The Zork Anthology

When Zork originally got released back in the 70's (The MIT version), it was one complete game. During the 80's of it's commercial release however, the game was split into 3 parts because computers of that time did not have enough memory to load the entire game! Thus started the Zork Trilogy. Playing this game now may seem timid to most people. Especially in today's day and age with games now being made in 3D. But if you have a retro soft spot, playing this game with the lights out (And maybe some light on your keyboard!) will prove to be a worthy experience. There are millions of text games out there and a lot of them are really good. But this was one of the first and one of the best. Still.

Zork was the first adventure game I ever played (when it was first released) and it got me hooked on all the Infocom games. If you think that it will be boring to only have text in Zork 1, you will find out that there's nothing as powerful as the human mind for envisioning a rich environment. It was great fun to play the games again! If you've never played Zork, give it a try. If you played them years ago when they came out, it's a great trip down memory lane to play them again! Watch out for the thief and don't go into the dark or you may get eaten by a grue! :)

My first computer was a ZX81 (1981) so that dates me for a start. I played many text games over time including some of the Zork titles which were the best and I couldn't wait to play them again. Unfortunately, it seems my age and modern games have led to me being too impatient, I struggled for 2 hours with Zork 1, spent a lot of time being dead and finally gave up. I will certainly try again but, my collection of partially played modern games is making me delay doing it. Don't get me wrong the Zork games are very well written with a great sense of humour and a good challenge. Even though I read a lot and feel nostalga for the Zork games I was no longer up to the patience, work (drawing Maps) and mental effort required in a text game and this has disappointed me because I am missing replaying some great games which are a lot of fun. So, be warned, as good as the Zork text games are they may not or no longer be for you as a nostalga purchaser. If you feel the text versiona are not for you but, are still interested in playing a Zork game then I would recommend the graphic Zork games of which Grand Inquisitor is in my opinion the best.

I loved Infocom games, still do. I learned a lot from there parser and playing all the games on the old C-64 with a friend via phone was a blast and the earliest bit of co-op multiplayer I can think of. This is an awesome bunch of Zork games, but it also includes one of the space themed adventures that were my favorites. Planetfall chronicles the misadventures of a poor low level spaceship janitor who is in way over his head. It also introduces Floyd the robot and a level of pathos and investment not seen again until the Companion Cube on Portal. There was a sequel, Stationfall and another sci-fi game that rocked called Suspended, but this one is actually available so I highly recommend it to you.

Classics that every gamer with an imagination should experience at least once. However, this set does not comprise the entire Zork series and includes a completely unrelated (yet equally superb) other Infocom text adventure game (Planetfall). Missing: - Zork Quest 1: Assault on Egreth Castle - Zork Quest 2: The Crystal of Doom - Return to Zork - Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands - Zork: The Undiscovered Underground - Zork Grand Inquisitor Here's hoping that they release The Zork Anthology II to fill the gaps! Until then, get your lamps and go adventuring!