Popular games published by company Origin Systems

A seminal cyberpunk first-person exploratory adventure game with RPG elements in which, waking up in the Citadel Space Station, a lone hacker has to survive corrupted enemies and collect audio logs and equipment from former station workers in order to shut down SHODAN, the station's artificial intelligence that has killed everyone on board and now intends to destroy the world.

It has been two centuries since the Avatar last appeared in our good kingdom. Some have written that at last it is possible to interpret the tales of the Avatar as they should be, with the proper historical perspective. Some argue that as time moves on, the truth of what actually occurred will fade even further away and that we have a responsibility to preserve the legends as we now know them. However, most agree when it comes to a number of basic theories. While there are those who maintain that the stories of the Avatar are only myths, practically all credible scholars say that at least some elements of the Avatar’s tales are historical fact. In reality, one need look no further than the Isle of the Avatar to see very persuasive evidence that the Avatar did indeed exist - at least as a person if not as a spiritual being! It is most likely that there has been more than one Avatar. All of the writings insist that the Avatar who negotiated the peace between Britannia and the gargoyles is the one and same person who first appeared to vanquish the sorcerer Mondain those many years ago. While saying it is most unlikely, historians do not firmly deny the possibility of there having been only on Avatar. After all, our good sovereign monarch, wise Lord British, has himself displayed an amazing longevity! Whatever interpretation of history proves to be most accurate, it seems undeniable that the Avatar will not return to our fair kingdom. By all indications the age of magic is coming to an end. With the decline on reliability of mages, and with the kingdom turning away from the magical arts, it is doubtful that extreme danger - that which would require an Avatar’s aid to defeat it - will ever return to Britannia. And thankfully so. Upon us is the age of The Fellowship, in which one does not simply wait in anticipation for a heroic savior when a crisis occurs. In this less spectacular but more practical day, we are left to solve our problems with our own minds and our own will.

Following the defeat of the evil triad in the previous three Ultima games, the world of Sosaria changed beyond recognition: continents rose and sank, and new cities were built, heralding the advent of a different civilization. Unified by the reign of the benevolent monarch Lord British, the new world was renamed Britannia. Lord British wished to base people's well-being on the ethical principles of Truth, Love, and Courage, proclaiming the Eight Virtues (Honesty, Compassion, Valor, Justice, Sacrifice, Honor, Spirituality, and Humility) as the ideal everyone should strive for. The person who could accomplish full understanding and realization of these virtues would serve as a spiritual leader and a moral example for the inhabitants of Britannia; he alone would be able to obtain holy artifacts, descend into the Stygian Abyss, and access the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. This person is the Avatar. The fourth game in the Ultima series features an improved game engine, with color graphics and enhanced character interaction: the player can have conversations with non-playable characters by typing names of various topics. However, the main difference between Ultima IV and its predecessors in the series (as well as other role-playing games) lies in the game's objectives and the ways to fulfill them. Instead of building up a character by any means possible in order to face a villain in the end of the game, in Ultima IV the player is trying to become the Avatar, a role model for people. This means upholding the Eight Virtues, basically trying to become a better person. Making morally conscious decisions and helping other people is not done expecting a material reward, but because it is the actual goal of the game and the main focus of its gameplay. The game frowns on behavior typical of most other RPGs, such as backstabbing fleeing enemies or picking up everything that isn't nailed down even if it does not belong to the protagonist. This different approach established the game's reputation as the first "true" Ultima, influencing the design philosophy of later installments and the overall spirit of the series. Character creation is done by choosing responses to morally ambiguous questions. Each of the Eight Virtues corresponds to a character class; by determining the player's personal priorities in the virtues, the game assigns a class and a starting location for the Avatar. After emerging in Britannia, the player is free to explore it in various ways (on foot, moongate teleportation, on horseback, by ship, etc.). Certain items must be collected in any order to enter the Stygian Abyss and complete the game. The Avatar also has to reach the highest level in all virtues. This is achieved by various means: donating blood increases Sacrifice, not fleeing from combat increases Valor, etc. The process, however, is not irreversible: should the Avatar overpay a blind seller, he gains Compassion points; should he, on the other hand, cheat the seller by underpaying, his level in several virtues would decrease. These unorthodox features of the game co-exist with plenty of traditional RPG elements, such as dungeons to explore and hostile monsters to kill. Enemies are encountered on the world map as well as in dungeons; combat takes place on separate top-down screens, allowing player-controlled and enemy parties freely move on them. Characters accumulate experience points and level up, gaining higher amount of hit points and access to stronger magic spells. Like in the previous installments of the series, world map, town exploration and combat are presented from a top-down view, while the dungeons are pseudo-3D and are explored from first-person perspective. Ultima IV also introduces several new gameplay features to the series and role-playing games in general. A number of initially non-playable characters living in various areas of the game world are able to to join the party and fight alongside the hero, replacing traditional player-generated characters or mercenaries and adventurers available only in special locations. Additional new elements include buying and combining reagents in order to cast spells, puzzle rooms in dungeons, and others. The FM Towns version, while identical to the others in gameplay, introduces upgraded graphics similar to those used in next installment of the series.

