Jun 2022 Quarterly Games Completion Report (QGCR) #Ultima #TMNT #Torchlight

Half of 2022 has gone, and I was playing mostly retro games this quarter. Well, two retro games, one new retro game, and a sequel, which make out this list of games I have completed this quarter:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
- Torchlight III
- Ultima VII: The Black Gate
- Ultima VII: Serpent Isle

It is very difficult to decide which game I have enjoyed the most this quarter, but it will still come back to my favourite PC game of all time:



Expect more clearance of my backlog PC games for the reminding half of this year!

Ultima VII Part II: A 29th Anniversary Journey Back to Serpent Isle #UltimaVII #SerpentIsle #Exult

What an exhilarating and somewhat tired feeling! I managed to start Ultima VII Part II Serpent Isle on 1 May 2022 and completed it on 13 May 2022.  I played the Female Avatar this time:

Looking back at my previous posts on my Ultima VII experiences, I realised I don't play Serpent Isle as often as The Black Gate.  I supposed I prefer the world of Britannia where it is more open-world as compared to Serpent Isle where it is also open-world, but also rather linear.

Well, this concludes my entire Ultima VII experience this year.  Really not sure when I will revisit Britannia or Serpent Isle again.  Like I mentioned previously, maybe in another 15 years from now, where I will be pushing 60 years old...

"Pleasant dreams, Avatar..."

Ultima VII: A 30th Anniversary Journey Back to Britannia #UltimaVII #SerpentIsle #Exult

So how do you celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of your favourite PC game? By playing it again of course!  And for this special occasion, I have once again travelled back to Britannia to visit my old friends Dupre, Shamino, Iolo and Lord British. I am of course referring to Ultima VII and its sequel The Serpent Isle.  Welcome back Avatar!

I went back to read my previous post and realised that I coincidentally set a milestone for playing Ultima VII. So back in April 1992, I played Ultima VII for the very first time.

I returned to Ultima VII a few times after my first play. And for its 15th anniversary release, I returned to Ultima again and this time documented it in this post on 13 March 2007.

Then another 15 years later from 21 April 2022 to 29 April 2022, because the great people over at Exult (http://exult.sourceforge.net) posted on their facebook to announce that they had released Exult 1.8 on 16 April 2022 (exactly 30 years after Ultima VII was released!), I once again walked through the Red Moongate and experience Britannia in all its original and yet enhanced glory in Ultima VII!

I will start Serpent Isle soon after writing this blog post.

I don't think I will ever get tired of Ultima VII and The Serpent Isle. So I could very well write another post about playing Ultima VII 15 years later...

"Thou hast not age, Avatar!"

Ultima 7: The Complete Edition released on GOG.com

Once again, GOG.com has done it! A big thank you for GOG.com for re-releasing Ultima 7: The Complete Edition on their website today! As you know, Ultima 7 and Ultima 7 Part 2 are jointly my No. 1 favorite game of all time, so this news is an excellent one not only for me, but for the whole gaming community. Check out the website here:


Absolutely fabulous!

Ultima VII and Serpent Isle on my ASUS EeePad Transformer

YES! My No. 1 Favorite can now be played on my ASUS EeePad Transformer! And it's all thanks to the guys @ http://exult.sourceforge.net

Check out the screenshots below:




Welcome back, Avatar!

Ultima 7 forever

today, i started playing Ultima 7 again. after more than 15 years, this game is still my favourite Ultima game. i have never played Ultima 1 to 5 because of it's "block" graphics, Ultima 6 was my very first Ultima game, Ultima 8 is shit, and Ultima 9, although it's gameplay is acceptable in modern gaming, but the storyline (and also the fact that you cannot have companions to help you in your quest) sucks.

i guess Ultima 7 is a simple and yet overwhelming game to me. and that is why it is my favourite. a timeless game. not so much because it reminds me of the good old days, but rather it is a world i can go to whenever i find this one stinks.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate & Ultima VII Part II: The Serpent Isle

Ultima VII Part II: The Serpent Isle

An excellent follow-up to the best RPG game ever, Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle continues the story where Ultima VII left off.

After the fall of the Fellowship and the apparent defeat of the Guardian, Lord British and his "minions" found Batlin's (the leader of the Fellowship) possessions. They found out that the Guardian has commanded Batlin to travel to a place called the Serpent Isle in the event that the Guardian failed to enter through the Black Gate.

Thus, Lord British sent the Avatar and his companions Dupre, Shamino and Iolo, along with many cool weapons and armour, on a quest to stop Batlin and the Guardian on an isle that used to be part of Sosaria (now known as Britannia).

Nothing much has changed from Ultima VII to Ultima VI Part Two in terms of player interface, except that now the portraits of the character changes when you equip him/her with different armour or weapons.

"Thou hast best not do that, Avatar..."

Release Date: Q2 1993
Developer: Origin
Multiplayer: No

The following video shows the original opening sequence of Ultima VII Part Two:

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Ultima VII: The Black Gate

This is the best PC game ever. Regardless of it's release date in 1992, its graphics and interface are still very much "acceptable", perhaps because it is in SVGA and the buildings and characters are almost to scale. Thus, making Ultima 7 an excellent game to play over and over again.

Unlike most RPG games at that time, Ultima VII allows the player to recruit "companions" to assist in completing the main quest and the many sub-quests. The maximum in a party is 8. And most of the time I find myself giving "hand-me-down" weapons and armours to my next best companion (usually Dupre), whenever I pick up or buy or steal a better one.

I have played this game for more than 5 times so far, and I still have not gotten sick of it yet. The ability to perform many real-life day-to-day functions (like making bread from flour) in Ultima VII makes this game a true getaway from the hectics of the real-world.

"Welcome back to Britannia, Avatar..."

Release Date: Apr 16, 1992
Developer: Origin
Mutiplayer: No

The following video shows the ending scene of Ultima VII: