jolt-online posts

A few years ago, developer Cyberlore released Playboy: The Mansion, a Sims-style PC game that let players become a version of Hugh Hefner as they tried to create the ultimate party mansion while also running the Playboy empire. That game was heavily promoted but was both a commercial and critical failure. Now Playboy is getting back into the game business with UK-based Jolt Online (who recently launched the new Legends of Zork game) with a just announced new browser based MMO title called Playboy Manager.

The game, which will officially launch this summer, doesn't have you as a Hugh Hefner replacement. Your role this time is a manager of models wanting to make it big. Your ultimate goal is to help promote to models so that they can become a Playboy Playmate and have a permanent room in the mansion. Of course thousands of other players will be doing the same thing.

The gameplay will combine "elements of trading card and turn-based gaming" and will also feature exclusive Playboy photos and videos of their various Playmates. Obviously this game won't be for the kiddies. Jolt Online is tempting players to pre-register with a contest that will let five people win lifetime subscriptions to Playboy magazine.

Nope this isn't an April Fool's joke (we don't play that game here). The previously announced plans to relaunch the classic Zork adventure game franchise had now indeed gone live. The browser-based online adventure title Legends of Zork is being handled by UK-based Jolt Online under license from Zork's owners Activision.

The game itself harkens back, at least partially, to the original Zork games as it is played with a text interface with some cartoon illustrations. While the creators have said it's not an MMO title per se, there are some MMO elements including persistant characters (you can even play as a female) and some Player Vs Player elements.

It was one of the biggest and most well known PC games of all time and now the Zork series is making a comeback of sorts. UK-based Jolt Online have announced they have plans to launch a browser-based game titled Legends of Zork under license from the game's current owners Activision.

Gameplay details are still a bit scarce (there's no release date, for example) but the game's teaser web site is now up with word that Legends of Zork is being designed as a persistent adventure game that casts the player as a "recently laid-off salesman and part-time loot-gatherer, as he explores the Great Underground Empire." The game is being called a casual MMO but there's no indication yet how or even if Legends of Zork will involve the player interacting with othe online players.