Let's Play Ultima Underworld 2 61: Mors Gotha and the Blackrock Dome
With the air daemon bound within Shana's body, we're entering in the final stages of the game. All we need to do is figure out exactly what we need to do to shatter the now weakened blackrock dome using the horn. It's a good thing we have an experienced and well read mage on hand in the castle to help us figure out what we have yet to do as well as another friendly mage in another world that can lend us a hand.
Unfortunately our efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Guardian who has forwarded his own plans of conquest; the small force that emerged from the blackrock gem were just the initial scouting force and leading them is a champion the likes of which the Avatar has never seen before.
Will the Avatar triumph in the face of adversity? Will Shana save those trapped in the castle? Will she escape from the labyrinth of worlds unscathed? There's only one way to find out.
I started this Let's Play stating that I didn't think Ultima Underworld 2 fitted into the timeline of the Ultima series. I have finished it with my opinion changed, seeing all the effort that's been put into it's storytelling and the world building not only with characters we know but also with the other worlds that the Avatar visits. The game builds on what made the first Ultima Underworld great and expands on it, adding a far more involved plot in a graphically enhanced world with captivating music and challenges that can be overcome by characters with radically different builds. If there's a complaint I can direct at this game it's that it's far more obviously linear compared to it's predecessor, limiting your exploration and questing to the worlds you unlock in a gradual process. While the first time initially doesn't seem to have a linear pathway in that you can explore a large amount of it without restriction, following the main plot itself gets to a somewhat linear process once you reach a certain point no matter what you've done beforehand. Another small fault is that unlike the first game some of the plot points of this one rely on the player having played some of the earlier Ultima games, The Black Gate in particular. These are only minor quibbles however that in my mind do little to mar how good this game is.
Ultima Underworld 2 is an exceptionally enjoyable gaming experience that I encourage anyone who enjoys games of that style to play. The amount of different characters you can build is vast and varied, forcing you to approach every problem with a new perspective; I can't even begin to imagine all that you'd have to do differently if you had no ability to cast rune magic for instance but I'm sure completing the game is entirely possible without it. Even if you have no prior experience with the Ultima series I recommend this game as it's great fun to play and a great technical achievement for the time it was released.
My only regret is that I couldn't figure out what I was missing for unlocking the item you can get from the goblins in the sewers, perhaps I'd gone too far into the game to activate the event trigger for getting it. If someone can tell me how it's done I'd appreciate it; if there's still a chance of me getting it at this late stage of the game that's even better and I'd gladly return to this let's play one more time so that I could show it off.
So, what's next? I After such a long adventure I think it's time that the Avatar had a well deserved break. After all, world hopping to that extent can make one long for rest and time for reflection. If we begin another long RPG or delve into something shorter remains to be seen; I have a few ideas that are more likely then others to be recorded but who can say if it'll even be one of them that replaces this game, eh? What I do know is that for now the world of Britannia is safe once again... but for how long will the peace last?
Perhaps the Avatar will need to take a long journey in pursuit of an old adversary, to the Serpent Isle...
See you next let's play!