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INFOCOM CLASSICS

- ZORK
- PLANETFALL
- A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING
- TRINITY
> HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE
__GALAXY
- LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS
- THE LURKING HORROR
- SHOGUN
- ARTHUR

"Arguably one of the best Infocom games ever made, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy was an instant hit when it was first released in 1984. HHGTTG needs almost
no introduction – if you grew up during the 1980s, you’ll bound to have heard of
this classic. Graeme Cree sums up the reasons why the game is a must-play in this
review for SPAG:

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was Infocom's first game based on a
novel (Shogun was the second), and is certainly their most famous product. As
such, it faced heavy expectations both from the text game crowd and from fans of
the book. Fortunately, the game meets most expectations.

For those who don't know, you begin the game as Arthur Dent, a typical Englishman
whose home is about to be demolished to make way for a new highway. Soon afterward,
the earth itself is destroyed to make way for a new interstellar spacelane, and you
must escape the holocaust with your alien friend Ford Prefect; first to a Vogon
warship, and then to the Heart of Gold, run by Ford's friend Zaphod Beeblebrox.
Once there, your goal becomes to land safely on the lost planet of Magrathea. To do
this, you must search various corners of reality (changing identities a few times
along the way) to acquire several different pieces of fluff, which when used
properly will produce an item that will give you the clairvoyance necessary to open
the hatch and set foot on the planet.

The writing is some of Infocom's very best, which is fortunate because the game
itself is a little too short (only The Witness and Seastalker have fewer
locations). The atmosphere produced is almost exactly like that of the book, even
if specific details of the plot are often changed. The puzzles (including the
legendary Babel Fish puzzle) are based on a brand of "consistent illogic" that is
rather reminiscent of Lewis Carroll, and make the game one of those few that many
will some day play again even after having solved it once. Hitchhiker's is one of
the more literate text games on the market, as you will often have to pay more
attention to how things are worded than you might in other games.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the absence of the promised sequel. The story
does not really end, it merely pauses and gives you a "to be continued" message
just as you set foot on Magrathea. Though the sequel was promised many times (such
as in the New Zork Times, and in the crystal ball in Beyond Zork, it never
materialized. Since Infocom no longer has the rights to Hitchhiker's, it is
unlikely that it ever will. Despite this, Hitchhiker's plusses massively outweigh
the negatives, and the game remains one of the great classics of interactive
fiction." If you enjoy IF games, you can’t call yourself a fan until you have
played this masterpiece. And if you’re not yet a fan, this is the one game that may
change your mind. A true classic in every sense of the word." (Home Of The Underdogs)

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