Inferior, in almost every way, to its predecessor.
To begin, I guess that I should summarize the game's strongpoints, since it was, in fact, an enjoyable game to play. The story is good and the different locales are fun to explore (the essential in any adventure game). The little lantern side-kick, though sometimes annoying, does add to the overall quality of the game.
The puzzles in this game were very good quality and usually could be solved intuitively given the artifacts and information in the game. I have actually come to expect such intricate and involved gameplay from the Zork franchise and its a pity that there haven't been any more.
The real drawback to this game is that the story and characters failed to fully immerse me in the gaming experience. It took only about 10 hours to complete and at the end, I couldn't help think that the story and different places were not as layered with detail and information as they could have been. Thinking back on the story, I cannot recall the soundtrack, certain characters or other things which indicate a truly superb game.
This review should not take away from the fact that ZGI is an excellent game in its own right, and that it will provide many hours of entertainment. I wish they would develop another Zork game.