Zork I

Up to now in adventure games, you were brave but totally illiterate. The character you commanded had an IQ lower than the average shoe size, because he could only handle two words in a row. Now that problem has been dealt with by the Zork series by Infocom. These games can understand complete sentences and have vocabularies of well over 500 words. That's probably more than three times the number of different terms in the BASIC programming language.
The three Zorks are part of a series. Zork I puts you at the beginning of the great dungeon. You have to get in the house and explore the higher levels of the dungeon. Then, if you are ready or willing to continue your exploration, you can get Zork II, in which you get to explore the middle of the dungeon. And if you want to finish off the dungeon, get Zork III which allows you to explore the bottom and meet the dreaded Dungeon Master.
The Zork games are an adventure game purist's dream. They have absolutely no graphics and all the action is described in words. It reads pretty much like a good pulp fiction paperback, with some fascinating riddles thrown in. But you still have to get the phrasing almost perfect in order to achieve an above average understanding with the computer.
Speaking of understanding, another thing that sets the Zorks apart from most other games is that they are definitely not easy. As a matter of fact, the Zorks are excruciatingly difficult. You can go over the same thing time and time again without even realizing that you should do something with it. For example, kicking the dragon in order to get him to follow you (Zork II) doesn't sound like the most obvious solution. But if you are willing to spend the time to puzzle it out, this game will provide you with lots of fun.
These games are not for the short-tempered or the weak-brained. But if you are a stout individual with a lot of common sense and a warped imagination, these games are probably the best software buy for your dollar.
Unlike other companies, Infocom doesn't leave you all alone when it comes to dealing with their games. Just call (617) 492-1031 and ask for the hints department. The people over there are extremely nice and helpful, and though they probably won't give you a straight answer, they will give you an extremely helpful hint. Or, if you don't wont to keep calling them, you can buy the complete map to all three games and some hints for about $10.

Zork is THE definitive adventure game. Only the original Adventure program and the Scott Adams' series are comparable in challenge and complexity. It has the monstrous scope, fundamental tenets, and beautifully descriptive prose of Adventure, plus a complex enough "puzzle" structure to warm the heart of any Adams fan.
The scenario is familiar, but the specifics are totally new and different. Not surprisingly, one starts at a deserted house which leads (in hopefully short order) to a cavernous underground complex replete with varied and sundry treasures, a hungry Cyclops, an audacious Thief, a testy Troll, enchanted items (like mirrors and certain knives), an underground lake, dam, and river, to say nothing of the coal mine, chapel, maze, and on and on ad infinitum, even unto the Gates of Hell.
The split-screen, all-text, and silent display is neatly formatted and scrolls very well. The vocabulary is out of this world, by far the most extensive yet encountered. Compound and multiple commands are accepted and individually acted upon. For example, "Take all but shovel and pump. Enter the boat. Examine Scarab" is a valid, single command line. It will even answer a few abstract questions such as "What is xxx?" and "Where is yyy?". Through it all, the speed of the game is satisfyingly fast. Well conceived system commands permit diagnosis of your state of health, control over the degree of text verbosity, enabling / disabling a printer from within the program and saving a game's status (only one) to a separate disk.
Zork will require at least the same amount of time (or more) than was required to achieve a perfect score in Adventure. For those of fainter heart and lesser patience, Infocom's well written documentation advises that a price list is available for various hints and maps. But whether you tough it out or not, the best news is that this is only Part I.

Overall rating :	A+	Difficulty:	B	Originality:	A
Puzzle quality :	A	Ease of use:	A	Documentation:	B
Text quality:	A	Vocabulary:	A+	Holds interest ?:	A
Graphics quality :	N/A	Save/restore:	A+	Value for money:	A