Game News Ultima Underworld is 99 of all time

Saint_Proverbius · Apr 30, 2003

Tags: Underworld Adventures

The zany guys over at <a href="http://www.ign.com/">IGN</a> have put up a <A href="http://top100.ign.com/">Top 100 Games of All Time site</a>, counting down from 100 to 1 and announcing 10 per day. I missed it yesterday, but in <A href="http://top100.ign.com/91-100.html">100 to 91</a> and scoring in at 99, there's <A href="http://www.uo.com/archive/uw1/">Ultima Underworld</a>:
 
 
<blockquote>A true leader of the pack, Ultima Underworld used a fully 3D first-person perspective a full year before Wolfenstein 3D hit store shelves. Not only was it impressive visually for the time, but it was introduced some neat gameplay elements into the action-RPG arena, such as altering the speed and power of attacks by direct control and introducing 3D puzzle elements. Ultima Underworld was an amazingly rich title that showed the world that first-person engines were capable of a lot more than simple shoot-em-ups before there were even any 3D shooters.</blockquote>
 
 
For those who want to relive the fun of this game, check out <a href="http://uwadv.sourceforge.net/index.php?page=news">Underworld Aventures</a>. It's a remake of the original engine for the title with new features and full Windows support. There's also a bugfix to the recently released HOT CHILI version that can be found there.
 
 
3D Puzzle Elements, Pandora's Box.
 
 
Spotted this at <A href="http://www.ve3d.com">VoodooExtreme</a>.

Azael · Apr 30, 2003

Hmm, I would put it higher than 99 personally and I would definitely bump both Wolfenstein and SimCity higher, seeing how they both have had a major impact on gaming.

Zetor · Apr 30, 2003

Same here... it's behind a random generic unoriginal console 'rpg', of all things?! Heh.
Then again, this list is probably a good gauge on how the 'casual gamers' view things. I wouldn't be surprised if Doom got into the top 10 for having a 'revolutionary engine'. Never mind that UW was released before Doom and had a superior engine that could handle looking up / down, jumping, oh, and having about 1000x more complex gameplay! [jumping puzzles excepted

]

-- Z.

Rosh · Apr 30, 2003

IGN = clueless newbies.

Simple as that. What? People didn't know that?

EEVIAC · Apr 30, 2003

They've only got through 20 games so far, but I'll pre-empt this top 100 by saying that any top games list is invalid (in my eyes) without the inclusion of Pirates!, Covert Action, and Alter Ego. I'm interested where they'll rank Fallout to give the list the cred...

Jarinor · May 1, 2003

I'm more interested to see how far up NWN will be pushed, considering the loving they gave them in an article recently...

Zetor · May 1, 2003

70-80 has a bunch of no-name games (Pokemon?! Puh-leaze.). Homeworld and Galaga are the only two that deserve being there, IMNSHHO.

-- Z.

DrattedTin · May 1, 2003

If Quest for Glory doesn't get honors, I'm going to get violent.

Elwro · May 1, 2003

Zetor said:
. I wouldn't be surprised if Doom got into the top 10 for having a 'revolutionary engine'. Never mind that UW was released before Doom and had a superior engine that could handle looking up / down, jumping

Maybe, but IIRC Doom's engine was A LOT faster. I remember (I think) playing both games on a 386 and exploring dungeons wasn't so fun in UW - I think you couldn't change the speed of scrolling when e.g. looking up, so you had to wait a long time to look at the ceiling. Walkin was tedious too. But then again, maybe my memory fails me - it was long ago.

Zetor · May 1, 2003

Origin is infamous for having designed games that required bleeding-edge [at the time] computers to run. UW1 and UW2 are typical examples of this [they required a 1meg vid card, 4+ megs of RAM and at least a 386 dx/40.. in 1992!], as is System Shock 1 [it wouldn't run well on anything less than a high-end 486] or Ultima *snicker* Ascension. [it doesn't run well even on today's best computers, unless you have a high-end Voodoo card, heh]
That said, their games were innovative and definitely WAY ahead of their time. (It could be argued that those are actually Looking Glass games... same thing

)

-- Z.

Saint_Proverbius · May 1, 2003

Jarinor said:
I'm more interested to see how far up NWN will be pushed, considering the loving they gave them in an article recently...

NWN shouldn't get it at all, considering they got the DM mode thing from Vampire:tM, the gameplay from Diablo, the character system from WotC, and the campaign from a geriatric monkey's ass.

NWN is very much a game that comes from everyone else's ideas, and BioWare just haphazardly tossed it together.

Jarinor · May 2, 2003

Considering Baldur's Gate landed in the low 60's, BG2 and NWN will inevitably show up higher with 'their revolutionary game play, and astronomically high sales they have to be good!'

On another note, I can't believe System Shock 2 was shafted and left at #70. It's a disgrace - that is the scariest game I've ever played, and a damn fine shooter with some minor RPG elements to make it fun.

Zetor · May 2, 2003

At least they gave props to Sam&Max. The other games... Shining Force, WTF? Ever heard of the Gold Box games, mr. IGN?
Also, Herzog Zwei wasn't the first RTS -- Johnny Reb was, and there were possibly others before it. (1985ish, C-64)
Don't get me started on the idiotic choices this time around, either. Tobal 2? Pass the bong, please.

:roll:

-- Z.

Rosh · May 2, 2003

Zetor said:
At least they gave props to Sam&Max. The other games... Shining Force, WTF? Ever heard of the Gold Box games, mr. IGN?

