Ultima Online: Third Dawn (PC)

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
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Overall score: 6.9 (3.0 stars)
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Gamespot editors' review

• Reviewed by: Michael Ryan
• Reviewed on: 04/02/2001
• Released on: 03/26/2001

When it was first announced, Ultima Online: Third Dawn seemed to have a very simple purpose. It would give Ultima Online a much-needed facelift to keep hard-core players interested and also to attract some new ones, all to bide time for Origin's eagerly anticipated follow-up, a game called Ultima Worlds Online: Origin. But then Electronic Arts pulled the plug on Ultima Online's would-be successor, and thus the context for Third Dawn changed dramatically. While the game originally seemed like a modest but respectable update to the long-running massively multiplayer role-playing game, Ultima Online fans are now left to wonder whether this is it.

Most of the 3D monsters in Third Dawn look better than before

To be sure, Third Dawn represents a significant change in the basic design of Ultima Online. Specifically, it strips out the original 2D graphics engine and replaces it with a 3D polygonal one. The results, though mostly for the best, are nonetheless mixed. While the new 3D engine allows for some very cool effects--for example, the glowing particles during spell animations--the visual quality of many items in the game has actually gotten worse. For instance, the player portrait artwork (the "paper doll" used for equipping items and so forth) is not particularly impressive. Although each type of weapon, shield, and piece of armor has a unique look, few of these things actually look very good. Characters' faces are nicely detailed in the new engine, but things like chain mail are rather ugly.

Thanks to the 3D engine and some new motion-captured animations, combat looks much more impressive than it did in the original 2D game. Characters swing their weapons with fluidity and even get beaten down with equal grace. The appearance of most monsters has also been dramatically improved with the new engine. Dragons look especially good, but even weaker creatures, such as orcs and ratmen, are very nicely updated. Those creatures that don't look as good, like the silly new earth elementals, are the exception rather than the rule. The new engine also lets you zoom in on the action, which has little function but for giving you an up-close look at monsters or other players.

The world itself is somewhat better looking than before, thanks primarily to the newly designed trees, which add much greater depth to the visual appearance of Britannia. Unfortunately, Third Dawn still suffers from some annoying problems with its terrain, and a few of these have been around since the earliest days of the original game. These include patches of wildflowers that cause the player to rebound while running, as well as odd terrain elevation differences that can completely hide a dead monster's body.

Another change in Third Dawn is the revamped interface, which features a handy toolbar that runs across the top of the screen. This bar includes buttons for the paper doll, your inventory, a list of your skills, and a pull-down menu of numerous social animations you can use while interacting with other players. These include things such as "vigorous arguing" motions and elaborate bows, and they're all generally quite well animated.

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