Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar

 iOS
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 17
  3. Negative: 4 out of 17
Buy Now
Stream On
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Aug 27, 2013
    72
    Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar delivers a compelling adventure, with lots of quests and basic touch controls.
  2. MacLife
    Aug 25, 2013
    70
    Ultima Forever’s stripped-down approach to dungeon-delving might alienate more hardcore fans, but the satisfyingly simple battles and the amount of content on offer make it worth a trip to Britannia.
  3. 148Apps
    Aug 14, 2013
    70
    Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar is a fun online hack 'n slash that unfortunately lets its monetization play too big of a role in the game.
  5. Gamezebo
    Aug 12, 2013
    70
    If all of this makes Ultima Forever sound like a mixed bag, that’s because it is. While the Mythic team deserves a pat on the back for the effort it made to restore the Ultima brand to relevancy, the end result is something that still leaves you wanting, at least a little bit.
  6. Pocket Gamer UK
    Jul 26, 2013
    70
    Significant technical issues currently hamper an otherwise strong title that represents as much a love letter to Ultima as it does a new way of freemium RPG design.
  7. MMORPG.com
    Aug 20, 2013
    64
    Ironically in reaching out to revive Ultima, EA have missed out on two of its virtues: humility and compassion. Ultima Forever is a very fine casual MMO for your mobile device. The adventure is crisp, enjoyable, and interesting - but that cash shop really lets it down in the end.
  8. IGN Italia
    Aug 26, 2013
    60
    There is nothing of Ultima's original spirit in this Quest For Avatar. If you can survive to a (light) pay-to-win economy, network problems and technical issues, you may find a good RPG which can be played alone or with your friends.
  9. Destructoid
    Aug 14, 2013
    60
    Beyond the bugs and pesky purchases, Ultima Forever is actually a pretty solid touch RPG.
  10. Modojo
    Aug 13, 2013
    60
    For a free-to-play game, Ultima Forever isn't bad at all, and adventurers with a good online connection won't want to miss out on the chance to play alongside friends. Between technical bugs, the complete lack of an off-line mode, and the need to pay for premium items though, it might just take you forever to really get into the game's many charms.
  11. TouchArcade
    Aug 12, 2013
    60
    For optimal enjoyment of Ultima Forever, it’s best to play on an iPhone 5. Party members may still lag out and disappear, but you’ll have less frame issues. For the freemium price, I’m all on board for this Ultima MMO. When I’m in a solid party, I can’t put this game down. There’s too much to do and tons of reasons to go back into old dungeons and farm for better loot. Hopefully, with subsequent patches the frame issues will slowly disappear.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
3.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 3 out of 5
  1. foboman
    Feb 3, 2014
    5
    This game is bad.
    I'm not saying it's awful. But it's bad. The problem is simple: when you're making a game which is part of a franchise you    This game is bad.
    I'm not saying it's awful. But it's bad. The problem is simple: when you're making a game which is part of a franchise you have to follow a lot of unspoken rules dictated by the players who played other games of the same.
    Now, this is especially true if the franchise you're working on is a great legend and one of the first of its genre. It's hard, and having to do something with it must not be simple.
    BioWare tried. They really tried, but they have utterly failed.
    Ultima Forever is a reboot, meaning it throws away all the nine-plus two-plus two (not counting the Game Boy and Commodore ones) games that quite a lot of people loved and really looked upon in order to start again and make things anew. Of course they started with Quest of the Avatar, where even in the original games the story actually started to make sense.
    Shame is that the game has literally nothing to do with the Ultima universe as everybody already knew it. Classes are not right, world is not right, lore is not right. Everything is wrong, but if we're talking of a reboot then it's actually acceptable. You can do that. Of course you will make quite a lot of fans pretty angry, but you can. But then again, as a "all-new" game again this Ultima Forever doesn't shine: the gameplay is really shallow, utterly boring and, as EA is pretty known for, has a freemium policy which actually means that you will have a fun time only if you pay your little sack of money. But of course people won't do that for a game that doesn't give anything back. No satisfaction. No rewards.
    The original Ultima IV did? Yes. Even finding a single rune in Ultima IV made you jump with satisfaction. This game won't, because it's just another "touch here, kill the monster" game.

    Truly a shame what EA did to a glorious old franchise.    … Full Review »
See all user reviews »