You forget, they are mostly kids that are doing the editorials and work on magazines these days. Most of the good, groundbreaking games were out before these kids should have been a stain on someone's bedsheets rather than contribute to the publisher problem in the game industry.

Zetor · May 2, 2003

True dat... it's still funny to look at the lists and marvel at the cluelessness, though.

Speaking of which, the next list is up. [50-60]
It features Star Control 2 and Ultima 7 ... and that's it. Whee. [well, something could be said for MW2 or Advance Wars, I guess, but Resident Evil 2?!]

-- Z.

Psilon · May 3, 2003

Funny... More than half of the games on each week's list are console-based. In fact, all but two lists have what? 70%+ consoles/arcade?

I can appreciate a good NES game as much as the next guy, but putting Excitebike ahead of SimCity is just wrong. SimCity 4 maybe, but not Classic or 2000.

Hell, SC2K's probably going to be disqualified due to sequel status, so we'll see something like Animal Crossing or The Sims in the top 20. And where are the Sierra graphical adventure games? Sierra practically, nay, did invent the genre with Mystery House. Sam & Max is one of my all-time favorites, but to neglect King's Quest 1 through 6, Space Quest, and Quest for Glory is inexcusable.

Zetor · May 3, 2003

I made the mistake of looking at the top 100 forums...
... jebus. It's like GameFAQs Final Fantasy boards gone wild there. Here are three random threads to whet your appetite.

Ugh. No wonder the industry is going to hell in a handbasket... I wish I could pin it on IGN, but it looks like the drooling console fanbois are a much more likely cause. (don't get me wrong, there are quite a few good console games, but FF7 the best rpg evar? wtf?!)

-- Z.
"is it just me or do all console gamers live in a scary alternate dimension?"

Rosh · May 3, 2003

Zetor said:
I
"is it just me or do all console gamers live in a scary alternate dimension?"

It's called clueless mental retardation. Ever since IGN went more to console, they've been quite out there.

Elwro · May 3, 2003

*sigh*

Super Mario RPG

and this conversation sent me ROTFL:

A: we have to keep in mind that this list was made by incompetent fools =)
B: fools? Please tell me your joking.
C: Sam and Max made it. They rawk.
D: you mean it was made by only two people?

So I think we shouldn't bother with that list - from what I've seen on those threads it's designed for people like D above. Of course, we can marvel at the possible level of man's retardation just for the fun of it. No doubt that Our list would be Different and Better.

And besides that, I think I can bet my week's share of donuts that NWN will be #1, perhaps followed by Counterstrike and then some console shit.

Zetor · May 3, 2003

Yeah, you're right -- it's really sad when the average IQ of the most popular gaming boards [IGN, Gamefaqs] is below the 75 mark. Shit sells, as long as it's shiny console shit, apparently.
It also looks like IGN has exactly one semi-competent person [ie. the guy who nominated Star Control 2, for ex.] working on the list along with four or five mouth-breathing idiots.

Of course, they probably think us CRPG'ers are a bunch of stuck-up elitist snobs [who don't matter either way]. heh.

Btw, two bottlecaps say that FF7 will be #1, followed by a random Blizzard title, CS and one of the Super Mario games.

-- Z.

GreenNight · May 3, 2003

Zetor said:
[well, something could be said for MW2 or Advance Wars, I guess, but Resident Evil 2?!]

What happens with Resident Evil 2? It's the scariest game I ever player, and one of the few console games I've actually finished. At first you might find the controls somewhat ankward, but the scarcity of ammunition combined by the endless hordes of zombies (if you go throght bad routes), the oppresive ambientation and the surprises it gives gave this game a place in my heart :wink:

In fact playing alone, at night, no other sounds than the zombies, no other lights than the TV... I had to stop playing because I was getting scared. And I was about 21 when it happened, so I wasn't an scared child. I suppose it was because I felt so immersed that it awaked primary fears in me. :oops:

But I agree that this list, that I haven't read, is completely biased and made by morons. Is/will be Elite in there? What about C-64/Spectrum/MSX games are there any in? Oh... those old days with my Spectrum :_) I long for them.

Be happy!

Spazmo · May 3, 2003

That kid who's complaining about how he can't remember any of the games on the list makes me alternatively giggle, then cry. I mean, shit, I've played a bunch of games from years before my birth (and on a genuine C64, to boot), why can't these console tards dig out daddy's NES or something?

Psilon · May 3, 2003

Zetor said:
Btw, two bottlecaps say that FF7 will be #1, followed by a random Blizzard title, CS and one of the Super Mario games.

Counter-Strike's number 83.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the holy wars when the IGN list goes up against, say, the PC Gamer list or the GameSpot list. "No how can simcity be in teh top 10 when ign sez no f00l?"

Rayt · May 7, 2003

It's still good to see that Counterstrike made the top 100. Not because it's fantastic, brilliant or innovating, but because it shows you don't need tons of money, people and flashy ad campaigns these days to make a game and get litterally tons people to play something. Sorta like the Spiderware games, though they don't get that much attention.

Edit: Though the list doesn't make much sense, I'm still hoping Planescape Torment, Fallout and Syndicate will make the top 10.

Elwro · May 8, 2003

I'm beginning to think they forgot all about Syndicate. It's good to see Prince of Persia high on the list, but I cannot understand how it "spawned too many clones to count". I know no such game. For example, in most of the platform games you could just tap the rightarrow key to move 1 pixel to the right (Prehistoriks, Marios etc), while in PoP you had to move in steps. Another World and Flashback? Maybe, but they were good on their own and shouldn't be called 'clones'.

Come to think of it, there was this game called "Blackthorne" which was quite fun and it was in some ways similar to PoP.

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