These three games were landmark creations of their time. The very surreal puzzles proved quite difficult to get your head around, and it was only after you surrendered to the sublime silliness of some of the outstanding metaphysical imagery that it suddenly became clear.
Although most people will not have played all three, they were all of similar quality. Return to Eden was probably my favourite, which proves that occasionally the sequel can better the original, kind of like Empire Strikes Back is better than Star Wars.
These three games were landmark creations of their time. The very surreal puzzles proved quite difficult to get your head around, and it was only after you surrendered to the sublime silliness of some of the outstanding metaphysical imagery that it suddenly became clear.
Although most people will not have played all three, they were all of similar quality. Return to Eden was probably my favourite, which proves that occasionally the sequel can better the original, kind of like Empire Strikes Back is better than Star Wars.
I actually submitted tips and hints to gaming mags and got in print with Return to Eden. One of my early claims to fame, which was particularly unusual because the game's syntax and imagery
were a little "out there" for an eleven year old! Graphically the game was a bit dated then and even more so now, so I used to play it with the graphics switched off until I got to a particularly interesting bit.
One of the most difficult things in the game was the deadlines that appeared now and again, such as right at the start of the game, and some of the more insidious ways of killing you without you realising what was happening. Also, you needed to know what words like tuber meant, which at age 11 you instantly think of a brass instrument, then spend ages trying to work out how said brass instrument would possibly assist you in completing the game.
For a long time, my dad thought the game was based of East of Eden. He was, of course, wrong.
I would recommend that anyone with a love of text adventures such as Gnome Ranger, The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, and Scapeghost download this trilogy. I believe that the Silicon Dreams trilogy, and Twin Kingdom Valley, marked a foray into a level of text gaming that was cut short much too early, with the dumbing down of games into a more visual and mentally less challenging style, such as Simon The Sorceror.
For me, the true measure of your mental strength is how quickly you can complete a text adventure game, and how few times you have to look up hints in old magazines. If you have them, get your kids to start playing them early, and they will learn to spell, to think, to solve and to enjoy words!
