User reviews

This is one of the best games I've ever played in my life and changed me for who I am today Still playing sometimes after 20+ years., I loved the design and the community in the game.

junior high preteens or some of the most illogical people in the States, this game is for you.

When I first began playing this game in college, I was quickly sucked in. It provided hours of enjoyment, which were also mixed with boredom. An interesting mix, but regardless I continue to pay my dues to be involved with this game. Met some interesting people from all over the world, who made it a sole reason for me to continue to pay the monthly fee to play. Problem was that the most interesting people tend to move on with their lives and drop the game after a point. Many times they just did not find that the maturity level was up to par with what they wanted from the world.

However, once you got involved with game you begin to realize something. For me the epiphany was that I was wasting my life to a game, where the best players were simply the best cheaters or dirty players, and always the worse sports. Also, as stated earlier, these people garnered my respect. Until it dawned on me, why should I care, they are hopelessly lost in a video game, in a false reality, a place where the least acceptable persons were given accolades. There were people that would neglect very important parts of life to play this game, because they feared if they did not play every day for hours they would be that much more behind.

Thankfully, I was able to pull myself from the keyboard and say to myself, there is plenty more to life.

Now, about the actual game set apart from the people. The graphics are woefully dated. The technical support is dreadful. The game itself is pretty easy to learn if one continues to check and read the game's website. It becomes evident very quickly that no one really cares about a challenge, since illegal programs and cheating are abundant.

Raph's lack of vision and consistency was the ultimate untimely downfall of this pioneer title. UO's origins ushered in a new style of development and design that even in its current downturn has change the industry forever. Like Web 2.0 the idea of persistent content and a strong community experience has paved the way for multi-player games of all types. Until..... Raph took over.

Just like many of his other titles: Star Wars Galaxies and Everquest. This lack of direction has hindered the MMO industry for the 8 years it has been in existence. As the self proclaimed leader of the MMO industry the decisions he made in UO have perverted the whole evolution of the genre.