Get hunting!
What's a Wumpus and why does it need a video game? Well, that's a good question and to start with the first question, it's a sort of mythical creature with a very big appetite. As for the second question, well it probably doesn't need a game but we're pretty glad it got one, as it's something of a historically important little experience that is notable for being one of the earliest games ever produced. This update to the original Hunt the Wumpus is perhaps the definitive version and should be played by anyone with even the slightest interest in gaming history. The goal of the game is to hunt down the wumpus and kill it with your arrows. You have to explore a series of 20 or so rooms which lie deep within a cave and which are filled with traps like pits, beasties like bats and of course the wumpus. You get clues from the computer which help you to track down the creature and navigate safely, and the whole thing is played in turn-based fashion, as you choose to either move or shoot. The original was pretty simple stuff and while this version isn't overly complex, it does add in some new and more cunning cave designs and which help to keep things fairly fresh. Wumpus II really is something of a gaming treasure and although the gameplay is fairly basic, it's never less than utterly compelling and you'll be amazed at how much atmosphere can be created through just a few bits of text. It's got a similar appeal to text adventures like Zork and rogue-likes such as Hack so if you enjoy this kind of thing or just like gaming lore, then Wumpus II needs to be checked out.
