<!--
	Title: (Sneak Preview) Little White Houses For Grue and Me
	Subtitle: Activision's Return to Zork
	Author: Charles Adai
	Source: Computer Gaming World, v13(11)
	Date: November 1993
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

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<img style="object-fit: scale-down;" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-cover.jpg" alt="Return to Zork cover">
<table><tbody>
<tr><td>TITLE:</td><td>Return to Zork</td></tr>
<tr><td>PRICE:</td><td>$79.95</td></tr>
<tr><td>SYSTEM:</td><td>IBM, IBM with CD-ROM</td></tr>
<tr><td>REVIEWED ON:</td><td>CD-ROM</td></tr>
<tr><td>REQUIREMENTS:</td><td>IBM and 100% compatibles (386 recommended), 580-600K free RAM,
	DOS 5.0 or higher, VGA and sound card, CD-ROM drive (CD-based version) or
	3.5" HD floppy drive and 23MB hard drive space (floppy-based version)</td></tr>
<tr><td>PROTECTION:</td><td>None</td></tr>
<tr><td>DESIGNER:</td><td>Eddie Dombrower</td></tr>
<tr><td>PUBLISHER:</td><td>Activision<br>Los Angeles, CA<br>(800) 477-3650</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<p></p>

<img class="float-right-half" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/ruined building.jpg" alt="A ruined building from Return to Zork">

There is a white house in the middle of the woods that adventure gamers know
well. Unlike Robert Frost, they do not know "whose woods these are" -- or whose
house, for that matter, standing there all boarded up and abandoned. What they do
know is who the Great Underground Empire located beneath the house belongs to. It belongs
to all the creatures of the night who lurk in its dark tunnels and caves; it belongs to the
Flatheads, lords and rulers of the land of Zork; it belongs to Marc Blank and Dave
Lebling, the "great implementers" of Infocom who dreamt up the original *Zork* trilogy
more than a decade ago; and it belongs to all the adventurers who have played the *Zork*
games over the years, painting wondrous scenes in their minds to illustrate the words
Blank and Lebling put on the screen.

In attempting to revive and modernize *Zork*, **Activision** is treading on sacred ground.
It's a little bit like daring to remake Casablanca -- or worse, since what Activision has
undertaken is no mere remake: *Return to Zork* utterly transforms the most famous of **Infocom**'s
all-text universes, turning it into a cinematic showcase for cutting-edge graphics and
sound. There's hardly any text at all in the game, which is sure to make diehard Infocom
fans cringe; and the parserless, point-and-click interface resembles the latest offerings
from **Tsunami** or **Sierra** much more than it does the classics from Infocom. Gamers have
had every reason over the past several months, since advertisements for *Return to Zork*
started appearing, to wonder whether Activision's wholesale renovation of their favorite
fantasy world would render it unrecognizable.

<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-1.jpg" alt="A screen shot of a witch from Return to Zork">

The designers, aware of these concerns, devised an ingenious and satisfying manner to
allay them in the very first scene of the game. Contrary to expectations, *Return to Zork*
opens with white text on a black background, just as an Infocom game should. Nor is it just
any text -- it's text lifted straight from the opening of *Zork I*. A few seconds after the text
appears, a full-screen image fades in behind it: the white house where the *Zork* legend
began, drawn with such fidelity to the original description that no old-time gamer could fail
to recognize it.

The text fades out shortly thereafter, never to return, but the point has been made: the
writers behind *Return to Zork* haven't lost touch with their roots. Gamers who have
been worried can rest assured that the *Zork* legacy is in good hands.

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-2.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the lighthouse keeper from Return to Zork">

What of those gamers who are new to *Zork*, the graphics-hungry generation to which *Return
to Zork* is presumably intended to appeal? They get their fix in the opening scene as well.
After a moment, when the house starts to rotate, one realizes that the image is not static
and flat, as in a conventional graphic adventure, but a detailed, three-dimensional
rendering around which the "camera" is able to swoop and glide, as in the best
scenes from *The 7th Guest*.

Following a bit of business suggesting a magical abduction (giving the designers a
chance to show off a sample of the full-motion video and spoken-word audio employed
to capture the human actors), one is left soaring over a fractal-rich landscape while
the soundtrack throbs ominously and Hollywood-style credits roll.

It's a stunning opening sequence, on par with the opening of *King's Quest VI*, and it is
sure to win even reluctant players over. By the time players land at the mountain pass where
the game begins, they are ready to be taken on a fantastic ride. What follows is only occasionally
fantastic, but when it falls short it is never the video or audio that is at fault. The
designers could stand to hone their storytelling and puzzle-writing skills, as well as their
game engine -- but as for the game's multimedia rendering, producer Eddie Dombrower
and his crew have pulled off a performance that leaves its competitors far behind.

## Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

The game is divided into three sections. First, for a few screens, one finds oneself on a
mountain by a river; then for a few more, in what remains of a town; and finally, for most
of the game, in the Great Underground Empire itself. The dominant characteristic of all
three sections is emptiness: though one meets characters here and there, the bulk of the
locations are deserted. This is more disturbing than it sounds, since according to the
storyline the player goes to Zork expecting to find a flourishing community.

