Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Origin Systems |
Publisher(s) | Origin Systems |
Director(s) |
Richard Garriott Bill Armintrout |
Producer(s) | Warren Spector |
Designer(s) | Bill Armintrout |
Writer(s) |
Raymond Benson Bill Armintrout Sheri Hobbs |
Composer(s) |
Dana Karl Glover Marc Schaefgen |
Series | Ultima |
Engine | Ultima VII Engine |
Platform(s) | DOS and others through Exult |
Release date(s) | March 25, 1993 |
Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle is a role-playing video game released in 1993 as part of the core Ultima series, its story beginning eighteen months after the conclusion of Ultima VII Part One: The Black Gate. (The storyline of the spin-off game Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds takes place in the time between the two parts of Ultima VII, beginning on the first anniversary of the conclusion of Ultima VII Part One.)
In Serpent Isle, the Avatar follows Batlin to the eponymous land called Serpent Isle, finding three city-states founded by those who left Britannia generations before and ancient ruins from a still-older lost civilization that was there long before them.
This is the first game in the main Ultima series to completely take place outside Britannia as it has been known since Ultima III. It is also more linear than the earlier parts — unlike the earlier games, where the order in which quests were completed was of little concern, the new approach makes it possible to give the game a more carefully plotted storyline, while at the same time somewhat limiting the player's choice. Additionally, there are few optional sub-quests; every objective somehow ties into the main quest.
Unlike the four previous Ultimas, the companions do not take issue with theft or murder. The only punishment for such behavior is if characters outside the party witness it. As the world of Serpent Isle does not emphasize the virtues the way Britannia does, guards will sometimes ask for bribes from the Avatar if the player is caught stealing or murdering; bribing the guards was last possible in the game Ultima III.
Since most of the game's code was recycled from The Black Gate, it was decided not to call it Ultima VIII; Richard Garriott had stated in interviews around 1988 that no two Ultimas shared the same source code, unlike the then-competing The Bard's Tale series, and he may have felt bound by this statement.