Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

153 - Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Year: 1992
Platform(s): PC
Designer(s): Richard Garriott
Developer: Blue Sky Productions
Publisher: Origin

"Before Quake, before Doom, even before Wolfenstein, there was Ultima. . . [In Ultima Underworld] [y]ou could look in every direction, down into a deep chasm or up to the ceiling of an arching cavern. Movement wasn't tied to a 2D map with variable height, bridges on streams could be walked over or swam under. It was a 3D world to explore. Ultima Underworld gave us our first look at an immersive 3D first person environment. And it wasn't just the view that set Underworld apart. We had objects that could be thrown and bounced off of walls. Arrows that sailed through the air, monsters that didn't simply charge to their death but would flee when wounded. And as if that wasn't enough of a challenge in 1992, they decided to add an RPG layer as well. You had inventory to manage, puzzles to solve, and stats to improve. . . At the time there truly was no other game like it in the marketplace." - GameSpy

152  |  154