Ultima 2 for its time was a revolution.
The story starts off from the end of Ultima I when the hero from Earth (was it you?) introduced Mondain to your phaser then all was peaceful...well not for long.
It seems that Mondain had an apprentice (and lover?) named Minax who swore revenge on you and your phaser hence she travelled through time and space via the 'time portals' and noticed that you hailed from Earth, so she decided to wreck havoc there. Of course your mission, if you choose to accept, is to introduce Minax to your phaser like with Mordane.
Starting off is adventure the most difficult part in this game. You have four characters to choose from being the fighter, thief, wizard and cleric and Lord British (the creator) had made some improvements (thankfully) over Ultima I. The Cleric and Mage have three specialised spells to choose from instead of everyone getting the fair share of the casting pool. That's the easy part. The food rations however is an absolute killer. You waste food like there is no tomorrow (maybe that is the case as according to the Ultima legends Minax did caused the holocaust), you’re food rations depletes itself at the very same rate when you are travelling through the wilderness, towns, villagers and castles. Very odd indeed.
Also your mode of travelling is only limited to the land that you are on (as you cannot cross the water) and these time portals which expands through five different times. Sounds limited? Yes. Why? The clues you need to gather are across the oceans and...in space! So it's a waiting game between you die of starvation or hop on a random generated pirate ship for which you need a certain item for the pirates to accept you. Ahh, times are tough so prepare for reloading the game or wander around aimlessly killing random-generated monsters. You see, Minax got this all figured out. However once you grab the boat, the tides will turn (oh my the puns, the puns).
Graphically, Ultima II really stands out. Comparing to Ultima I, the towns are individualised, dungeons and towers somewhat (btw - the dungeons and towers have a 'better' role than in Ultima I - I hence the word 'better' - please select the Cleric - you will love me for this) and the oceans and lakes have animated features (dearest reader; the game was made in 1982).
Sound wise, it's an improvement from Ultima I however still somewhat lacking. The sounds when casting a spell is OK however please don't fight a wizard, balron, daemon and the devil at the same time cause you think you are a hero and trying to prove your might; well your character maybe a hero but you, the player will be cursing of this casting sound. Not good for your ears and sight. Also there is no music to hear! Where are the bards?
The package comes with the game was brilliant. The land map provides an easy illustration of the time portals, the manual is not too daunting to read and the galactic map and reference card will help assist you in your journey. Two thumbs up. However, take note that if you are planning to play this game under the 'Ultima Collection' series, some files are missing due to the developers' skills of copy-and-paste; other words the first five planets in the solar system (not including Earth) all looks like Earth. Therefore there goes some valuable clues.
Overall, considering the bugs (e.g. the many Earth maps if you are playing under the Ultima Collection series which I based my review on), the lack of sounds, that irritating food depletion and too much reliance on gold, Ultima 2 for me is still a good game to play. The humour is entertaining (especially the town on planet Uranus), the graphics, manuals and it's simple keyboard navigation is a definite plus however I only recommend this to players who wishes to play as part of a trilogy (i.e. Ultima I, II and III - The Age of Darkenss) and of course to all those Ultima fans everywhere!