Since I have a limited amount of time, I was just wondering the opinions on this vs. Baldur's Gate, realizing that Baldur's Gate is more modern, etc. The 1st person pov in this game intrigues me, but if the controls are a huge chore I'm not sure I'm that interested. If you had to pick 1 series to play which would it be?

A though one, since they are so dissimilar. I'd go with Baldur's Gate (2). I have fond memories of both series, but when nostalgia isn't that big a factor, you'll probably find the epic story arch of the BG-series more memorable. Thus, it'll provide a better value for your time.

If your time is really valuable, you might even consider going for BG2, skipping the first one. Both are great games, but BG1 has a much, much lower things happening/time ratio. (though personally I like the feeling of just wandering around that BG1 gives).

I can't comment on the UU games (yet!).

If I had to pick a game, it would be Ultima Underworld 1.
Now, I played Baldur's Gate before I played UU, and I played both BG+Expansions and loved them, but I'd still choose UU due to the setting, atmosphere and concept. Ultima Underworld has a few slight survival elements (you need food, although it's not hard to find and your character can survive days without eating, unlike other more modern games where surival means eating pounds of food every two hours), and exploration is a big part of it, with some decent combat thrown in it. NPC interaction is better than the one in Baldur's Gate and you don't have a party to micromanage.
Finally UU was the first game to introduce a lot of elements that would later become famous with Doom.

It's a tough question, that would honestly leave me on the fence, even though I've always been a Ultima fan.

They are two different experiences: the Underworlds are dungeon crawlers, with awesome immersion and atmosphere factors, good dialogues, but of course they lack the feel of a real "world" (the second Underworld episode take place in different "worlds" yes, but because of the approach taken by the spin-offs and the technology limitations of that period, they of course feel "boxed", in a way).

Baldur's Gate embrace a wider plot, scale and objective: it was the spiritual successor of the beloved SSI Gold Box series.

So, if I had no prior knowledge of both games, maybe I would head toward Baldur's Gate, because I assume, by reading something about it , that it would offer me a more "complete" experience than the Underworlds.

Still, this isn't a judgement about what's the better game, because personally I think Underworld 2 is vastly superior, for example.

Like Lukes78 said, the games are very different. The only thing they really have in common is that they're both RPG's.
It really isn't a choice I would want to make as I love both series a lot.

Baldur's Gate: Top Down, big world, tactical combat (party based), complete story; from useless kid to godlike.

Ultima Underworld: haven't played it, so I can't speak for it.

Ultima Underworld II: first person dungeon crawler, immersive story, huge dungeons and other (dungeon) dimensions. Knowing the Ultima universe helps for extra immersion, but isn't required at all. The game feels like a small piece of a bigger whole, where Baldur's Gate stands easely on itself.

Damn, I wouldn't know what to choose. If you can ever find the time I would really recommend both. But if time is really an issue, I'd start with Baldur's Gate, as it's easier to learn, while Ultima Underworld can seem a bit hardcore in the beginning.

My view after putting about 4 hours into UU is Baldur's Gate 2 > UU > BG1. You really can't go wrong with any of those games though, they're all classics.

It's also worth noting that UU is easier to jump right in to, whereas the BG games are much more complex and have a steeper learning curve -- though they're still fairly user friendly compared to most 90's RPGs.

Edit: ha! I guess I had the opposite experience of Gromuhl. Then again, I had never played D&D when BG came out, so I had a lot more to soak in than a lot of people who played it.

Thank you all for your advice :).

In regard to the controls. In UU can seem a bit frustrating when it comes to jumping or looking around trying to find certain objects, whereas in BG it is optionally purely mouse driven. So if you are the type that loath keyboard control, BG is going to be the better choice.

Keep in mind that UU was meant more to be a dungeon simulator than an outright RPG. Personally what drove me to play UU was the exploration aspect and the familiar realism it has. Another thing to keep in mind, though some would claim the story is not as power driven as BG, would be both right and wrong in part, because the UU series falls between U6/7 series story line. So frankly, if you were to follow the entire series from U1-7 it would be a larger story than BG.

Personally, I would go for UU, just for how interactive and atmospheric it is and not to difficult to pick up and play for awhile or put it down when you have other things to do.

I would like to know what the gameplay is like in these two Ultima Underworld games. Is it party based combat, duo based combat (you & an NPC helping you), or is it simply your PC going solo?

And is there a class system, or does everyone play the same avatar?

Solo - no party or NPC help.

Same Avatar, but its an rpg!! You get to choose what direction you want to go in - be it magic, combat, or stealth. The magic system in UU is amongst the best for me - well thought out .

Thanks for your help Robbeasy.