 1988 (two years after I bought it in 1986), and I never won it again until 1998(!) by which the transformer to my Atari 800XL got fried and I hadn't played it since. These days, these games are curiosities, the graphics are rather crude, and with the Ultima Collection, it's a little strange that they didn't make all 8 Ultimas conform to the more current Windows format, since no one uses MS DOS these days.
Rating:
Summary: The best and most important CRPG series ever
Review: Created by Richard Garriott (AKA Lord British), this collection spans fifteen years of roleplaying history. If you want to know how games progressed during the past twenty years, get this compilation. If you want to play good games, get this compilation. If you're looking for a good roleplaying experience, get this compilation. If you're looking for the latest in gaming greatness -- don't get it. The last game in the compilation was published in 1994, if I recall correctly. Don't let that stop you from playing, though. If you have the stamina to go through all of the games, you'll be happy you did.Going through these games is time-consuming and often frustrating. Unlike other computer role-playing games, all of these are completely open-ended. You aren't specifically directed from point A to point B to point C; instead, you must figure out on your own what to do. To me, that makes these games much more enjoyable, and much more rewarding; they require you to think. To others, it might not be so fun. Why four stars, then? Well, if you're like most of us, and running a PC with Windows 95 or 98 installed on it, you're going to have trouble getting some of these games running. Some will be too fast; others won't work at all unless you pull some technical wizardry (or have someone else do it for you). These games are designed to run under DOS, which these days is about as common as the Dodo. So: for all of you having trouble getting these games to run, contact me. I can help.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best of All
Review: First, let me say that I do not own the game, nor have I played every single one, but, in my oppinion, Ultima VII is the best game of all time. I don't mean best Ultima game, I don't mean best RPG, I mean of all time, and unfourtunatly this is the only way to get the game. True Ultima IV is considered a clasic, which should make you want to get this more, and I think don't dissagree, but Ultima VII, at least the first part, is the greatest. I've been shoping around, and I've also seen that no where can you get tis game for a lesser price. Ultima: Collection shows the evelution of the RPG, get it for your colection.
Rating:
Summary: beware dont buy this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: i bought this game but its graphics are primitive its just that i will never buy another origin title after this.
i threw it to the garbage the day after i played it for the 1 time.
Don't Buy This Game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great historical packing of the RPG classics
Review: I first got in to Ultima thanks to my dad buying Ultima III: Exodus for a then-newly bought Atari 800XL back in 1985. Remembering this was the 1980s, I got hooked on the game rather quickly, and in 1986, I was able get Ultima IV for the same computer and found it even more challenging. After that, I wasn't able to get any more Ultimas, mainly bacause Ultima IV was the final Ultima made available on the Atari 8-bit, and I never was able to get the first two. Far more recently (in 2004)bought the Ultima Collection CD package and I am not one bit disappointed. It's nice they included a player reference card for all the games included, so you know the commands, how to read runes, answers to questions someone might ask you on Ultima VI, VII: The Black Gate and VII: Serpent Isle, and other important tips. My complaint is they forgot to mention the abilities (like strength, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, etc.) of the humans, fuzzies, elvies, dwarves, etc. on Ultima III like the original packaging did. They also included an Ultima atlas for all eight of the Ultimas, although Ultima II would be easiest to find things since it was set right here on Earth. There is one drawback, and that Ultima III and IV both lack music on this version (III had music for the Atari 8-bit, IV didn't, although music was featured on the Commodore C-64 version). Ultima III, if you were lucky to own the Atari 400/800/XL/XE or the Commodore 64, was the very first Ultima to introduce music, so it's a bit strange to not hear music when you play this PC collection. For those raised on PC games of the 1990s and 2000s, many will be turned off by the crude graphics. Ultima II and III particularly show their age (Ultima I included here is not the original from 1980, but the 1986 remake from Origin in which the graphics were updated to Ultima IV standards). But if you grown up in the 1980s, like myself, the graphics will come as no surprise. Ultima I and II don't take very long to win. In fact on Ultima II, it isn't even necessary to explore dungeons or towers to win, or even visit every planet (although it's nice to, because there are more towns and castles to explore, but there is one planet that is a must to visit in order to win). Dungeons on Ultima I, however, are crucial to