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	Title: (Adventure) Zork I, II and III
	Source: Zzap!64, #4
	Date: August 1985
	Transcription by Steve Derby
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*Commodore, £11.99 each, disk only*

For this month's look at the disk based adventures
the White Wizard has turned his wand to Infocom's
excellent Zork series as marketed by Commodore in the UK. Be prepared
for more Infocom information next month, but for now ...

The Zork series have generally been regarded as THE text adventures
for some time now and have been personal favourites of mine for
just as long. Unfortunately, due an initial high price, non-availability
and the fact that they are on disk only, these classics have been overlooked
by many an intrepid adventurer.

All Infocom adventures are text only, but do not suffer because of
this as the quality and depth of the location descriptions are so good
and convincing that you don't need graphics. Something else that puts
Infocom adventures head and shoulders above other text adventures
is the brilliant interpreter used and the incredible array of responses.
Combined, these mean you can almost have a full blown conversation
with an Infocom adventure! You can type in a complete sentence and
still receive a coherent and sensible reply or result, or both.

The three *Zorks* are all interlinked adventures in as much as the end of
*Zork* leads to the beginning of *Zork II* and then on to *III* but each can be
played as a separate game without losing any individual appeal.

*Zork* allows you to explore the Great Underground Empire of Zork
and all its secrets. You start outside an old, dilapidated house next to a
forest. Getting into, and exploring, the rather small house leads to more
than a lantern and sword, for it is the gateway to the Underground
Empire itself!

Below ground you will encounter a rather nasty troll, an even nastier
thief and Hades itself with its foul inhabitants! There is a tricky, twisty
maze holding several secrets within its multitude of passages. Then
there's the great dam, needing careful attention -- but does it still
work?

There are many magical things in *Zork*, all manufactured by a legendary
company known as Frobozz. These devices are all extremely useful
and it's necessary to figure out their uses to complete the game. A
wealth of other objects and treasures are to be found, amongst them
the jewel encrusted egg whose secret has been the breaking point of many
a fearless explorer. All treasures must be taken back to the house and
placed in the trophy cabinet therein. Collecting all twenty treasures and
successfully returning them to the case will earn you maximum points
and finish the game ... Or will it?

*Zork* is packed full of excellent and atmospheric descriptions, some
superb fight sequences, responses and above all a very wide vocabulary.
Puzzles are numerous, tough and sometimes humourous and
overall make this a difficult and enjoyable adventure to crack.

*Zork II*, as stated previously, starts off where *Zork* finished and
lying at your feet are to be found a strangely familiar sword and lamp.
Any major similarities, however, stop there, since *Zork II* deals more
with magic and has less locations but more depth. Again, location
descriptions are lengthy and detailed, and unsurpassed by any other
brand of adventure, as is the case with the massive and impressive
vocabulary. As with *Zork*, there are numerous objects to be found and
manipulated, but there are less treasures to collect and the way that
they are used to finish the game is more devious.

The locations range from a gazebo in a beautiful garden (complete
with an elusive unicorn) to mist filled rooms and a rather volatile
volcano. Once a small problem involving a large bucket is solved, some
interesting and dynamic cakes are to be found along with a very useful,
but servile, robot (manufactured by Frobozz of course). An extremely
bored dragon lurks below ground who takes a bit of persuading to
move. This leads to the discovery of many other items, amongst them a
beautiful princess, some more treasures and more trouble. There is
a strange maze to figure out, the solution to which is the fact not that
obvious due to Americanisms on the part of the programmers (well they
*do* come from the United States of America).

Occasionally the Wizard of Frobozz (a very dear friend of mine)
makes an appearance and casts a spell upon you, which always begins
with an 'F'. This usually affects you in some way, so it's best to wait
around for a while until eventually it wear off. The tables turn though,
when later on you acquire the self same wand and put it to good use.
Finishing *Zork II* is quite a bit trickier than *Zork I* but follows the pattern
with a similar sort of humour, quality and excellent atmosphere.

*Zork III* is the finale of the trio and starts effectively where *Zork II* ends
and is quite a bit different from its predecessors in both scoring and
play. The object of *Zork III* is to become the dungeon master and
rule Frobozz Enterprises Unlimited. This requires considerably more
skill than the other *Zorks* and you can't buy your way to the top here!
Whereas before scoring was into hundreds of points, in *Zork III* you
can only get a maximum of seven points because they are only awarded
for certain events.

*Zork III* combines a few of the locations and objects from the first
two with a totally new and original scenario. The lamp is here as well as
the sword, which you can't take at the start since it has become embedded
in rock and so are several other objects. There is a bit more magic
involved and in general the puzzles are a lot harder and in some cases,
more obscure than before. The locations number fewer than *Zork II*
but are as highly detailed and atmospheric as usual blending well
with Infocom's excellent parser and responses.

This is a lot harder to complete than the other two *Zorks* but is by no
means any less fun to play. All three adventures offer such exceptionally
high quality at such a ridiculously low price (for disk games) and
should be snapped up instantly by those amongst you who have yet to
sample such exquisite delights. The White Wizard highly recommends
any of the Infocom range, especially the *Zorks*, and I feel I cannot do
justice to these excellent examples of adventure in this small space. If you
don't own a disk drive and you get bitten by an Infocom adventure you
won't want to play anything else, as the bug that is in many people's
blood will have finally found its way into yours.

<table class="larger"><tbody>
<tr><td><strong>Atmosphere</strong></td><td>94%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Interaction</strong></td><td>92%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Lasting Interest</strong></td><td>93%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Value For Money</strong></td><td>91%</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Overall</strong></td><td><strong>92%</strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>