The Isle of the Avatar was discovered during the Fourth Age (as related in Quest of the Avatar), at the climax of the Avatar’s quest. The Stranger from Another World, who came to Britannia in answer to Lord British’s summons, completed the Test of the Eight Virtues and became the Avatar — the embodiment of the pure axiom of life. It was during his journeys that the Avatar unearthed a chilling artifact: the skull of Mondain the Wicked, the first of the Triad of Evil. There were those who claimed that the artifact held the power to destroy all life on our world. Fortunately, it was the Stranger who discovered it, and not someone of lesser Virtue. Upon completing the Path of the Eight Virtues, the Avatar embarked on a search for the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom. Legend linked this ancient tome with the subterranean maze known as the Great Stygian Abyss. “Truly, no one has ever plumbed its depths,” wrote Shamino, who arranged by magic to obtain a map of its corridors. “I cannot imagine the horrors that await the first to venture into the Stygian depths.”

Ultima VI sees the player return to Britannia, at war with a race of gargoyles from another land, struggling to stop a prophecy from ending their race. The player must help defend Britannia against these gargoyles, and ultimately discover the secrets about both lands and its peoples.

Gameplay consists of completing successive missions and overall cockpit performance affects gameplay: going above and beyond the call of duty results in medals, promotions in rank are awarded at regular intervals, and success or failure on certain critical missions decides the player's plot progress, "winning" or "losing".

After a century of relative peace, the Avatar of Virtue is summoned back to the medieval kingdom of Britannia to deal with a new threat: the usurper Lord Blackthorn, a formerly honorable nobleman who has been corrupted by strange new creatures called the Shadowlords. After the recent disappearance of the true king, Lord British, the realm has fallen under martial law. Blackthorn now rules the land by brutally enforcing the eight Virtues upon the people of Britannia - corrupting their meaning in the process. The Avatar must gather together his former companions, now made outlaws by Blackthorn's regime, and venture forth to defeat the vile Shadowlords and recover the true king from the shadowy depths of the Underworld.

In an attempt to conquer the world, The Guardian encases Castle Britannia and its occupants--including the Avatar--in a giant blackrock gem. The game takes place one year after the events of Ultima 7: The Black Gate. To celebrate the defeat of the Guardian, Lord British invites the Avatar and his companions to his castle. However, in the night of the feast the Guardian attacks again, encasing the castle in a giant gem of blackrock. Deep in the sewers of the castle, another blackrock gem resides, being a teleporter to other worlds controlled by the Guardian. Now you, the Avatar, must travel to these worlds in order to free the castle from the Guardian's spell. This sequel to Ultima Underworld plays exactly as the original, except for a larger game world, a richer storyline and better graphics and sound.

You may be the hottest pilot in the fleet, but this will cool your jets! In Wing Commander you blast your way through the Vega Campaign. You'd better be as good as your reputation because the stakes are too high to play it safe. Just when you think that the action can't get any more intense, or the opposition any stiffer, you'll plunge into Wing Commander II. Disgraced and unjustly court-martialed, you have to prove yourself once again and earn the respect of the Confederation High Command. Of course, there is also the little matter of preventing the destruction of the Terran home-worlds.

BioForge is an action-adventure game that was one of the first to feature fully textured 3D characters over pre-rendered backgrounds. In this unique cyber-thriller you collect items and solve mind-bending challenges to discover the secrets of your imprisonment and recover your lost identity. Fight against your robotic and human oppressors using a combination of melee weaponry and guns. Break out of your prison and show your foes what you’re made of. Half metal, half flesh, all vengeance!

Abuse resembles a side-scrolling platform game. The game is marked for its unusual control scheme: The keyboard is used to move Nick, while the mouse is used for aiming the weapons. The basic gameplay consists of fighting various enemies (mostly the various forms of mutants, who prefer to attack in huge swarms) and solving some simple puzzles, most involving switches.

Times of Lore is a pleasant RPG set in the land of Albareth. You play either a Knight, a Barbarian, or a Valkyrie on a quest to search for the magical artifacts that will restore High King Valwyn to power. The game is played in real-time, similar to the Ultima series. The storyline, game play and battle system are simple. The graphics and sound are decent as well. This is a good little game that does not have too many puzzles and is just enjoyable to play with not much thinking.

The Ultima VIII Pagan starts exactly where Ultima VII ended. Avatar is cast to the world of Pagan by the Guardian. In the meantime, the Guardian is taking control over Britannia and Avatar has to find the way to leave Pagan and save Britannia from the Guardian. The world of Pagan is ruled by four titans that prevent any interworld travel. To open a portal to Britannia, Avatar has to destroy all four titans ad claim their power.

Ultima (later titled, Ultima: The First Age of Darkness) is the first game in the Ultima series of role-playing video games created by Richard Garriott. The game was one of the first definitive commercial computer RPGs, and is considered an important and influential turning point for the development of the genre throughout years to come.

