Infocom, 1996
Return to Zork is an epic adventure, a brand new saga into the Great Underground Empire of Zork, which was destroyed and all the evil magic was dispersed. But now, a company has discovered a hidden realm of Zork Empire and you have won a sweepstake for a vacation in the Valley of Sparrows where this archaeological digging is going on. But, no sooner you enter the Valley, which is now known as the Valley of Vultures, you realize that something is really suspicious about the place and the evil forces still rule the place. As the unwitting traveler, you must save the Underground Empire once again from the manacles of the dark forces by restoring all the building that are vanished and finding all the missing persons, but be vigilante and save your game very often as one wrong step could be fatal.
When Return to Zork was first published after a long period of silence, the fans of Zork trilogy were enthralled to see the graphical changes and mesmerizing interactive interface this episode brought them by still keeping the standard values of their favorite text adventures. Though, they might have missed the legendary text parser, which was replaced with a point-and-click interface that pops up a group of action icons by clicking the right-mouse button on an object or a person. The player can also choose a mood while talking to the characters depending on the situation. Undoubtedly, Return to Zork was an innovative game that revel in a superb soundtrack with over 180 original compositions and more than one hour of spoken dialogue found in the CD-ROM version only. Real Hollywood actors were cast in the game, which the player interacts throughout the game. All in all, it's a delightful game to play and I strongly recommend it to all the novice adventure gamers and especially to all the Zork trilogy fans.
