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Ultima 8: Gold Edition is Origin's 'On the House' game for May

The latter entries in the Ultima series aren't exactly the most beloved, but nonetheless, EA is offering Ultima 8: Gold Edition as Origin's latest 'On the House' game.

Ozzie Mejia

April 28, 2015 3:25 PM

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The Ultima games rank among the most beloved RPGs of all-time, so fans of the long-running series got a treat today when Origin posted its latest "On the House" offering. Avatars will return to the world of Pagan with this month's free game, Ultima 8: Gold Edition.

First released in 1994, Ultima 8: Pagan centers around the mighty Avatar, fresh off defeating Batlin on Serpent's Isle. However, he's been banished the world of Pagan, while Britannia is left to the mercy of the evil Guardian.

Ultima 8 received a mixed reception upon its release, with some appreciating the spellcasting and many others loathing the platforming. Of course, it should be noted that platforming sequences, originally unforgiving to the point of absurdity, has since been refined and should be a little easier this time around.

Those looking to get a look at Ultima 8 can pick it up from Origin. Meanwhile, those looking to the future of Richard Garriott's Avatar character can check out an interview conducted earlier today on the AmbushedGamer Twitch channel. Thanks to poster jingletard for that particular tip.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?