Artifacts
When going about deciding what kind of items to add into the game, I first asked the question “What for?”
Were there any reasons to add new item? Were there some abilities or powers that were needed, or could have helped the avatar on his quest?
My answer to that question was…not really. I managed to finish the game without any great need for some special items. I am sure many other people managed the same.
So, next I asked myself, were there any things that could have improved things for the player himself? To that I certainly answered yes.
There have been many criticisms leveled at Ultima IV over the years, and mostly they are criticism that are reflective of the state, or tolerance levels, of modern gamers. Nevertheless, some of these criticisms are certainly things I felt on my first play through.
First would be the endless flow of enemies to face whilst traversing the lands of Britannia. There were many a time when I just wanted to get somewhere, but was thwarted by wave after wave of orcs, skeletons, mages and daemons.
Can a guy just travel through the mountains?? I mean..C'mon!!
Second would be the poisonings. How many times was I poisoned? Hundreds, for certain. Any venturing onto any marsh would always, ALWAYS result in someone getting poisoned. Early on in the game, that was often fatal, until one mastered the cure spell.
Are you kidding me!? It's like...two feet of swamp!
Third would be the Mystic Weapons. After using the Magic Axe, Bow and Wand, they were a bit of a let down.
Last would be, I guess…walking, travelling across the land for the umpteenth time, to go and speak with someone for the umpteenth time. Gate travel was good, but I never really mastered it.
So, these were some of my slight peeves with the game, and I have looked to plug some of those gaps with new weapons and artifacts. I’ll say no more than that. Wouldn’t want to spoil things. Not that anyone is paying attention. But still. No spoilys.