winning the game, especially if a king from a certain castle tells you to kill a certain creature (like a liche, balron, gelatinous cube, etc.). Ultima III was the first to include a multi-player party system (up to four players), plus a maximum hit point system (where you need to go to a healer to heal), and a separate battle scene. Ultima IV featured better graphics because you don't get cyan and magenta vegetation and water, and this was the very first Ultima you don't kill an evil ruler (like Mondain, Minax, or Exodus) to win. Ultima V-VII continue to use the same Britannia, with each of the series becoming more realistic (V introducing the day and night cycle, for example, and VI and onward featuring more 16-bit Super NES style graphics). Ultima VIII had been the most reviled of the series, many named it "Super Avatar Brothers" because of needing to hop over platforms to go places. To me, the game isn't bad and the graphics are stunning, for 1994 standards. Ultima VIII was the first Ultima since II to feature only a single player. There are drawbacks to this collection. You must run any Ultima after VI through MS-DOS. Mo-Slo, which is luckily included, is needed for all the Ultimas except VIII, and depending on your system, even Mo-Slo won't work right, as it might end up being a bit choppy. Ultima II works best if you download a program to make it more Windows-friendly. Akalabeth, the 1979 precursor to Ultima is also included in this package. Luckily they made this program PC and Windows friendly, no need for Mo-Slo here. Basically Akalabeth is only a historical curiosity, there don't seem to be much here except go in dungeons and kill monsters, particularly the ones Lord British tells you to kill. Anyway, despite a few drawbacks, and if you're feeling a bit nostalgic for your childhood days of playing Ultima, or if you're an Ultima fan with a curiosity about the game's history, this is the collection to get.
Rating: 
Summary: A collection Ultima fans will enjoy
Review: I got hooked on the Ultima games since I was 12, starting with Ultima III and Ultima IV. Although I hadn't played the previous ones, I must say that the remake of Ultima I is definitely worth a look. Ultima II however, leaves much to be desired on graphics and sound (why not a remake?). Ultima III is an OK version, and Ultima IV is when the games began to get better. If you don't get too picky on the graphics and sounds, you'll enjoy both. As for Akalabeth (the precursor of the games), I think it was included more because of its historic value than for its game play. Ultima V goes through major graphic and sound improvements, well worth the time to play and enjoy, as well as Ultima VI, which perhaps has the best storyline. But the real juice on this collection is with Ultima VII part I and II (Serpent Isle). These two games make this collection worth to buy; the storyline for both is amazing, plus you get the bonus add-ons for both (Forge of Virtue and Silver seed). Guaranteed to provide hours of game play, loss of sleep and numb fingers... Unfortunately, Ultima VIII: Pagan was the big deception. Poor controls, an amateur-type 3D graphics engine and an archaic spell-casting system (will keep you mixing reagents for hours), left the fans disappointed. Too bad Richard Garriot (aka Lord British, the Ultima games producer) wasn't called for this one; the result may have been another. As a bottom line, I'll recommend this collection to true Ultima fans and to game players that want to get a good idea of how role-playing games evolved and have some fun in the process!
Rating:
Summary: If you like ULTIMA games, you will love this!
Review: I had played ULTIMA II, III and V when I was younger. I loved them! I bought the collection so that I could work my way through all of the games. It has been wonderful! I had no trouble installing and running the software. Some of the games need the speed adjusted, but the instruction manual tells you exactly how to use the enclosed program MOSLO to get the speed just right. I had no problems after that. It has been nothing but enjoyable. Sure the games are old, so if you aren't into ULTIMA or old computer games you may not like the collection as much. But if you are nostalgic about computer games, then go for it - you won't be sorry!
Rating:
Summary: The games are excellent but...
Review: I have had problems with not only the Ultima 7's but EXODUS and Ultima 2 as well. They barely work on my computer and are a mess to start or deal with so I don't play them. As for 7 and serpent Isle, these were very good games even graphic wise but now that my old SBPro card has been damaged I can't play them despite the fact that I have a SBLive. I warn you, there are NO cards that use ISA slots(required for these games) You can't buy them, you can't special order them, and half the "tech-heads" I talk to don't even know what they are! You'd better have a good ISA card if you want to buy this product. Or Roland Daughterboard which cannot be purchased anywhere these days.
Rating:
Summary: This has nothing to do with a Review
Review: I know that the Ultima games are awesome but I can't play any of them. This title has been on backorder since early January. Don't waste your time ordering. I will get my software the day after never..!!
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