Entomorph: Plague of the Darkfall

Ultima Fans Could Be Forgiven for mistaking Entomorph for another episode in the seemingly endless series Lord British seems intent on inflicting on us - out of all of them Entomorph bears the most resemblance to Ultima VIII, with the familiar top-down view of the action and gorgeous hi-res SVGA graphics. Then there's the sword and sorcery setting and liberal scattering of spells throughout to further confirm the Ulrima-ness of the whole thing. A direct comparison between the two seems the best way to keep things simple and find out which one comes out on top. Here goes...

Entomorph Vs Ultima VIII

Graphics

Lintomorph's graphics are extremely nice. The sprites move realistically, the backgrounds are colourful, and the combat scenes arc depicted in a suitably action-packed fashion. But Ultima VIII, with its lush to-die-for graphics and superb sprite animation, wins hands down.

Gameplay

Entomorph starts off rather well - I thought I had a monster of a game on my hands when I first started it. The tale of the misguided Jagtera (big nasty flying insects that have suddenly got pissed off) is quite intriguing. You play Squire Warrick, a young warrior looking to bring peace to a troubled land. Your time is spent exploring, finding spells, fighting people and getting info from everyone you meet; it's all great fun for a while, but becomes repetitive after continued play. On the other hand. Ultima m is a massive game that oozes playability and is arguably the best of the Ultima series. The puzzles are taxing without being impossible, and as the storyline is always branching off it never gets boring. Some people prefer Ultima VII because you're more closely involved with the in-game characters, but I'd go for the ultra-looking Ultima VIII every time. So. Entomorph put up a brave battle on the gameplay front but ultimately (sorry) lost out.

Atmosphere

The graphics and gameplay in Entomorph don't quite match up to those of Ultima Vill but they're still pretty good in their own right. However, the general feel is somewhat lacking, due to backing tracks which would be more suited to an action game, and the on-screen text for the dialogue (surely we could have speech for most of the game?) looks bland and dull. In comparison, Ultima VIII rousing musical scores and superb sound effects create a perfect atmosphere.

In conclusion

It's not that I want to put you off Entomorph. It's good and reasonably big. with a fairly engrossing storyline - it's just that with a bit more work the presentation could have been a lot better. If you've already got Ultima VIII and you want something that's similar in style. Entomorph is worth a look. But if you've got to choose between the two, Ultima VIII is the one to go for.