<!--
	Title: (REVIEWS) Return to Zork
	Author: Jay Kee
	Source: COMPUTE!, v16(9)
	Date: Sep 1994
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

It's ba-ack. The best-selling text adventure from Infocom
(a division of Activision) that revolutionized computer gaming
16 years ago has been reincarnated under the title
Return to Zork. But other than the name and a few superficial
similarities, any relationship to the original is
purely coincidental.

<figure class="float-right">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/compute-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot.jpg" alt="Return to Zork screen shot">
	<figcaption><em>Return to Zork could best be described as an interactive movie adventure
		starring digitized fUll-motion film sequences.</em></figcaption>
</figure>

Gamers expecting to find a CD-ROM version of the
original Zork series are going to be disappointed: This
is a whole new game. RTZ could best be described as
an interactive movie adventure starring digitized full-motion
film sequences. Professional talent, colorful costumes,
authentically detailed sets and locations, and a
theatrical-quality soundtrack make it look and play like a
Hollywood movie.

A lot of effort went into the production of RTZ, and
it shows. Too bad the same effort didn't go into the actual
game. Intellectually, RTZ is beyond difficult, bordering
on the impossible. A few puzzles echo the old
Zorkian humor, but many are merely obscure or completely
unfathomable. True, the game does provide
hints and clues, but the plot is so muddy and the clues
so vague that they just add to the confusion.

The easy-to-use interface is completely icon driven -- all
you do is point and click. Animated icons and picture
menus illustrate all the available options. Movement is also
mouse controlled. Instead of exits being displayed
or described, the cursor changes into a red navigation
arrow that points in different directions as it's
moved around the screen. For all its simplicity, though,
this system has a big flaw: There's no text interface. People
accustomed to the speed and flexibility of a text-only
parser are going to feel handcuffed.

There are some neat features that help make up for
the textless interface, however. One is a camera that
lets you take pictures of everything you encounter; another
is a tape recorder that automatically records all your
conversations. You show the pictures to characters
so they'll give you clues, and you use the recorder to
track the clues -- a nice touch.

RTZ isn't completely nonlinear, but you can tackle
puzzles in almost any order and backtrack to pick up
things you might have missed. This is an important
feature, since the game will let you go all the way to the
end without much of a clue that you're missing a critical
item. In other words, you're going to have to backtrack
a lot.

While the CD version of RTZ is an audio-visual treat,
the disk version is a weak facsimile. It's a bit like the
old book-and-movie cliche: Don't see the film if you've
read the book. In this case, don't play the disk version if
you've seen the CD-ROM. All the full-motion film sequences
and scene transitions are missing, characters
talk with a simple hinged-jaw animation, and
the audio seems thin and scratchy in comparison.

RTZ was definitely made for CD-ROM. If you want to
survive it, take everything that isn't bolted down, photograph
everything that moves, show pictures and
items to everything that breathes, and save every
chance you get. When you get frustrated, stab the mayor,
blow up the incinerator, or aggravate a vulture.
None of these actions will help you win the game, but
you'll feel better. And RTZ can be a lot of fun as long
as you don't play to win.

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Activision<br>
(800) 477-3650<br>
$79.95<br>
**Circle Reader Service Number 436**