Lost Treasures of Infocom on iOS
01/08/2013
I'm not sure how it hapened, but someone working below the radar of senior management must have figured out a way to release the Lost Treasures of Infocom for iPhone and iPad. Why else would such a great collection of games be made available at such a great price? Twenty-six of the original Infocom classic Interactive Fiction (IF) games including the original Zork series, Deadline, Enchanter, Witness, PlanetFall and much more for a measley $10. Or if you're not interested in the full collection, you can buy 5-packs of games for just $2.99.
If somehow you missed out on '80s Interactive Fiction and don't already have these games on 5.25" floppies or the reissued CD-ROM collections, this is a great way to get them on your iPhone or iPad along with a spiffy new UI, built-in documentation and reproductions of the classic Infocom "feelies". I was a bit disappointed that maps and Invisiclues cost $1 extra each if you buy one of the $2.99 collections, but you'll gets all of the maps and all of the feelies for the entire series. And if you spring for the full $10 bundle, you get the maps and Invisiclues for free as well as a bonus game, Zork: The Undiscovered Underground.
Completists will note that there were in fact 31 games in the Infocom canon. So take note that this does not include Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur, Sherlock, Shogun or Nord & Burt Couldn't Make Head or Tail of it, most likely due to licensing restrictions. But if you're aware of those titles, you probably already have them running on iFrotz anyways.
Here's the full list of games available:• A Mind Forever Voyaging
• Ballyhoo
• Border Zone
• Cutthroats
• Deadline
• Enchanter
• Hollywood Hijinx
• Infidel
• Leather Goddess of Phobos
• The Lurking Horror
• Moonmist
• Planetfall
• Plundered Hearts
• Seastalker
• Sorcerer
• Spellbreaker
• Starcross
• Stationfall
• Suspect
• Suspended: A Cryogenic Nightmare
• The Witness
• Trinity
• Wishbringer
• Zork 1: The Great Underground Empire (FREE)
• Zork 2 : The Wizard of Frobozz
• Zork 3 : The Dungeon Master
• Zork: The Undiscovered Underground (bonus game)
- iTunes: Lost Treasures of Infocom, Frotz
- Infocom Gallery: Main Site, Grey Box Releases
- Wikipedia: Infocom, Zork, Lost Treasures, Classic Masterpieces