Amazon.com Review: Usually, any title containing the word "ultimate" is a sure indication that we're in for a disappointment, but Ultimate RPG Archives is a pleasant exception. Gamers who settle for nothing less than the latest technology will want to give this collection a wide berth, but anyone who values gameplay and enjoys the history of computer games will find that this package represents an incredible gaming bargain.
The entire Bard's Tale epic is here, although gameplay for all the titles in this series is a little simplistic and won't appeal to the majority of modern gamers. Dragon Wars is another game that falls into this category, but surprisingly the equally old-school Wasteland was incredibly fun to play. Set in a postapocalyptic America, Wasteland eschews swords and shields in favor of assault rifles and body armor and is an exciting change of pace from the standard dungeon crawl. The game was a bestseller on the Commodore 64 computer and inspired the modern hit RPG Fallout.
Stonekeep, one of the more modern games in the bundle, has decent graphics but is thin on gameplay. The best games are the two Ultima Underworld titles and the Might & Magic: World of Xeen compilation. The former thrusts players into an interactive underground world full of crafty traps and compelling encounters with other characters. Despite the dated graphics, we were sucked into the story immediately and couldn't stop playing. World of Xeen cast a similar spell of addiction on us, causing many a sleepless night and many a missed deadline until our massively powerful characters entered the final showdown. In all, Ultimate RPG Archives proves that when it comes to role-playing games, it's what's on the inside that counts. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
Many of these games are true classics
Comes with printed documentation for each game
Cons:
Novices will have a hard time getting many of these games to run properly
The older games in the collection have extremely poor graphics
Amazon.com Product Description: The Bard's Tale Trilogy and Construction Set. You are challenged to assemble a band of inexperienced adventurers and lead them into an environment that is overrun with evil minions. It is up to you to build your party's strength, for they will need to push farther into the clutches of evil to complete their quests. Included for the first time in one compilation is the entire Bard's Tale series on CD-ROM--The Bard's Tale: Tales of the Unknown, The Bard's Tale 2: Destiny Knight, The Bard's Tale 3: The Thief of Fate, and The Bard's Tale Construction Set. Might and Magic: World of Xeen. Included are two complete games--Clouds of Xeen and Darkside of Xeen. This special version allows your characters to travel from one game to the other and also includes new digitized speech. Stonekeep. Step into the mystery of Stonekeep and begin a quest through dark corridors; treacherous sewers; and subterranean realms of fairies, magic, and the living dead. You'll discover a world where darkness reigns and where you become part of a detailed story line that unfolds at your command. Ultima Underworld: 1 and 2. In this first continuous-movement, first-person 3-D dungeon action fantasies in the Ultima series, you'll walk, run, swim, and jump through miles of sheer terror, casting spells, vanquishing foes, and solving puzzles as you race through the magical Ultima setting known as Britannia. Included are Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld 2: The Labyrinth of Worlds. Dragon Wars. Dragon Wars are the most destructive forces in the world, and are threatening to destroy the paradise of Dilmun. Magic is your only salvation. But magic is illegal and you are already imprisoned. Wasteland. It's 2087, World War III has come and gone, leaving the world a veritable Wasteland. As a Desert Ranger, you've vowed to help rebuild humanity... but first you have to survive. Surprising subplots twist and turn toward a final conflict with mankind's greatest threat in this futuristic multicharacter RPG. Wizardry: Gold. D.W. Bradley's award-winning and critically acclaimed classic epic, Crusaders of the Dark Savant, is now totally re-engineered and includes full speech; new cinematic sequences; new sound and music; and an entire suite of add-ons, tools, and utilities.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Oh, man I gotta get this!!!!!
Many years ago, in an era of twin-tape-deck boomboxes, VHS, and the immortal Atari 7800 game console, a friend and I shouted in victory as we finally defeated the cyborg armies at the finish of Interplay's Wasteland, finishing up new two years' worth of playtime (this was before cheat codes and walkthroughs and all- we played for over a year before even learning that a clue book existed). This ancient lord of all PC RPG's (which we played on a Commodore 64 hooked up to a 12 inch black and white TV) is, always has been, and always will be, the most fun I've ever had in a life-long career of playing video games. Sure, the epic battles between my stalwart team of Desert Rangers (all armed with Iom beamers, LAW rockets, and Flamethrowers) and the cyborgs, mutants and insane cultists of post WWIII Nevada were text-only, and the graphics were mostly little stick-like figures in only a handful of colors, but hey, it was still more fun than pretty much any game I've played on PS2 or on my PC. Some might scoff at the primitive technology of games like Wasteland or the Bard's Tale trilogy, and of course modern games are much prettier to look at and have capabilities that us Desert Rangers of 1988 could only read about in Sci-Fi novels, but...it's having fun the whole reason for playing in the first place.
I sort of stumbled upon this collection while poking around online, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it and dig in. While I haven't played all of the games here, Wasteland and the Bard's Tale trilogy still stand out as some of the best gaming experiences ever. Time to stop by Garth's Equipment Shoppe and pick up a new Crystal Sword...or maybe turn those machines back on over at Darwin Base and bring my cyborg pal VAX back to life...OK, yeah I'm a dork. I grew up in the 80's! This stuff used to be cool!
Rating: - Worth the money...100%
The biggest thing I look for in games I buy is the replay value. This set certainly has it, and you can get it used and get everything but the box in good condition for $45 less than the price of the new one. With the new one, the only difference is it comes in it's original retail box and you can save money by buying used.
This set is mainly aimed at us old-school RPG junkies who grew up on Ultima, Wasteland, Wizardry, Bard's Tale and other classic RPG's. The good used ones come with all the maps you want, and a large game book that has everything in it that the original game manual would have had. But new-school RPG junkies can enjoy these just the same.
Once again, a great buy.
Rating: - There is plenty for the retro gamer !
First of all : You will go through pain playing these games on anything more sophisticated than Win98 and MS-DOS. And they are old... REALLY old. So don't expect anything fancy. Take the Bards' Tale for example : IMHO, the PC-version is uglier than the C64-version including sound. You are a hardcore fan and don't fear some torture to get what you want ? Fine, here you have it. Remember, those are classics! I bought them and I don't regret it.
But the pricing is a bit out of proportion here. I bought the pack some years ago for something like $50.
Rating: - Ultimate RPG Archives
I'm very satisfied with this purchase and recommend it by its secure system, fast shipping and nice sellers. Thanks to Tom mach.
Rating: - Experience some gaming history!
These are indeed old games, and as such, they don't look anywhere near as good as newer games. However, there are a bunch of classics here that should be experienced by any fan of PC gaming. If you love getting immersed inside a virtual world, practically all these games will deliver the goods. And printed manuals? Almost unheard of these days! If you are a true fan and don't mind tweaking your system a bit to get them running, there are hundreds of hours of fun to be had with this massive collection.
- Oh, man I gotta get this!!!!!
