Zork III: The Dungeon Master

The Good
(WARNING: This review contains some spoilers.)

Unlike Zork I and II, this part has a very own atmosphere, the game feels more alive and absorbing than the first two parts. It seems to me that Lebling and Blank were somewhat fed up with the players hunting treasures and points. This is no treasure crawl anymore. Instead, you are tested, in so unusual aspects as patience, compassion and humility (yes, years before Ultima IV!). So the usual routine of "kill everything that moves, grab everything that doesn't" doesn't really work here.

I think the designers made a conscious effort of getting the players away from that primitivity that, in the beginning of adventuring, may have been helpful, but which severely limited the genre. Just the fact that there are only a measly 7 points to get, and that, even if you have them all, you're still far from having finished the game.

Zork III also features some wonderful puzzles, like the one in the cave beside the lake, where you can (and have to) visit rooms from Zork I, II and III and even Enchanter, or the lovely time-travel puzzle, or the great Sokoban-style Royal Puzzle. The puzzles are pretty hard, but I found them easier than Zork II, because the whole atmosphere makes you be more in the game than in the previous Zorks.

The Bad
Hmm... well one thing that I found a bit frustrating and unfair was that earthquake that occurs after some time, and which, if you haven't done this or that by the time, makes the game unsolvable. They should have made it clearer that this earthquake has a profound impact on the cave.

The Bottom Line
This is the most mature all Zork games, and the one that tries to break the usual treasure crawl routine in a very refreshing and challenging way. It also has a a wonderful, dark and intense atmosphere that made it easier to get into the game; the typical Zorkian humor is far more subtle here (but it is there -- hello sailor!).

I liked Zork I very much for its Colossal Cave-inspired nerdiness and its straightforward treasure crawl feel. Zork II was somewhat disappointing, I felt -- it tried to be more than a crawl, by mixing in some untypical elements, but the mix didn't work out so well. Zork III, however, completely reinvents the genre. I felt it very enjoyable from start to finish, and a great ending for a great trilogy.

In fact, for experienced adventure gamers that want to "get into" Zork, I would maybe even recommend this. The logical choice Zork I may be just too "pure crawl" for today's spoiled brats.