225 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
225 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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ZORKER'S CORNER
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and tidbits from Infocom, Inc.
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*************
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Since I've been away for a while and a few rookies have signed on, I'll
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print out an "Infocom Primer", describing each Infocom game available.
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These are the Infocom levels of difficulty: Introductory, Standard
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Advanced, Expert. A starred review means that I have played the game and
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am rating it on difficulty and overall enjoyability out of five stars.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Zork I: Standard. I recommend it for first-timers. A hunt for twenty
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fantastic treasures among pitfalls and murderers. A little dull.
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Difficulty: ** 1/2 Overall: ***
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Zork II: Advanced. Much more complicated. Very funny and colorful.
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Outsmart the damned Wizard of Forbozz who only talks in F-words (no no,
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you know what I mean). Every puzzle interwoven with others. Difficulty:
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*** 1/2 Overall: *****
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Zork III: Advanced. Very hard. More serious, not too playful. The whole
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adventure an encounter with the Dungeon Master. For calculating minds.
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Difficulty: **** Overall: ***
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Enchanter: Standard. Magical, mystical, diabolical. Gain in magic powers
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as you seek to overthrow the evil warlock Krill. This one was going to be
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Zork IV. Difficulty: ** 1/2 Overall: **** 1/2
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Sorcerer: Advanced. Find the leader to your Circle of Enchanters and
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defeat the evil demon. Second in series, with more magic needed (but not
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more memory)
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Spellbreaker: Expert. Possibly Infocom's hardest. You must save the
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kingdom as magic itself, as well as your powers, fades. Good luck....
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Wishbringer: Introductory. Fantasy 100%. Start on a search for a kid-
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napped cat, end up on a fantastic adventure with a magic wish-stone!
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Moonmist: Introductory. Recent addition. Great fun, EXCELLENT character-
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ization!!! Must solve two mysteries: who is the "ghost" haunting the
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mansion and what is the hidden treasure? Four variations (in one game). Difficulty:
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* Overall: *** 1/2
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PLanetfall: Standard. Droll. Try to save a doomed planet with the help
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of a childish robot (but he is cute!). Adventurous and exciting.
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Difficulty: *** 1/2 Overall: ****
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Seastalker: Introductory. Confront the monster laying waste a new underwater
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lab, while discovering a possible traitor! Infocom's first Introductory.
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Infidel: Advanced. A little more "realistic". Discover the mysteries
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of an ancient Egyptian pyramid (Indiana Jones-type). Written with some
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knowledge about ancient Egypt.
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Starcross: Expert. Thoroughly sci-fi and VERY hard. Solve the puzzle of
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a race of alien beings and one of a larger scale.....good for logical,
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mathematical minds.
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Suspended: Expert. Arising from a cryogenic capsule (brrr!), your world
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is in danger. Set it straight using six highly different robots.
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Reminiscent of Planetfall, but a little more down-to-earth (ha-ha).
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Deadline: Expert. Great characterizations. Tough murder mystery and
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you've got 12 hours to solve it. Many different endings....watch it,
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another murder could be committed! Difficulty: **** 1/2 Overall: ****
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Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Standard: Excellent. Yes, co-written
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by Douglas Adams. You are Arthur Dent at the beginning of the familiar
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storyline, but at the end...who knows who you are? I recommend reading
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the book first. Difficulty: *** 1/2 Overall: *****
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Leather Goddesses of Phobos: Level unknown. Naughty comedy by other
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co-writer of HGTTG (see above). Collect the materials you need to escape
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the slave driver Goddesses. With three levels of prudity, nudity, and/or
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lewdity. Another recent addition.
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A Mind Forever Voyaging: Level Unknown. Interactive Fiction Plus, where
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you need 128K (Mac, 512K). Not really puzzles; you are a computer in a
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simulated future of the United States of North America (fat chance).
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Trinity: Standard. Interactive Fiction Plus (see above). You are
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involved in an atomic explosion, where you switch between fantasy and
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reality. Many puzzles in a strange new universe (reminiscent of Split
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Infinity?) New one.
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Cutthroats: Standard. Shallow characterizations, stereotypes. But good
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game. As you dive on one of two randomly-c in your ranks may be ready to...
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well, see the name. Difficulty: ***
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Ballyhoo: Standard. Somewhat new. A mystery behind the scenes of the
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circus. A cross between Zork and Deadline, where you solve puzzles in
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order to find a kidnapped child.
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The Witness: Standard. Murder Mystery in the Thirties. Realistically
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set. Again, only 12 hours.............11..................10...........
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Suspect: Advanced. Mystery in more ways than one, when you combine
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murder with embezzling with a costume ball. And you are not the
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detective, you're....gulp....the prime suspect! So-so characters. Great
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red herrings. Difficulty: **** Overall: *** 1/2
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And, coming this month.....
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Hollywood Hijinx: Set in good ole Hollywwod. Mystery is to find ten
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peculiar treasures, and you will inherit a house full of Hollywood
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memorabilia. Humorous.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Well, that's it! Remember, you can ALWAYS ask me questions about any of
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the starred ones. And, if you'd like to be a party to all this craziness,
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write to
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INFOCOM
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125 CambridgePark Drive (that IS one word)
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Cambridge, MA 02140
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and ask to subscribe to THE STATUS LINE (formerly the New Zork Times until
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a copyright law hit 'em.).
