I can remember finding this game wedged underneath some others at the local software store. I knew I enjoyed role-playing games and this one seemed to fit, with a little action. Times of Lore was not all that successful in its time, but it hooked me almost immediately. From the initial dialogues that gave you the back-story, to how you interacted with the world it seemed groundbreaking to me. You walk around in a top down view and actually have conversations with people.
You can overhear what others are talking about if you are close enough. The whole world that has been created 'felt' alive. Even the weather effects were very nicely done (again, for its time). Fighting is all done in real time as well (I do believe a first). There was no special battle ground, or loading up a scenario just for the fight scene. It was done all in the same interactive screen that you ran around the world in.
The graphics were pretty decent, though you do have to really look to see people sometimes. The window you used to actually play the game in comparison with the rest of what was on the screen was small, though I attribute that
to only the limited hardware resources we had at the time. The highest points for this game would go to the quests that are offered and the game play. Yes, you do swing a sword/axe but there were quests that you could complete by using diplomacy rather than force. Though, force was always an option.... It is the open ended-ness that I enjoyed so much about this game. You knew what to do most of the time, but you 'could' do anything you wanted at any time.
Times of Lore is a game I would highly suggest that any RPG fan (especially you guys who lived the Ultima saga) try out. Some of the most common elements we see in games in this day and age, or the things that we think are given, were pioneered by this game. It didn't make the 'Top ten games of all time' list, but it does have a lot of genre firsts. I truly cannot think of a game during this time that made use of so much. A massive world, many NPC's each with their own lives and agendas that simply live out their lives whether you help them or not, and a storyline that really pulled me in.
