On a different note, and with applogies to the Luddite computer game haters in the audience, this'll be my last on this particular subject, but I feel as if my staying up all night to beat the last two thirds or so of Serpent Isle is somehow worthy of recognition. Insamuch as it ought to be recognized that nobody really makes games like this anymore. Even the BGs, even Morrowind, for all I love those games, have nothing on the plot of Serpent Isle. This, folks, is the pinnacle of computer gaming in almost every way that it matters. SI's plot is engaging, though there are a few sort of confusing spots here and there. Graphically it is now behind the times, although for 1993 it was beyond spectacular. It has a degree of immersion in the world that is second only to Morrowind's, and that's only because Morrowind has a decade of advances in graphics tech to work from. But most of all, SI makes you think. And I don't mean the puzzles, though the puzzles DO make you think, and that's good. But the plot, man, the plot, that's amazing. These games have a point. From the first moment you play any Ultima past 4, you must ask yourself questions about the world. Hard questions about virtuosity, morality. Serpent Isle is perhaps the best example I have ever seen of allegory in a game, though it's impossible for me to explain that to you without your having played it.
But in the end, any game that gives me adrenaline rushes and makes me stay up all night to play it, then leaves me sitting and staring at the screen going "Damn!" despite my having beat it at least 10 times, knowing the plot in intimate detail despite 10 years, and the total absence of the last cutscene which was a damn good cutscene, well, that game must truly kick ass.
On another note, I'm going to try to get into Ultima IV, widely hailed as the best Ultima there ever was. We'll see. I'll try not to bore you too much, though if anyone should care to follow along at home, the game is now freeware, and I can tell you what you need to do to make it run. In addition, the Conquests xpack for Civ 3 will be my end of the term present, and besides that, there's a game by the name of UFO: Aftermath that's sounding pretty damn cool, from Sirian's talk on the Realms Beyond boards. We shall see.
And yes, I'm getting my homework done.
Posted by Dwip at October 30, 2003 3:21 PM