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Free remake of Ultima IV C64 lands on iOS
A "near 100% replica" of the Commodore 64 version of Ultima IV is now available for download on the iOS App Store. The port was developed by Mythic Entertainment using the emulation technology seen in Elite Systems Group's C64: Elite Collection. The iOS iteration of Ultima IV includes digital copies of the manual and other documents found in the game's original 1985 release, as well as a comprehensive walkthrough and new player guide courtesy GameFAQs. Most helpfully, Ultima IV: C64 automatically saves player progress whenever the game is closed. Ultima IV: C64 is an utterly free download, with no microtransactions to speak of. Simply download Ultima IV: C64 and it's yours.
Bioware aims to reinvent Ultima with Ultima Forever
Ultima Forever's announcement came as a surprise earlier this month: Bioware has apparently been working with Richard Garriott's old Ultima 4 property to create a new entry in EA's growing collection of free-to-play titles. But despite the big announcement, Ultima Forever has been steeped in mystery, leading to plenty of guessing and speculation about what it's going to be like.So we cornered the game's lead designer, Kate Flack, to try and get some answers. She couldn't tell Joystiq everything yet ("We're in alpha at the moment," she said, "and we'll be leading towards closed beta soon"), but read on for a few more insights into what Ultima Forever will be, ultimately.
Can Ultima Forever be a worthy entry in the legendary series?
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. If there's any video game on the planet that demands a remake, it's Ultima IV: Quest Of The Avatar. As arguably the most important title in what I still believe is certainly the most historically important series in video game history, it's something that deserves to be played by as many people as possible. Yet the years have not been kind to Ultima IV. Unlike certain other games commonly cited as "needing" remakes, Ultima IV comes from an era before in-game tutorials and before the mouse had achieved market saturation. It is, unfortunately, just out of the range of accessible for many, regardless of its reputation. So when I first heard about Ultima Forever, I was cautiously optimistic. Perhaps a respectful remake could maintain the core of the story while appealing to a much wider audience. Of course what that "core" is may be different things to different people. For me, the core of Ultima IV is the combination of open-world mechanics, conversational freedom, and its rigid morality system. These aspects of the game work together to make Ultima IV an exploration of the world, its inhabitants, and one's self – which, at the time, also meant an examination of the player's relationship with computer games as a whole. Yes, it really was that special.
Populous and Ultima IV hit GOG -- and Ultima's free
Interested in being the master of a whole world -- or being a total slave to the rules of one? Two games newly added to GOG's DRM-free lineup will let you experience both. Populous lets you build a world and a civilization, and then ... you know, unleash natural disasters upon it. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar puts you in the role of a hero who must save the land of Britannia while adhering strictly to eight virtues. Thrift isn't one of those virtues, but it's still something you can practice with this game, as GOG is giving it away for free! If you want to pay for some Ultimas, the first three are also up.
Ultima 4 now free, EA launches UltimaForever.com
EA and Bioware have announced the launch of a new website (and Twitter account) dedicated to the "heritage" of the Ultima series. UltimaForever.com is billed as "a celebration of all things Ultima" and will be expanding over time to look back at the 31 year old series. To celebrate the launch, EA is offering a free download of Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar. Also, in addition to Ultima Underworld 1 and 2 now being available on GoG.com, EA advises players to "stay tuned for more information about additional re-mastered Ultima titles in the future." In the meantime, you can grab your free download of Ultima 4 from right here on Joystiq. Note that you'll need to download and set up DOSBox in order to run it, unless you're somehow reading this from 1985.
