Zork returns as Web-based MMOG

When it comes to old-school adventure games, it doesn't get much older than Zork, the Infocom franchise that started as a series of text-based adventures on the Tandy Color Computer, Apple II, Commodore 64, and all manner of personal computers. Now, Jolt Online Gaming is dusting off the franchise--dormant since 1997's Zork Grand Inquisitor--and reviving it as a Web-browser-based massively multiplayer casual online game.

The Irish browser-game maker announced today that it will be publishing Legends of Zork, a persistent online game that will be playable on computers as well as iPhones. No release date has been announced, but Jolt has said that it will be accepting applications for beta testing on the game's official Web site.

Legends of Zork will cast players as treasure-hunting traveling salesmen in the recently collapsed Great Underground Empire. Of course, the journey promises great riches as well as great danger (possibly in the form of a grue).

Founded last year, Jolt already operates a number of free-to-play online gaming properties, including the truck-driving-themed Trukz, and geopolitical sim NationStates 2.