OT: a nice RPG-ish game?

[Alneyan]

Ultima VIII isn't a bad game, as long as you do not expect it to be the same as Ultima VII (or any other Ultima I know of for this matter). It should have been released under another name I guess though. So while Ultima VIII isn't exactly what you would call a game as the previous Ultimas, it is a fine game on its own (not the better I have ever played however).

Well, I gather RPG is only a convenient label to stick on anything that has a character and ways of "changing" this character (either her behaviour or various statistics). For this matter, you could probably roleplay in Minesweeper. Sure, there are easier things in the world, but if you have too much time on your hands... It would even be an exciting adventure.

"I stood here, at the crossroads of fate. On my left was a barren land, a suitable place to lay a trap for the unwary. A grove could be seen to my right, a pleasant place to look at. I was left to wonder at which direction to take, and where was the Last Mine of Power I sought. While the waste seemed a cliché place for an ambush, nobody with her wits would even think of crossing this place. On the other hand, the forest was a welcoming place, but a trap would be difficult to set up there.

These many questions came to my mind while I stood there, contemplating the various options at my disposal. And suddenly, the answer occured to me: why, I but had to cast this spell of Detect Hidden I found after disabling the Seventh Mine of Power. And so I understood; there was no trap either in the wasteland or in the grove, for I had already discovered where was the Last Mine. I was standing right over it, and did not have the time to consider this particular pattern of thought before being sent to the closest afterlife that could be found for me." Make sure to seek our exciting sequel next time, "The thoughts of a leaf of bread left under a dusty desk for two weeks"!

Hmm, back to our original scheduled programme...