The Lost Treasures of Infocom

Moby ID: 708

DOS version

Great games, awful packaging

The Good
The Infocom games themselves, of course, are fantastic -- some of the best games ever from the best IF company in history (the entire Zork and Enchanter series, Planetfall, Suspended, and of course The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). If you don't like any of these games, then you just don't like IF.

The Bad
Sadly enough, Activision bought up the Infocom name very cheaply, and this is an obvious weak attempt to make some quick cash with no effort. The manuals and maps are horrible photocopies bound together in one book, and the supplementary package contents that Infocom was so famous for are either totally omitted or merely drawn (e.g. HHGTTG: one page with ILLUSTRATIONS of the destruction orders, a bag of pocket fluff, a don't panic button and Joo Janta sunglasses). Also, a few games just seem to be thrown in to fill out the package -- Ballyhoo, Moonmist, and The Lurking Horror (in particular) just don't seem to be up to Infocom's normal standards (and were, in fact, published in the last couple of years before the company went bankrupt).

The Bottom Line
A must-have for any true Infocom fan or IF junkie. Also a great way to stretch out the life of an old computer system -- these games don't need sound or graphics cards.

by Skeet (4) on September 24, 2001

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