Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar Preview

PocketGamer has penned a mercifully hands-on preview for Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, the mobile-oriented free-to-play Ultima title that Mythic Entertainment is currently working on. Here's a snip:
The game certainly looks like Ultima, and the usual Ultima trapping like Tarot cards and virtues are all present, but something about it just feels off.

No doubt this is because Ultima's creator, Richard Garriott, was not involved in the free-to-play RPG and neither is Lord British for that matter. He's apparently followed the pope's example and retired, leaving his daughter, Lady British, in control of the Kingdom.

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Combat in these dungeons is a simple affair with your character dutifully autoattacking targeted enemies. You'll score higher damage for flank attacks and backstabs (which don't seem that virtuous) however, so circling around your foes is definitely recommend.

When faced with a boss or large swarm of low-level enemies, you can break the routine of autoattacking by manually firing off an area of effect special attack. These attacks work similar to abilities in most MMORPGs and have a cooldown period, but they're all pretty quick to recharge.

I freely admit I might not be open-minded enough, but I'm not getting an Ultima vibe from this project.