Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
The Avatar traverses eight dimensions to stop the Guardian.
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds is a 1993 action role-playing game developed by LookingGlass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. As the sequel to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, it is set in the Ultima fantasy universe and follows the Avatar through multiple dimensions to thwart the Guardian's plans for world domination. The game is noted for its nonlinear progression and emergent gameplay.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- LookingGlass Technologies
- Publisher
- Origin Systems, Electronic Arts
- Series
- Ultima
- Director
- Paul Neurath
- Producer
- Warren Spector
- Designer
- Paul Neurath
- Doug Church
- Tim Stellmach
- Programmer
- Doug Church
- Writer
- Austin Grossman
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The game takes place across multiple parallel dimensions, beginning in Britannia, the traditional Ultima setting. The protagonist is the Avatar, and the events occur directly after Ultima VII: The Black Gate, with the Guardian as the villain. Recurring characters include Lord British, Nystul, Dupre, Iolo, Mayor Patterson, Lady Tory, and Miranda. One year after Ultima VII, the Avatar and others are trapped in Lord British's castle by a dome of impenetrable blackrock. The Guardian plans to attack Britannia while they are confined, demanding surrender or death. Searching the castle sewers, the Avatar finds a smaller blackrock crystal that opens portals to eight parallel worlds, each a center of the Guardian's power. The Guardian mocks the Avatar in dreams throughout the game. As the Avatar frees each dimension, a concurrent plotline unfolds at the castle, involving a traitor among those trapped whose identity the Avatar must discover.
Development
Development began in April 1992, shortly after the first Ultima Underworld, with a nine-month production cycle. The team aimed to improve on the predecessor by creating a more complex plot, better simulation elements, and increased play value. Project leader Doug Church noted the advantage of four dedicated designers, compared to the original team's multi-role approach. Lead writer Austin Grossman drew inspiration from the Dungeons & Dragons module Tomb of Horrors for the Tomb of Praecor Loth. Levels were more carefully revised to ensure interesting content on each exploration. The game world was made several times larger than that of Ultima Underworld, though Church later felt the team was overambitious, leading to insufficient focus and polish. Warren Spector produced the game, acting as the link to publisher Origin Systems; his weekly calls and monthly meetings helped refocus the team. When art production lagged, Spector supplemented the team with contractors from Origin, which Church considered critical to meeting the schedule. Dan Schmidt and Seamus Blackley composed the score in Blackley's apartment over one week, giving each world a unique sound while hiding variations of the main theme. The music system was retained with minor changes, but digitized sound effects replaced the synthesized audio of the first game.
Reception
Ultima Underworld II and its predecessor together sold half a million units, according to Paul Neurath. Critics generally gave positive reviews, praising the graphics, design, and nonlinearity. PC Review's Paul Presley called the game huge and lauded its atmosphere, variety, and graphical detail, though he felt it did not reach a higher plateau than its predecessor. PC Zone's David McCandless highlighted the freedom and atmospheric sound, calling the graphics stunning on high-end computers, but noted the game felt looser and less involving due to its size. The Toronto Star's William Burrill deemed it the best fantasy role-playing game, praising the automap and graphical fidelity, while noting the control system required time to learn and the game had frustrations and flaws. Computer Gaming World's Doug Sencat enjoyed the graphics and praised the plot, conversations, and 3D world for immersion, but criticized movement controls, navigation, linearity of plot and dialogue trees, and NPCs' lack of independent action. He described the game as a long, grueling quest that often seemed more frustrating than enjoyable, though he called it a relatively high-quality game. Scorpia of the same magazine was more positive, calling it a good follow-up to the previous entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who published Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds?
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds was published by Origin Systems and Electronic Arts.
What platforms is Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds available on?
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds was released for DOS, FM Towns and PC-98.
Who designed Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds?
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds was designed by Paul Neurath, Doug Church and Tim Stellmach.
Who composed the music for Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds?
The music for Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds was composed by Jon Blackley and Dan Schmidt.
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