PC Magazine, v1(8)

~3 minute read

Dec 1982

Space Wars And Earth Games

Zork II, The Wizard of Frobozz

Steve Leibson

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Adventure games are the pinnacle of tex-tonly computer games. Zork is a microcomputer version of the original minicomputer game Adventure. Zork II is a new offering from Infocom. and it is truly a puzzler.

In this game, as in other adventure games, the computer becomes the player's alter ego. It takes commands and reports what is happening in the make-believe world of the adventure. The challenge in Zork II is to explore the cave world created by the game's author, figure out the puzzles by using the clues and tools scattered about, steal as much booty as possible, and escape from the cave. To further complicate matters, an addled wizard appears from time to time to torment the player with obstacles.

Zork II is a sophisticated adventure game. It recognizes many high-level commands. If the player finds a table with several objects on it, for example, and enters the command "Take all." the game responds by picking up all of the objects on the table. It also tries — and fails — to take the table, telling the player. "Nice try" or "No way." The game tries hard to decipher what the player wants to do and is therefore easy to use. But because part of the game is to try to guess the right commands, Infocom has not made the task too easy.

The manual for Zork II is a brief nine pages. It explains how to start the game, how to quit, how to talk to the computer, and how to save the player's position on disk so the game can be resumed at a later time. Also included is a list of some of the more useful commands the player might not think of, such as "Inventory" to list the objects the player is carrying. The manual is vague about the specifics of Zork II because the real fun of an adventure game is figuring out how to play it. A quick-reference card of commands rounds out the documentation package.

ZORK II IS a sophisticated adventure game.

Zork II employs no graphics; it is entirely a text game. At the top of the screen a status line tells the player's position, the current score, and how many moves have been made. Beyond that, the game might as well be played on a teletypewriter.

The game tallies all positive and negative point scores accurately. It also keeps an accurate count of player moves for rating purposes. Errors are handled in a clever manner. If you press the Enter key with no command, the game responds with "Beg pardon?" Other responses to errors include "Interesting concept” and "Nothing happens." There is nothing a player can enter that fazes Zork II in the least. Infocom warranties the disk for 90 days. If the disk fails within that period, it will be replaced free of charge; after 90 days it costs $15. A postage-paid registration card is included to activate the warranty. This system is less than perfect, however, because the disk is copy protected and eventually will fail, probably after the warranty expires.

Adventure games are highly appealing -- people spend hundreds of hours trying to solve them. Zork II is especially fascinating because of its difficulty: Objects must be combined in complex ways to get anything done. That pesky wizard always pops up at the worst times to put a curse on the player. Zork II's appeal is just short of universal; the game is attractive to everyone but younger children, who tend to get frustrated by it.

Zork II is a challenge. It is interesting, difficult, frustrating, and, most of all, enjoyable. For those who have plenty of time, the game is endlessly amusing.

Steve Leibson is on electrical engineer who designs and writes about computers. He designs Computer-Aided-Design Workstations for the Cadnetics Corporation in Boulder. Colorado.

This article appeared in
PC Magazine
Dec 1982

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