CRPG Addict - Review Roundup (Part Twelve)

Two well-known classics this time around in the hands of the CRPG Addict: Ultima V and Wasteland.

Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988)

The back story of the game is compelling and well-narrated, and the world itself is full of interesting terrain, cities, towns, keeps, lighthouses, dungeons, and other places to explore. Origin's manuals continue to top the competition in their history and description of the land and its people. It's one of the few games of any era in which the entire world--rather than just discrete pieces of it--is explorable from the outset. (..)

I confess that my final rating of 69 is a bit of a surprise. This makes Ultima V the highest-rated game in my blog so far, beating Pool of Radiance by 4 points and its predecessor by 14 points. Truth be told, I think I enjoyed Pool of Radiance slightly more, but the difference isn't notable enough to revise the GIMLET, and I might have mentally ranked Ultima V higher if I didn't have to take such a long time-out in August. I might also have mentally ranked it higher if it had a better ending--I almost want to subtract points for that. Why do I keep helping Lord British if he's just going to boot me out of Britannia the moment he's done with me?

1. Game 63: Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny (1988)
2. Starting Out
3. Into the Underworld
4. Towns and Their Folk
5. You Don't Know What We Can See
6. World Tour
7. Raid on Blackthorn's
8. Finishing Up on the Surface
9. Violence
10. Shards, Shadowlords, and the Underworld
11. Ars Arcanum
12. Not Bumping
13. Things I Discovered While Replaying
14. Won!
15. Final Rating

Visions of the Aftermath: The Boomtown (1988)

The game is not a CRPG; its inclusion here is another MobyGames errata. It is, nonetheless, mildly interesting, and I can see how things like the health meter and the inventory could confuse someone as to its CRPG creds. (..)

So, having won at least one scenario, I'm giving it a ranking of 26 and moving on.

1. Game 64: Visions of the Aftermath: The Boomtown (1988)

Wasteland (1988)

It is the first game that I have played since starting this blog that I felt was truly "replayable," in that different party a skill choices would result in a fundamentally different game. (..) It is legitimately difficult to determine what skills to choose, but awfully fun to watch them develop through use and additional training. (..)

This gives us a final score of 53. It ties with Ultima IV, Starflight, and Omega for my fifth-highest rated game so far. But I maintain that the two Might & Magics, Ultima V, and Pool of Radiance are better games. You can find pitchforks and torches at your local Home Depot.

1. Game 65: Wasteland (1988)
2. Dry Bones Can Harm No One
3. I Will Show You Fear in a Handful of Dust
4. Breeding Lilacs out of the Dead Land
5. Restless Nights in One-Night Cheap Hotels
6. A Heap of Broken Images, Where the Sun Beats
7. Prison and Place and Reverberation
8. We Who Were Living Are Now Dying
9. Won!
10. Final Rating

Wizard Wars (1988)

Overall gameplay is methodical, mostly linear, non-replayable, and easy--but at least reasonably fast-paced. (..)

That gives us a final score of 24, lower than all but a few games, most of which I didn't finish. I would have finished this one. Maybe I felt I needed an easy win before another Wizardry title.

1. Game 66: Wizard Wars (1988)
2. Walking Through
3. Need "Defeat Copyright Protection" Spell
4. Someone Else Won!

 

Explanation of the the final score: The GIMLET.