Before I played Ultima or Final Fantasy or any other RPG I played Savage Empire. I put hour after hour into this game to the detriment of what lesser people call a “life.”
Ultima fans may be a little discouraged by this game. While you do play Britannia's Avatar, you are not in Britannia nor do you occupy the classic class structure of fighter, mage, shepherd, etc. Instead this is an entirely new game similar in appearance to Ultima VI, yet in a prehistoric world.
The Savage Empire is nearly entirely non-sequential in structure.
The overall goal is to unite the tribe to overcome the evil insectoid menace. In the age old tradition of the RPG every tribe wants a different task accomplished. Enemy creatures range from giant, near unstoppable T-Rex’s to half woman half snake nagas. The weapons are varied and the best weapons are constructed by yourself in a simple and effective manner (charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter make gunpowder: the only education you will ever need). NPC communication is carried out by a conversation emulator, while definitely new to me at the time there is a reason why normal in game conversation is limited to choice A, B, C. The conversation emulator can become very annoying yet strangely amusing as characters deny their gods
and their own existence at your selfish whims.
Your group has an AI system setup for combat. If a ranged weapon is put in their hands they will fall back and shoot the infidels. If their hands are empty they may attempt fisticuffs against dinosaurs. Mortally wounded they run away. A simple press of a key and you have direct control of a character. However if the main character is struck down you are transported across the continent to be revived. There is no Game Over, however there is a ten minute walk back to the point of death (with no load screens, happy days!).
There are problems of course. Enemies sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, some villages and quest points are hard to find, if some items are lost or misplaced the related quest (and perhaps future quests) cannot be completed. The graphics by today’s standards are simplistic with a simple top down view and grainy portraits for your characters and the motion choppy.
But let’s face it, when you play this game you are not looking for superior graphics. You want to experience the golden age of RPG’s for yourself. There is almost no better game for that (if you are interested in other games I would suggest that you also look at Ultima Underworld). A solid 9/10, primarily for the addictive gameplay and very fond memories.
