Ultima 8 had some coolness about it, such as the inventory system was pretty much the same as 7. But they bumped into that problem of feeling very different from what you come to expect from something labelled as the 8th part of the series.
I think I would have been much less disappointed if they sold it more as a game set in the world of Ultima, but not actually a sequel. Kind of like Ultima Underworld, a great game! Had they said Ultima Underworld was Ultima 6, I would have been disappointed.
I must say, the desire for everything to be mouse driven in 8 really bugged me. I never got especially good at combat. Not good for an action game.
Then there's Ultima 9... "the name which we do not speak!" It had the potential to be interesting, but it seems like they just kind of gave up at a certain point. And they restricted so much of the world, as in "you go where we tell you". Still, the parts I played, I remember seeing a few interesting things, so it's not completely without merit in my book.

I completed ultima IX and while it was not what was expected i still think it was a great game. I enjoyed it and wished there could have been more made.

Origin's slogan: We create worlds.
EA's slogan: We destroy them.
(I loathe EA for using the Origin name for their damn download platform.)

Ultima 8 would have been awesome without EA interference.
Even so, I like Ultima 8. Not as much as 7, but it has a good story. Dark. I finished the game numerous times. :)

Would be nice if the DosBOX team/GoG.com would get it to work in DosBOX.

I quite liked Pagan. It was the first Ultima game I played and has a special place in my heart. The atmosphere was quite good.

Would definitely like to have that and 9. Although 9 would be in my collection mostly for completeness. I played it a long time ago and it was okay but not particularly good. Mind you, it was a very long time ago.

played and finished both 8 and 9, sold them on ebay though but will definitely re-buy when on gog.

IMO these were both very good games but were compared to 7 which was such a fantastic game, 8 was in a complately different land which felt good and 9 was known to be the last but it was great to wander around the old towns (what was left that is) and not in an isometric view

I´m waiting for U8 to be released in GOG because it was my first CRPG and i loved it at the time (i only discovered the previous ultima games after playing U8)... so i´ll buy it more for the nostalgia factor...

Need!

please make it happen GOG I miss playing those 2 games

Come on GOG, let's get cracking on U8!! (please) :)

You can get Ultima 8 free and Legally off Abandonia. You used to be able to get the whole series off there but now they just link to GOG. Sadly Ultima 9 isn't legally available anywhere as far as I know.

In what world is downloading a game that is still subject to copyright from Abandonia (or anywhere else) for free even remotely legal?

I believe that the games on that site are free of copyright and aren’t sold anywhere. They pull the download links and/or link to a site that sells them (for example GOGs) if that changes. At least that’s what I gather from the Abandonia FAQ and forums. If it is actually illegal then, well, my bad haha

Abandonware sites have long claimed that they are legal because the publisher/developer has 'abandoned' the game. (I believe the concept comes from salvage law)

However, no government in the world recognizes this concept in relation to copyright (at least no western governments).