<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-3.jpg" alt="A screen shot of a mine entrance from Return to Zork">

The player's task is to find out what is going on. The town of West Shanbar has vanished,
the Road to the South has become a pestilential No Man's Land, the "Valley of the Sparrows"
has turned into the "Valley of the Vultures," and someone called Morphius has
been terrorizing the few souls who are left by invading their dreams. Only a fearless and
resourceful explorer -- hardy enough to wield a sword, dogged enough to map mazes, and
clever enough to solve puzzles -- will get past all the obstacles and uncover the land's
secrets.

As in earlier *Zork* games, the storyline here is often incidental to the goings-on.
One spends most of the time dealing with random obstacles laid in one's
path, which can usually be overcome by making clever use of the objects one
finds along the way. A simple example: there are quite a few locked doors in the
game, certainly more than there are keys. So, other objects have to be pressed
into service.

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-4.jpg" alt="A screen shot of an unfriendly denizen of Return to Zork">

Other puzzles include standoffs the player has to end, such as one between a
blind archer and a petulant, frisky fairy (played by the aptly named Robin
Lively) who is pelting him with acorns; and "relationship" puzzles which involve figuring
out how to get certain characters (a staggering lush played by Harold Smith, a timorous waif
played by Edan Gross) to part with objects in their possession. There are interlocked puzzles
that the player has to solve in sequence, and one even encounters a few traditional
puzzles, hearkening back to the likes of the treasure room maze in *Zork III*: a sliding-tile
puzzle, two mazes, a boardgame, and two pop quizzes on GUE trivia.

Aside from some special interfaces for these "puzzle" puzzles, one interacts with the game
in fairly conventional point-and-click fashion. One moves around by clicking on directional
arrows that appear when the cursor passes along the border of a screen. One
handles objects on the screen or in one's inventory by clicking on them and then selecting
from the menus of action icons that appear: which icons appear depends on the
situation. For instance, clicking on a whistle by itself will produce, among other icons,
"blow" and "examine." Clicking the whistle on the cow will produce, among others, "feed
whistle to cow" and "throw whistle at cow." More general command icons,
including "save," "restore" and "look at map," hide just off
screen along with one's inventory, ready to be called up by
clicking on any blank portion of the screen.

If the game's system of selecting icons from nested menus is
not entirely comfortable, it is less because it is novel than
because the designers define their commands in counterintuitive
ways. One must "pick up" an object before one can
use it, even if it is in one's inventory; if one invokes the "use" icon, one is given the
choices "pick up," "drop" and "examine." Consequentially, one finds oneself "using"
objects and then "picking them up." To further confuse matters, "picking up" an object
is not the same as "putting it in one's inventory" -- the latter requires a separate step.

According to Activision, these are deliberate choices made with the intention of mimicking
the feel of a text adventure; but, deliberate or not, one cannot escape the feeling
that they could have been better thought out. The fact is that no icon-driven interface, however
complicated, can replicate a text parser. I can't count the number of times I wanted
to type in a command that was not on my menu of options: one finds a box but is not
allowed to "open" it, one finds a frame with buttons but cannot "push" them, and so on.
Failing to offer the depth of a text-based parser, *Return to Zork*'s interface regrettably
also loses the too-simple-but-agreeably-intuitive quality of, say, **Sierra**'s icon-driven system.
It's the old story about trying to sit on two stools and falling in between: the intent
was commendable, but the execution leaves much to be desired.

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-5.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the Troll King from Return to Zork">

Similarly excessive is the complexity associated with movement which stems from
Activision's ambitious attempt to simulate a three-dimensional environment. Each location
in the game has up to four "views" associated with it: at the location, facing forward;
at the location, facing in the opposite direction; at a distance from the location,
facing it; and at a similar distance, facing it from the other direction. Not all "exit" pathways
are visible from all four views, meaning that one has to treat each view as a separate
location. The main problem with doing so is that it makes mapping the game a real
headache.

Tripping the player up further is the fact that movement within mazes is different
from movement elsewhere in the game. In general, clicking on a left-pointing arrow
means "go left." In a maze it means "pivot to face left." One is not warned of this distinction,
however, resulting in much unpleasant fumbling when the player finally gets to the
mazes.

The third way the player interacts with the game (after using objects and moving) is by
holding conversations with the characters he meets. In conversation, one is supposed to be
able to influence the path one's discussions take by clicking on the emotion icons
(fascinated, bored, threatening, apologetic) that appear on the side of the
screen. Unfortunately, in the interest of realism, the designers deliberately do
not have the characters stop talking to wait for the player's input -- one just
has to jump in and hope for the best. In some cases the icon one selects only
alters the conversation by a few words; in many it has no effect at all. Alas, one
is never sure that this isn't one's own fault; one might have selected the
wrong icon or clicked on the right one, but at the wrong instant. So, one tries
again, and again.

