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"Fantastic game."

I was looking at my list of reviews earlier today and realized that most of the stuff I've written was for really low-scoring bad games. Not wanting to seem like I hate all video games (that couldn't be farther from the truth, the reason I write about lots of garbage games is because it's more fun to make fun of a game than talk about how good it is) I dusted off my old C64 (which wasn't really dusty since I still use it regularly) and decided to review a... *gulp* GOOD game.

Gameplay: 10/10

It's a text adventure. Probably something all the graphics-spoiled kids out there have never heard of. What happens is that you get a paragraph describing where you are, and you type in commands telling the computer what to do. Something like:

You are standing in a [insert location here,] you can see [insert description.] There is a [list of items] here. Visible exits are North.

You type something like:

> Go north.

and get a new description of where you are. You go around collecting treasure and solving puzzles. Pretty standard Text adventure stuff, only with a great sense of humor. The Zork series' claim to fame is the sarcastic comments it gives you (instead of the tired old "You cannot do X" thing most text games give you) when you try to do something you can't. The game has a huge vocabulary, and it's fun to type in random words just to see what kind of reaction you'll get.

The game's not easy (I've never made it all the way through) but it's fun nonetheless and has great replay value.

Control: 10/10

You tell the game what to do, and as long as it understands what you're saying it'll do it. Typing "Take the Golden Egg" makes you take it, typing "go north" makes you go north, etc. You can do a lot of stuff, though the game only lets you issue one command at a time (which isn't that unusual given the date of the game's release)

Music: N/A

No music or sound effects to be found, so I can't say much except that silence is cool.

Storyline 9/10

The whole game is really a storyline, you're just affecting what happens. I can't really say anything about it without spoiling something, but it's interesting enough to keep you playing.

Graphics: N/A

Yeah, another N/A. I like those. No graphics, just standard C64 light blue text on a dark blue background. It's a lovely blue, though.

r8ing: More games should be like this, less about the graphics and more about the gameplay.

Buy it if you see it.




Reviewer's Score: 9/10 | Originally Posted: 02/21/06