I Miss Ultima Online

Another "bleh" phase has hit me. The Age of Conan beta was mediocre for me, so I have passed on the launch. Sadly, many of my acquaintances seem to be fully enjoying it. I guess I missed the first "Miracle Patch" in MMO history.

World of Warcraft (WoW) has be bored again as well. It is somewhat fun to blaze through the levels on my Paladin by using a guide, but I just don't have the drive to do it for hours on end. I log in, knock out a quest, and log out. I completely understand that I could do "other things", but truthfully, WoW sucks when you are not level 70.

Other games hold my fancy: Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, and of course Peggle. Yet, they are only time wasters when I have a few minutes.

That brings me to the point of this post. I miss Ultima Online.

I miss a completely non-instanced world that I can travel from one end to the other.
I miss having a world where most of what you see can be picked up, taken, or used in some fashion
I miss having a "backpack" that isn't just a set of inventory slots.
I miss massive dungeons that took forever to battle to the bottom of without a portal.
I miss random houses placed across the landscape wherever a free spot was open.
I miss my houses.
I miss Factions warfare, aside from the exploiters.
I miss possibly losing my horse, my gear, and my backpack full of items when I die.
I miss looting those that I have conquered.

This may sound like I want old-school UO back, but that is not the case. I want a new game, where the world is more than just combat. Where gear is something that is used, not obtained. A world, not just a game.