Long ago, Activision allowed fans of the old Zork games to download Zork I, II and III for free. It was a limited-time promotion for Zork: Grand Inquisitor. Now the webmaster of Classic DOS Games is asking Activision to release the games once more. He's started a petition to that effect and encourages everyone to sign.
Greg Boettcher is starting up The Non-Comp Review Project, a new effort to produce more reviews of games that aren't entered in the yearly competition. He encourages you to join up. Full information is available on the project's home page.
Andrew Plotkin has reviewed Voyage, the sequel to Return to Mysterious Island. Like its predecessor, it's based loosely on a Jules Verne novel or two: From the Earth to the Moon and A Trip Around the Moon.
In fact, Voyage feels more like a game of alchemy than of technology. Instead of a crescendo of technological advancement, you're thrown straight in with several species of Lunar plants. And since you have no sense of what's reasonable (as you would with a gunpowder puzzle), you get to experiment. As the game continues, you acquire more ways to mutate and transform the elements you've already got.