Ultima's Kingdom is Reborn

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Aug 28, 2007 11:01 am PT

EA releases graphical overhaul on eve of venerable MMOG's 10th anniversary.

The trolls are now uglier than ever!

In 1997, legendary game designer Richard Garriott transformed the online gaming space with Ultima Online. Though it was initially panned by critics for its myriad of technical issues, the game managed to persist and improve, releasing seven fully featured expansions and winning over hundreds of thousands of players.

Now, a month shy of its 10th anniversary, Electronic Arts has rolled out the game's most drastic overhaul yet with Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn. The update is free to download for existing subscribers of the game, and Ultima Online requires a $12.99-a-month subscription fee.

While not considered an expansion proper, Kingdom Reborn primarily offers a reengineered graphics engine that enhances the game's visual aesthetic, as well as a retooled user interface. Kingdom Reborn will also introduce content geared at easing new players into the storied massively multiplayer online game.

Ultima Online is rated T for Teen. EA is currently offering a free 14-day trial of the game for players to get a first-hand look at the update. The game's latest full-fledged expansion, Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss, is expected to go live later this year.

36 Comments

  • malonew1

    Posted Sep 15, 2009 8:48 am PT

    I started playing UO in 1999 and just came back to UO after a 2 year layoff. It took a bit of getting used to and there is a ton of new stuff to learn,,,but the game is still fun. I have always played with the 2d client, but I must say that after trying the new "Enhanced Client" I doubt I will go back to the classic 2d one. It is funny---I used to make a few hundred $ a week selling houses. Now, there is so much free space--no one should have any problem placing the largest of custom houses. I managed to get into a Castle,, but those spots are few and far between. Keeps are no problem to place. I guess it all depends on what shard you play on also. I moved from Baja to Lake Austin and I am having a blast.

  • gibbler3

    Posted Nov 5, 2008 1:37 am PT

    Recalling Ultima X's fate on Wikipedia I came across a reference to UO and the 10-year anniversary in 2007, and somehow ended up here. Ten years! Wow.

    Reading the comments today brought a tear of nostalgia to my eyes. So many things I'd forgotten came flooding back (aside from my characters names, ouch) - blocking people's houses, getting pwned, whispering "bank", trying to find a bit of land to place your crappy one bedroomed house where your front door doesn't open onto a solid wall.. And of course the unrivalled pleasure of catching a thief or luring a PK into town and shouting GUARDS!

    I remember a time when a few of us raided a particularly nasty PK's castle and relieved his chests of a lot of (ill-gotten) l00t.. ah, those were the days!

    Long live B0N3D00D and pLaTeDeWd!
    http://orgas.ms/bp/

  • chrisw123456789

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 5:16 pm PT

    Wow I can't believe UO is still going. In a way, I'm tempted to download the this new version just to see if my characters are still there, and how the game play is. While the graphics look better, it is basically still the same input engine which had problems when the "3D" version came out years ago. Rremember that? Everyone hated it because it was soooo sloooow.

    Like someone already said, the COMMUNITY was what made UO great once upon a time, and when I quit several or more years ago, the once thriving server was almost empty. Wonder what it's like now? I'm not sure why anyone would pick UO over say World of Warcraft (which I'm currently playing). There's no comparison, WoW blows the doors off of UO in every way.

  • twoism

    Posted Aug 29, 2007 1:57 am PT

    I wish Meridian 59 got as much recognition as this game did (came out before) - anyone remember that?

  • John_of_Fire

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 10:32 pm PT

    I'm just shocked they are charged $12.99 a month for a 10 year old game. (EA milking another cow for all it's worth) It is amazing that this game has held the test of time when so many others have not. We'll have to see if Richard Garriott can do it again.

  • mafiathug69

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 8:48 pm PT

    i remember playing this game at the expansion that upped it to 3D. my friends tried to lure me into the woods and kill me, so i ran back and GUARDS hahahahaha pwnd. i also remember playing my 30 day trial, paying for 3 months via money order, and then never playing but 3 days in that 3 months. ah, to be young...

  • jenovaproject

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 8:08 pm PT

    Ultima Online is not Ultima. Thus, I don't give a fig about it.

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 7:44 pm PT

    When they nerfed treasure drops from Earth Elemental and other creatures, it was a real bummer. But the new graphics do look a lot more interesting and I love the huge spell selection in UO.

  • finalsquall76

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 6:04 pm PT

    I have KR and I like it although I still play in 2d. They really need to fix the lag. The lag is shocking.

  • PiMacleod_basic

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 5:16 pm PT

    10 years.

    Maybe they'll do a whole new stand-alone game one day? Like, how we're getting a Fallout 3?

    ...shouldn't keep my hopes up, though.

  • Dysantic

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 3:36 pm PT

    Does no one else understand that UO is no longer what it used to be? Making the game look somewhat better wont fix the broken game that is now Ultima Online. It was great when it first started and the game was not run by people who sit in dungeons all day and cheat in order to dupe godly weapons. It was great because of the community and the old gameplay.

  • Ibacai

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 3:33 pm PT

    I am actually disappointed with this as the graphics were nostalgic for me. Is it better? Most likely but that still doesn't stop the sinking feeling I get when seeing the new graphics.

    I much prefer the old.

  • Supernova_86

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 3:30 pm PT

    I absolutely LOVED Ultima 8. One of the best games from my childhood memories

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 2:57 pm PT

    A game very deserving of being remembered. Good to see this come out.

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 2:56 pm PT

    UO was the birth of the MMO!

  • Eldramesha

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 2:40 pm PT

    The graphics don't look half bad at all. Very nice. Now if only Everquest looked that smooth.

  • EXODYS

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 2:06 pm PT

    The Ultima universe is a living legend, nice to see that the folks at EA are keeping it alive :-D

  • VanGriffin

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 1:46 pm PT

    Couldn't be happier, even if it is from EA.

  • Phooey442

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 1:43 pm PT

    it's a shame they ruined this game like many others by making it item based instead of the good ole days of having to stock up on tons of gm armor hehe (and stuffing dozens of cows into someones house so they couldnt get in lol)

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Aug 28, 2007 1:40 pm PT

    A historic game indeed

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