Having played quite a few text adventures, H2G2 stood out as the most user friendly.
Its understanding of language was the best I have encountered. There were some little problems: 'Lay down/Lie down' produced different results. Other reviewers claim that progress is only made when 'exact' phrases are used. This is nonsense. The program is well written and allows much variation.
The puzzles are great. Douglas Adams has said that this was the version of H2G2 that turned out most closely as intended. When I played the game in the late 80s, I didn't know where to get help with the puzzles. I had no choice - I had to use my brain. With the help of friends, the game was completed after a few months. It had been a great experience. Sadly I never got on with the other Douglas Adams' adventure 'Bureaucracy'. And the graphic adventure, 'Starship Titanic' is beautiful to look at and awful to play! H2G2 was written for many platforms. Some had graphics. Some had extended description.
The game is still available to play online. It can also be downloaded and played using an emulator. A fun way to treat text adventures today is to try using a speech recognition program such as Via Voice &c. There could be a future for text adventures using a speak/reply device no keyboard, no screen. H2G2 would be the perfect game.
Its understanding of language was the best I have encountered. There were some little problems: 'Lay down/Lie down' produced different results. Other reviewers claim that progress is only made when 'exact' phrases are used. This is nonsense. The program is well written and allows much variation.
The puzzles are great. Douglas Adams has said that this was the version of H2G2 that turned out most closely as intended. When I played the game in the late 80s, I didn't know where to get help with the puzzles. I had no choice - I had to use my brain. With the help of friends, the game was completed after a few months. It had been a great experience. Sadly I never got on with the other Douglas Adams' adventure 'Bureaucracy'. And the graphic adventure, 'Starship Titanic' is beautiful to look at and awful to play! H2G2 was written for many platforms. Some had graphics. Some had extended description.
The game is still available to play online. It can also be downloaded and played using an emulator. A fun way to treat text adventures today is to try using a speech recognition program such as Via Voice &c. There could be a future for text adventures using a speak/reply device no keyboard, no screen. H2G2 would be the perfect game.