The Zork Anthology

I played the first Zork on my dad's Kaypro II when I was a kid. The Zork games are very fun, but a bit more dangerous than modern adventure games. However, the best game in this pack is Planetfall, which is a phenomenal game, and a top 5 adventure game almost 30 years after its release.

Reading all the nostalgia already presented, three companies springs to mind. Infocom, Magnetic Fields and Level 9 (from memory and didn't bother to check), of these, Infocom got me first... and after sweating through the first trilogy, once finished, I had used so much paper drawing maps and notes that my mother asked me to stop, but I couldn't care less, I was sooo proud of myself - and so Infocom was the one that got me for keeps, I can't say how many times I've bought Zork I-II-III, having even multiple revisions of the z-code files for all three in my monstrous text-adventure archive. Still I simply could not help it and they're firmly planted among the other zork games on my G.O.G. shelf. So, what is it with these games? How did they manage to entangle my entire life? The answer is simple: There never was room for any graphics on them old 5 1/4" floppy disks, but Zork still managed to paint every scene in greater detail than any graphics card can handle today, tomorrow, forever. They did so by using the Direct-Brain technique, a very dangerous technique that infects the unsuspecting gamer with a lifelong decease and I got hit hard. No matter how many years go by or how old I become, I will still see the pathways, forests, cabins and not only that, I belong to the scenes painted and will forever be scared to death by even the slightest thought of the likeliness of being eaten by a Grue. The elements of the technique cannot be described i greater detail but consists of unknown amounts of surrealistic storylines, "just enough" description of environments, humor and sheer craziness. Mix that with a 15 year old boy (at the time) and his entire timeline from start to wits end and the final destination as the dungeon master ghost was instantly burned in his brainwaves. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to, once again, pack my brass lantern and "GO NORTH", maybe we'll meet again at the rainbow bridge in another lifetime, I don't know. Fare well adventurer. :-D

Before polygons were the norm, before the introduction of sound cards, before even graphics were good enough to be a worthwhile addition in some people's minds, there was Zork and games like it. Originally designed as a programming exercise to make a better game than Colossal Cave Adventure (one of the first great computer games and the first text adventure), Zork would eventually become one of the most popular computer game series of the early '80s, and if you are willing to avoid scoffing at the idea of playing a game where you read, you'll see that age hasn't slowed down Zork by much. While it is almost hilariously archaic by today's standards, the puzzles, the humorous script, and the imaginative locations still stand tall. The series does have its frustrating moments, and the games do require a lot of patience, but remember that this was the early days of home computing, back when a megabyte was considered a lot of memory. I highly recommend this collection. Not only are you getting some of the best (or at least most important) games of all time, but you are getting them for a very good price. Be wary, though: When you run out of light, the grues feed tonight!

If you've never heard of zork, you must have been traveling down dark passageways your whole life so far. You've stumbled upon a treasure and must play these games before proceeding onward. I've had these six and the follow-up games, Return to Zork, Zork: Nemesis, Zork Grand Inquisitor on CDs for years, but might buy this set just for the digital copies of the maps. If you like to read, you should definitely play these original Zork adventures, if you don't like to read, you should still play these games, you won't realize you're reading after long. If you don't play these I will send grues after you.

I had never played games like this, but i found the game to be fun. It reminds me of some of the old kings quest games. It's very different than any modern game as it's all text and typing commands, but it's additcting... I've even introduced other friends to this, and they enjoy it even being 21. I do recommend SAVE OFTEN. You can die... easy and somewhat often, if you choose the wrong action. I also recommend drawing a map. It's not that large of game, but you'll spend time trying to figure solutions. Regardless, I'm enjoying playing the game very much. Also, I'm playing on a MAC. It runs through ScummVM or Wine.