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--------->The Zorker<---------
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Zork, Enchanter, Deadline, the Witness, Starcross, Suspended, Planetfall,
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Infidel, Seastalker, Cutthroats, Suspect, and Wishbringer are registered
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trademarks. Ballyhoo, Trinity, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker, A Mind Forever
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Voyaging Leather Goddesses of Phobos, and Moonmist are trademarks of
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Infocom, Inc. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a trademark of
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Douglas Adams, so DON'T PANIC (I know, I know, you're sick of that)!!!
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Enter selection or <return> for menu: 2
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Ctrl and [S-Stop] [Q-Continue] [C-Quit]
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ZORKER'S CORNER
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*******************************************************************************
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Hello, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, but I'm at school up in
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the backwoods of northwest Michigan and vacation times don't come all that
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often. Lots of interesting stuff is going on up at old Infocom; new games, new
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formats, new packages, and new genres.
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One of their newer games is called Plundered Hearts. It's a new idea in
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"interactive fiction" (whatever that's supposed to mean) because it's Infocom's
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first romance. It's a time-proven story of 17th century ships, beautiful
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maidens, and pirates.
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If you get frustrated and bored easily with most of Infocom's games--that is,
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the "novel" format, try Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It. This
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game is a collection of eight "short stories" involving verbal, not physical,
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puzzles, such as spoonerisms, metaphors, and homonyms.
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Infocom has put out a few collections, as well: the Zork trilogy (including,
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of course, Zork I, Zork II, and Zork III), the Enchanter trilogy (including
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Enchanter, Sorcerer, and Spellbreaker), Science Fiction Classics (with
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Planetfall, and A Mind Forever Voyaging),
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and Classic Mystery Library (with Moonmist, The Witness, and Suspect). These
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trilogies will save you a lot of money on each game.
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Planetfall fans might enjoy the long-awaited sequel, Stationfall. This
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is another episode in the life of you, the promoted deck-washer, and Floyd, the
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infantile robot you've dealt with before. The idea is much the same, to
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renovate a deserted space station, but don't count too heavily on your
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buddy Floyd for too long....(enough melodrama).
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Three games I'm working on now are The Lurking Horror, Bureaucracy, and
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Beyond Zork. The Lurking Horror is a horror story set in G.U.E. Tech
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(no, not Great Underground Empire, George Underwood Edwards!). Bureaucracy,
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written by famous Hitchhiker Douglas Adams, is his revenge on all the "red
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tapers" who "assisted" him in his move across town. Your object? To
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get a change-of-address form acknowledged, along with all the other duties
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that relate. Sound easy? Don't bet on it.
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Beyond Zork is the most revolutionary of the new games. It adds a whole new
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twist: the complexities of Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games.
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No longer are you an anonymous male character; you have variable amounts
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of traits like endurance, luck, strength, intellingence, dexterity, and
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compassion, not to mention changing levels of experience and armor class.
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New features are introduced, like UNDO, which allows you to back up a step in
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the case of an error, and NAME, which gives you the power to name certain
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inanimate objects (example: if you'd rather call the shillelagh "Al" or the
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rusty dagger "Fleshrender"). In the game, you are in a Zorkian environment
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encompassing forests, villages and cities, jungles, and ancient ruins, to name
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a few. You search for magic and mundane items to either use in your quest,
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or sell to buy other items to use in your quest. There are three shops with
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shopkeepers to keep you informed of the price, value, and nature of items of
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magic, weaponry, or armor. Every monster vanquished and many problems solved
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will raise your attributes, allowing your character to change and evolve
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gradually. There's an on-screen map and a window for features like your
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status, your inventory, and room descriptions. There are terrible monsters,
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curious riddles, and legendary treasures: The Coconut of Quendor, your goal.
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This is definitely for anybody who enjoyed any or all of the Zorks, or even
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an Infocom novice.
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Well, that about wraps up another fabulous edition of ZORKER'S CORNER.
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Remember, you can come to me with questions about games on the following list,
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either about puzzles or just a personal review. If you'd like a piece of
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the action, subscribe to The Status Line (formerly The New Zork Times but some
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big obnoxious metropolitan paper didn't seem to find that too funny) either
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by buying an Infocom game and sending in the registration card, calling
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1-800-262-6868, or writing: Infocom, 125 CambridgePark [one word] Drive,
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Cambridge, MA, 02140.
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Good luck and happy Zorking!
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PROBLEM: Why aren't Infocom fans considered good Americans?
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HINT: Because they're Infocommies.
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*******************************************************************************
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The Zorker can give hints, answer questions, or offer advice on these games:
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Zork I Planetfall
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Zork II Deadline
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Zork III Suspect
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Moonmist Infidel
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Enchanter The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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Sorcerer Cutthroats *
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Beyond Zork * The Lurking Horror *
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Bureaucracy *
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* The Zorker, for whatever reason, has not completed this game and so may not
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be able to answer every question concerning puzzles. Reviews are still
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available, however.
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All titles are trademarks of Infocom, Inc.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a trademark of Douglas Adams.
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*******************************************************************************
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*******************************************************************************
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