I have been a big fan of the Ultima series since Ultima III. For me, Ultima V was the best for it conveyed the sense of doom really well. However, this isn't a review of that game but of Ultima VII: The Black Gate.

What can I say, it basically raised the standard of RPGs out there with it's plot, sub-plots, and navigation system. The conversations with people became very structured by giving the player options to chat about certain topics.

There was also an active and sometimes fatal reminder about your role as an Avatar and how stealing and killing is not part of that. This is really important as your party's equipment list really depends on how much gold you owned. However, due to some creative fans out there, there are less-than-virtuous but nonetheless kosher ways to obtain money and items.

If you see this game in bargain bins in stores, pick it up! Then do a web-search on playing Ultima 7 in Windows and download that program, for the original game is a real pain to set up otherwise.

Basically this is a fantastic game which deserves to be used as a standard by which RPGs should be rated in terms of gameplay, flow and depth. The other portion, Ultima VII: Serpent Isle is another part of the series and is more challenging and a lot less familiar since it is not in the usual Britannia.