Many eons ago, or maybe it just seems like that, a man named Lord British (A.K.A. Richard Garriott) released a software package to the world which forever changed the manner in which computers and games were thought of. That game from so long ago (actually 1978) was Akalabeth, the predecessor to the now famous Ultima series of adventure role playing games.
Now, when it seemed safe to emerge from the darkness safe from the threat of attack by an Orc, Viper, Gremlin, or Thief, Akalabeth has once again risen thanks to some fancy programming by the good folks at Quantum Toast (http://www.quantumtoast.com/wwwqt/) and the kind permission of the creator, Lord British. The only difference is it is now an iPhone / iTouch / iPad app. Released last year to what seems like little fanfare, the App somehow flew under our radar for far too long.
Funny about it all is that we bought the app for the $1.99 (¥230 JPY for the Japan App Store), installed it and went about playing it. For everything that this game is, the one thing striking is how true they tried to remain to the original. The grinding noises, while not exactly Apple ][ like at least gave you the feeling of the old machine. The individual keys which appear depending on the screen and the action makes the game really easy to play. We found it almost too easy and with the speed of the game, it is almost impossible to not get killed off within 5 minutes of starting the game, which we did after being assigned our grand quest by Lord British himself.
The sad part of playing the game was I never remembered beating an opponent within the game being so difficult. Even with having weapons and plenty of stamina and strength, I seemed to be on the losing end of the game at every turn. The only choice was to flee and try and get to the next ladder to climb up or down. This made the game less than the fun that I had expected in the beginning.
While the game is impressive in its nostalgia bit, this old author found the fonts used in the screen a bit too small and I actually had to pull out the old reading glasses. This problem remedied the old fashioned way, the game proceeded just as expected. I lost again within another 5 minutes. But the game itself, was a refreshing walk down the old memory lane. We recommend it for anyone who wants to see what graphical games were like in 1978. However for real game play, it is only good in the fact that the controls are specified on the screen and choices are made simple. Also the age 9+ restriction on the game seems a bit out of place but may be there due to the fact that the object of the game is to “kill” monsters.
You can get the game and more information about it at the Akalabeth App website at:
http://www.akalabethapp.com/wwwak/
