''Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire'' is a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

, part in the ''Ultima'' series, published in 1990. It is considered a ''

Worlds of Ultima ''Ultima'' is a series of open world fantasy role-playing video games from Origin Systems, Origin Systems, Inc. ''Ultima'' was created by Richard Garriott. Electronic Arts has owned the brand since 1992. The series sold over 2 million copies by 1 ...

'' game, as its setting differs from that of the main series. It uses the same

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

as '' Ultima VI: The False Prophet'' and '' Martian Dreams''. On June 18, 2012,

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

released the game as freeware through

GOG.com GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through its ...

Gameplay

Plot

Story

After the events in ''Ultima VI'', the Avatar is transported by a friend's failed experiment with an obsidian "moonstone" to the otherworldly Valley of Eodon, a large jungle-like world filled with various tribes. These tribes have been magically drawn from varying periods and locations in history, such as the aboriginal nations of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

and tropical Africa. The valley of Eodon is actually on Earth, but it is inaccessible and unmappable. At the time of the arrival of the Avatar, the place is under attack from the insect-like Myrmidex. The Avatar needs to understand and master some aspects of their stone-age tribal culture and their "jungle magic" to find a way to bring peace to the valley. The main plot involves getting all thirteen tribes to join in an alliance against the Myrmidex. Each tribe has its own demands before joining, ranging from defeating a Tyrannosaurus rex to recovering their holy statue. This mixture of worlds was created by a huge corrupted moonstone that the Myrmidex possess, which has to be destroyed to prevent it collapsing in instability. The player commands the Avatar and a party generally consisting of up to four other characters. However, two set events in the game add a character to the party even if this limit has been reached, resulting in a maximum party size of seven characters.

Release

Origin sold a

special edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

of the game autographed by Lord British. It came with a

hint book Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Str ...

and T-shirt. A port of ''Savage Empire'' was released in Japan for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

, using the game engine from the Super NES version of ''

Ultima VII ''Ultima VII: The Black Gate'' is the seventh installment of the ''Ultima (series), Ultima series'' of role-playing video games, released on April 16, 1992. In it the player returns as The Avatar, a would-be paragon of moral virtue who faces down ...

''. The game was localized and planned for a North American release, but that was eventually cancelled.

Reception

Personal computer version

Dennis Owens reviewed the game for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', and stated that "compared to any except its own brothers and sisters, ''The Savage Empire'', despite its niggling problems (which show only because of the brilliance with which the entire line shines), must be considered dazzling and successful. Compared to its peers, however, the game presents what may be a disturbing view of a possible trend in the ''Ultima'' line: caricature." ''

'' described ''Savage Empire'' as "not too difficult, but occasionally tricky. Good for filling in the hours while you wait for the next real ''Ultima''". The editors of ''

Game Player's PC Strategy Guide ''Game Players'' is a defunct monthly video game magazine founded by Robert C. Lock in 1989 and originally published by Signal Research in Greensboro, North Carolina. The original publication began as ''Game Players Strategy to Nintendo Games'' ...

'' presented the game with their 1990 "Best PC Fantasy Role-Playing Game" award. They wrote, "Lushly beautiful graphics, coupled with a fine role-playing interface, evoke those great old 'lost world' tales from the heyday of the pulp magazines."

Super Famicom version

On release, ''

Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave the Super Famicom version of the game a score of 23 out of 40. ''

GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...

'' gave it a negative review, citing crude graphics, sparse sound effects, confusing menus, and the trial-and-error involved in combining objects, as well as "the long-winded conversations, confusing subplots, and annoying characters who pop up for seemingly no reason at all." Mike Weigand of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...

'' stated "These PC-RPG conversions never really did it for me and ''Savage Empire'' is no exception. The action here is slow and definitely geared more toward strategy-oriented game players."

References

External links

*
Free download of ''The Savage Empire''
at

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