Fine text-based adenture
The text adventure genre is a peculiar breed which isn't suited to everyone but for those attuned to its unique qualities there are plenty of fine examples out there, like the Zork series, The Tracer Sanction and The Hobbit. Forbidden Quest is one of the lesser known games in this style but deserves to be played by those intrigued by the genre and by veterans alike. The plot is not the usual fantasy story of wizards and warriors and is instead a sci-fi tale that sees the player character crash landing on an alien planet and who must investigate it for signs of lost civilisations with only his blaster and his wits to help him survive. In fairly typical text-adventure fashion, the player must explore the world, solve puzzles and interact with the various characters they meet along the way. The game uses a decent, if slightly limited, parser system which pales in comparison to the one used by Infocom but certainly does a sound enough job. The puzzles too are generally fine, a little lacking in inventiveness but certainly logical enough and which are rarely unfair or frustrating. There are a few optional ones too which add to the open-ended feel of the game and which encourage exploration and give it a strong sense of adventure. The plot isn't particularly compelling and takes place in a well-realised world that feels alien and alive and which is a joy to explore. The characters are a bit flat and occasionally uninteresting but these minor niggles don't stand in the way of making this a fine example of the text adventure genre.
