Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

About Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds (1993) is LookingGlass Technologies' 3D first-person RPG in which the Avatar travels through eight parallel worlds to break the Guardian's hold on a sealed Castle British.

Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds in Depth

One year after Ultima VII, the Avatar and many familiar faces are celebrating at Lord British's castle when a dome of impenetrable blackrock seals it. The Guardian means to attack Britannia while they are trapped, and his spell has opened portals between eight parallel worlds, each a centre of his power. Freeing each world weakens his grip on the castle: a goblin-held prison tower in Fyrna, the floating fortress of Killorn Keep, ice caves ruled by a ghost, the energy beings of Talorus, the mage school Scintillus Academy, the Pits of Carnage and the Tomb of Praecor Loth. Meanwhile a traitor lurks among those trapped in the castle, and the Guardian taunts the Avatar in dreams.

The game is played from a character's eye view in 3D, with a free mouse cursor to examine objects, talk to characters and ready weapons. Built on its predecessor's engine, it keeps jumping, swimming and the automap. Players create a character with gender, class and skills from diplomacy and lockpicking to blacksmithing; attacks vary with where the screen is clicked, held clicks deal more damage, and spells come from combinations of collected runestones. Skills are now raised by training with characters rather than at shrines. Torches burn out, items wear and the character must eat, many puzzles have several solutions, and areas are revisited as the character grows stronger.

Making Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds

Production began in April 1992, soon after Ultima Underworld was completed, and took nine months. The team aimed to make the world larger and more interactive and reused and improved the first game's engine, but insufficient staffing, extensive playtesting and the rapid schedule led to burnout. Most critics praised its graphics, design and non-linearity, while complaints focused on high system requirements and uneven pacing. PC Review called it "magnificent" and said it would take the sequel over the original any time, and PC Zone's David McCandless wrote that it was "about as close to Virtual Reality as you are ever likely to get from your mouse driver". The Toronto Star called it the best fantasy role-playing game "in this (or any parallel) world".