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Hunt for the Ring
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Author: Nils
Eng
Year: 1989
Version: Version with new title in 1997
System: MS-DOS
Type: Text adventure (with minor illustrations)
Language: Swedish
Covers: The Lord of the Rings
Distribution: Freeware
Availability: Downloadable (see below)
Licensed: No
Originally titled Bilbo and based on the "alternate reality" that Bilbo, rather than Frodo, was chosen to take the Ring to Mordor. Due to this, the author, Nils Eng, received some criticism (on this web page, at least) for not being faithful to Tolkien's spirit. The protagonist of the game has therefore been changed to Frodo, but since Eng did not feel that to be a suitable title for the game, that was instead changed to Härskarringen ("The Ruling Ring" or "The Ruler's Ring").
Personal evaluation: While there are still some discrepancies as compared to the books, these are now no worse than in most other games. Nice descriptions and original problems makes the game well worth a try. My major concern is the poor parser and the slightly odd way of presenting the descriptions in third person.
The loading screen and one screen where the player has just taken a look at his map. These and one other map are the only graphics in the game.
På svenska, tack!