You wake up, your head spinning, and all is dark.
Thus starts The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Based on the best selling book (and series) written by Douglas Adams, you play the part of Arthur Dent. Arthur wakes up, hung-over, and completely oblivious to the events to come, all leading to the destruction of Earth. Take control of Arthur’s every move and maybe you’ll survive to tell the tale of “humanity.”
This text-based strategy has been ported many times to many systems, but the Commodore 64 version was my first experience.
After playing it once, I was hooked. After the demise of my C64, I was quite upset to not be able to play this very addictive game. I soon found other available versions, but none quite held the same fondness of the gray screen with white text C64 version I remembered so well. Now, with the creation of emulators and roms, I’m able to re-live memories of my past.
For those who have played a text-based game before, you should find yourself right at home with the Hitchhiker’s Guide. The intuitive command set and completely open syntax for commands makes it easy for anyone who has a hard time remembering how to execute a command.
For example:
You see an item on the ground, and you want to pick it up. You
have many options to “take” the item, “pick up” the item, or “grab” the item. Movement commands are as simple as north, south, east, and west, but may also be executed as “run” or “walk” or “go” with the inclusion of the direction.
The greatest part of the game style – text-based strategy – is that everything about the game is left up to your imagination. You have a towel, but what color is it? Chances are your towel looks different than my towel. Do you know what Arthur Dent looks like? How about Ford? Everything is left to the imagination. It feels so much like reading a book that I often forget I’m even playing a game.
Regardless of how you imagine things look and sound, you still have the same obstacles to overcome. The main goal is always to survive. After all, your house is going to be demolished, the Earth is about to be blown up, and you still don’t know the meaning to the life and everything. As long as you can manage to find a way off the planet before it’s destroyed, you can always consult the Guide, and maybe find out the answer to life.
One thing you must always remember, though:
Never forget your towel!
