EA is bringing Ultima back, in a kinda half-assed manner. Yesterday, the company launched Lord of Ultima, a free, browser-based empire-building game.

Yeah, it’s a browser game. And honestly, I have no freaking idea what makes it “Ultima” in any way. It seems pretty much like a generic fantasy setting with absolutely no Ultima flavor to it. It’s a pretty ignoble continuation of the once-epic fantasy franchise.

Still, it’s fun, and well-made for a freebie. The production values are great for a web game, the city-building mechanic seems to be fairly deep, and there’s a good bit of variety. It’s worth a go, if you like the web-based city-building genre at all. Maybe this is a precursor to a resurgence of Ultima from EA. Maybe it’s just a teaser before they announce “Ultima 11.” Or maybe they just felt like tossing the old-school holdouts a bone.