The game includes an offline mode. A classic Ultima style story by Tracy Hickman (no involvement by EA). 5 guaranteed episodes (there probably be more eventually)
Online modes are "open", "friends", and interestingly, "solo". It seems one can experience the online world version populated only by AI players and opponents or with only a select group of friends (together or verses, it would seem).
It seems to be shaping up to be a
direct competitor superior replacement to Ultima Online, period
by offering all the UO features plus many more. Also, I've been playing beta content and seeing some content that seems vaguely familiar. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that among the vast amount of worlds and content a small subset of it is
Ultima IX done right.
"Vendors sell vendors.. Its obscene" -redfish