In time, one realizes that there just aren't that many different conversations in the
game; much of the time, one can click all one wants and still never get a character to say
anything substantially different. In the process of learning this, however, one ends up
sitting through every conversation four or five times. No matter how exciting one finds the
prospect of watching human actors in a computer game, and no matter how good the
actors are (most here are excellent), four or five is too many times to hear dialogue that is
not all that sparkling even the first time around.

None of the above makes *Return to Zork* unplayable, but the gameplay is less smooth,
and the learning curve somewhat steeper, than one would ideally want it to be. *Return
to Zork* takes some getting used to. Because of the game's good qualities it's worth it, but
players should be prepared to invest some time in the process.

## Zork, Sweet Zork

The new look of the Great Underground Empire also takes some getting used to.
Gone, for the most part, are the dank caverns and convincingly subterranean settings of the
original. In their place is a mixture of, one one hand, semi-Tolkienesque outdoor scenes
and, on the other, florescent light-strips, modern furnishings, and giant signs saying
things like "Welcome To The New West Shanbar."

<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-6.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the town of West Shanbar in Return to Zork">

The player's first clue that things are going to be different is that he starts the game in
possession of a Polaroid camera, a pocket tape recorder, and a box of matches from
"Chuckle's Comedy Club." The camera and tape recorder are really just convenient ways
to let the player keep track of where he has been and what he has heard, but they set an
unexpectedly modern tone that persists throughout the game.

Mixed in with the usual ruins, forests and wooden buildings are an armorer whose sign
includes a laser-sighted rifle, an inn which looks more like a Holiday Inn than anything
that belongs in Zork, and a trailer with a refrigerator, oven and running water. The
comedy club, when one reaches it, looks just like the Improv, complete with brick
walls, stand-up microphone, and patrons in modern attire.

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-7.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the wizard Trembyle in his crystal ball from Return to Zork">

The gag value of each of these scenes is considerable, but the net impact of so many
anachronisms packed into a small space is somewhat disappointing. Again, the designers
are trying to straddle two horses: they don't want to give up Zork's traditional fairies,
trolls and dwarves, but they see no harm in repeatedly breaking the illusion
with modern references and settings. Maybe other gamers will mind less than I did; I
found the "anything we want to throw in" tone disorienting. It is hard enough to immerse
oneself in a fiction unfolding on a computer screen without the added distraction
of a milieu that shifts from Middle Earth to Middle America and back again in
the blink of an eye.

Adding to the sense of disorientation is the confused storyline which
continually leaves the player wondering just what he is doing. Is the
game about finding Morphius? Is it about figuring out what happened
during the much-talked-about Great Diffusion of magic? Is it about finding
"Rooper," the fellow whose sweepstakes mailing is what lures the
player to Zork in the first place? Is it about the disappearance of West
Shanbar? Is it about none of these things? All of them? Some? Which?

<img class="float-right" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-8.jpg" alt="A screen shot of the priestess from Return from Zork">

The answer, I think, is "all of them," which is example number
three of Activision trying to do too many things and ending up with a
muddle. If ever a game would have benefited from some judicious paring
down, this is the one. Yet what a gorgeous muddle it is! For all the
criticism the game merits, and for all its oddities and excesses, *Return to
Zork* persists, scene after scene, in satisfying the gamer, largely because
of its extraordinary effects.

The mix of digitized backgrounds, foreground action either computer-rendered or videotaped,
full-motion video sequences, and genuinely thrilling computer-generated "movie"
scenes will leave the most jaded player breathless. One's climb down the Cliffs of Depression,
one's boat ride to East Shanbar, and even such simple sequences as one's trip across a gift shop
to get the cash register are all exquisitely rendered.

First-rate actors lend their hand to the process as well. Though none
except the prating Wizard Trembyle (Will cAllister) has more than a handful of lines,
all do a creditable job of bringing their characters to life. Michelle Dahler is a fine witch,
with a hint of Sigourney Weaver about her; A.J. Langer plays Rebecca Snoot, one of the
good guys, with the role's requisite spunk and (mild) sexiness; Jojo Marr does a fine job as
the peculiar, scruffy Canuck; and Howard Mann lends some welcome comic relief with
his turn as the garrulous Lighthouse Keeper. There are plenty more, all of them fine, except
semi-celebrity Jason (*The Wonder Years*) Hervey who plays the part of a troll in a scene
*TV Guide* properly singled out as embarrassing.

<img class="float-left" src="/public/img/articles/cgw-rtz-review/rtz-screen-shot-9.jpg" alt="A screen shot of statues from Return to Zork">

## Beyond Zork

The good news: *Return to Zork* is not bad. It's a flawed game full of great visual moments,
well worth the attention of anyone who wants to see what the future of computer
gaming looks like. If the Zork legend had to rest on this game alone, there probably
wouldn't be any Zork legend; but as an addition to the series, *Return to Zork* is more than
satisfactory.

The better news: Activision is still working on their design, their technology and their
interface. They are learning from their mistakes and refining their successes, so that their
next Infocom game should be even better.

The best news: their next Infocom game is going to be a sequel to *Planetfall*. I'd predict
that with Steve Meretzky calling the shots, that's going to be one to see.