I write these words aboard a colossal bullet rocketing from the Earth to Mars. Wondrous as this is (and it is, I assure you, quite wondrous), I am even more amazed by the fact that it is the year 1895! Tesla - yes, the noted scientist of years past, Nikola Tesla! -- is unsure how long the voyage will take so I have decided to pass the time recording what mankind (circa 1895) knows of our destination - Mars. How I came by this information is a story in itself.

Eons ago Lord British came unto the lands of Sosaria. Since that time it has been united under his rule as the Kingdom of Britannia and has gone through two major crises. A few years ago there were political upheavals among the city states of the kingdom. The ringleader of this political instability was Mondain, the Magician. Under his horrible rule, the people's lives were devastated. A valiant warrior was called forth from another world by Lord British. This warrior overthrew Mondain. Britania survived the first crisis. But peace in the Kingdom of Britannia did not last long. Minax, the Witch, a disciple of Mondain, became very powerful and ruled the world of darkness. Minax had power to sway the time axis of the universe. However, a legendary hero again came to the rescue, overthrew Minax, and brought peace back to the kingdom. Now, the Kingdom is about to face its third crisis. Rumours abound about a fiery island which has emerged in the southwestern seas. Little is known of the evil that dwells there. It is known only as Exodus.

As the last hope of a shape shifting race from another dimension, you must restore your races long lost shape shifting powers, and use them to defeat the evil forces of the wizard Veste.

You're a wizard's apprentice whose Master has taken access to your spells. To get them back, you need to complete three quests. Create your character by assigning points to Strength, Intelligence, Speed and Charisma, before setting off. This role-playing title is specifically aimed at younger people and non-hardcore roleplaying gamers. The screen display is split into a text window, a graphical window and a movement window. A comical mish-mash of characters ranging from knights to surfers await, each with their own part in solving your quests. You must learn new spells and fight when required, also recruiting people and spending money at many stages of the adventure, which takes in over 100 screens.

Omega, on the surface, appears to be just a simple tank combat simulation game. Once you get into it, however, the game gets much deeper. The player actually codes the AI for their tank using a pretty robust progamming language system.

The goal is distant, the test arduous. At times it may prove more practical to avoid a threat than to face it. So long as you use your wits and cleave to the Way, your karma will sustain you in this world. Should you fail in correct persistance, dark spirits will carry your spirit away to face the Mirror of Truth, and your failure will come back to mock you forever. Now heed my teachings, that you may gain enlightenment.

The Wing Commander Academy trains every student in a variety of different classes and exercises that will adequately prepare him or her for real-life combat in space. In our effort to save the Confederation from the depredations of the Kilrathi, we can only afford to send the very best pilots out to defend our homes. Innumerable hours of training, classes and simulator practice turn our students into ace Confederation pilots before they launch their first actual mission. In my opinion, the tcsn flight simulator is by far the most important educational tool this academy has to offer. The simulator will not only teach you how to fly, but more importantly it will show you how to survive. In the countless simulated missions you embark on during this part of your training, you will fight Kilrathi ships and Kilrathi pilots in hijacked Confederation ships. You will endeavor to blow enemy capital ships out of space and defend your own space station against attacking forces. Since the simulator is programmed to realistically imitate real conditions in space, it will also teach you how to effectively navigate asteroid and mine fields and retrieve ejected pilots or data capsules from space. The TCSN flight simulator will show you what you really came here to learn. Use it wisely, and the lessons you learn at this console will save your life when you actually face a swarm of Kilrathi in a grueling dogfight.

2400 A.D. is a futuristic RPG game. The game was developed by Origin systems and is based on Ultima 4 engine. The story takes place in the city called Metropolis. The city has been conquered by an alien race known as Tzorg. You have to find the underground resistance and join the battle against the Tzorg.

Dropping out of hyperspace, you lay a course of Lagrange Station. Suddenly, the klaxon screams out a warning. Two Darts and a Corsair, closing fast. Pirates! You roll hard to avoid the incoming plasma torps. One hits, knocking down your rear shield. Spinning to protect your stern, you launch a heat seeker. Direct hit: the Corsair burst into shards. Stunned, the Darts run for deep space. Later, over a pint of Rigelian in the Lagrange cantina, you listen as a bounty hunter tells of the Scarlet Brotherhood, the most notorious band of pirates in the Far Arm. You hope it wasn't one of their Corsairs you vaporized out there...

A futuristic, fast paced strategy role-playing game by Lord British and Chuckles. Enter the world of tomorrow, a world of futuristic freeways where the right of way goes to the biggest gun. Somewhere within the 16 cities and outlaw-infested highways of Auto Duel, are the clues you will need to compete the ultimate mission. Do you have the tactical skills and hair-trigger reactions required of an Auto Duellist? Prove yourself. Step into the arena on Amateur night. Only your driving proficiency and marksmanship can earn you the right to custom build your combat vehicles. The AADA (American AutoDuel Association) will offer you courier missions for prestige, for money. The FBI and the Underworld will vie for favors, but watch out! You'll quickly realize you need a clone to survive. The final gauntlet will test your AutoDuellist skills. The challenge of AutoDuel awaits you. Are you ready?