Ultima: Escape From Mt. Drash was written by Keith Zabalaoui and published by Sierra On-Line for the Commodore Vic-20 in 1983.
Keith Zabalaoui was a childhood friend of Richard Garriott. Keith was part of Garriott’s gaming group in high school and he also received credit on Akalabeth, Ultima I, and Ultima II. Perhaps Garriott was extending his friend an olive branch by allowing him to apply the Ultima name to this particular game. Why am I prefacing this article with this bit of background knowledge? Well…because I am not sure what I was expecting with this particular game before I sat down to play it…but I wasn’t expecting THIS !
It is obvious that either Sierra On-Line, Zabalaoui, or both were hoping to cash in on the Ultima franchise with this particular title.
I played Ultima: Escape From Mt. Drash on a Commodore Vic-20 emulator and it took me roughly two hours to complete. Mt. Drash was one of the dungeons found in the Ultima I game.
In Escape From Mt. Drash you are a prisoner of the evil, wretched Garrintrots (an interesting play on Garriott’s name) whose stronghold is high atop the treacherous Mt. Drash. The mountain is honeycombed with old mining tunnels that have long since been abandoned by humanoid life. The Garrintrots have stocked the caverns with all manner of creatures and now use the caverns as gaming arenas where you are the main attraction.
I am not sure how you’d classify this game. It’s certainly not a role-playing game. You have 15 levels of tunnels that you need to make your way through – represented by a 3D-maze. Some of the levels have gems that need to be collected before you are allowed to leave the level. You encounter different enemies on each of the levels along the way.
The first four levels are relatively easy.
In the upper left corner of the screen depicted above you can see an overhead view of the maze as you move about. You always begin in the lower right corner of the maze and your exit is in the upper left corner. Your enemies are represented by an X and as you move about the maze you can see them closing in on you.
Combat is a strange affair. When there is an encounter the screen switches to a side view of you and your opponent. Your enemy will then move towards you and the speed of this movement increases at higher levels. Your three fighting moves are a thrust, counterthrust, and a ready position. When your opponent gets close enough you have to try and time your thrust. If your timing is off you are instantly killed. The combat featured in this game is reminiscent of that found in the Crown of Arthain. You have three lives at the start of the game.
The different monsters that you encounter are a bit silly and range from a Gremlin to a Dancing Demon to Purple Slime to name a few.
Levels 5-12 introduce two gems on each level and you have to collect one of the gems before you can exit the level.
When you reach level 7 the overhead view of your map disappears to make things harder.
When you reach level 9 the monsters can no longer be seen.
When you reach level 11 your character icon disappears from the overhead map in an effort to disorient you since it is impossible to tell which direction you are traveling in. You’re only visual aid is your 3d view of the maze you’re traversing.
When you reach level 13 you now have to acquire BOTH gems before you can exit to the next level.
Level 15 is the last level and you are almost blind. You have no sense of direction, have to acquire both gems, and there are many monsters on this level. I found combat to be extremely frustrating and it was difficult to time your thrusts correctly.
There are special function keys you can use in the game. Pressing B on the keyboard will unleash a Blast Spell which can destroy a section of the wall in front of you and create a new passage.
Pressing S on the keyboard unleashes a Sleep Spell which will induce sleep upon your opponents who will then nap for a short period while you make your escape.
If you press T on the keyboard you can Teleport yourself to a different location on the same level. You can never be killed as a direct result of using this spell.
This was more of an arcade or adventure game that I was not very impressed with but at least I was able to experience this obscure piece of gaming history.
Keith Zabalaoui would later found Atomic Games and create the strategy games in the V For Victory and Close Combat series.
Next up on the docket is Warriors of Ras Volume III: Wylde
Until next time…
Yes, Escape from Mount Dash definitely falls into the curio category, both in terms of the nature of the game and the fact that it was the only Ultima title released for the VIC-20.
These days, the most notable thing about it is the rarity of physical copies. Boxed versions of the game go for high prices at auction as ardent retro collectors bid for them in order to collect their set of Ultima-related titles.
Sorry, last sentence should read “Boxed versions of the game go for high prices at auction as ardent retro collectors bid for them in order to *complete* their set of Ultima-related titles.”