Zork II: The Wizard of Frobozz

The Good
Excellent game world, good use of spells, fun (and frustrating) interaction with the Wizard character, outstanding parser, and (as always) a great collection of puzzles ranging from "flash of insight" level to "there must be a bug in the software because I've tried all the commands" level.

The Bad
Every so often, the wizard would show up and cast a perfectly inopportune spell at a perfectly inopportune time that would end up either killing you or making the game unwinnable. For example, there is one sequence of the game where you need to fly around in a hot-air balloon. I remember once the wizard levitated me right out of the balloon -- the balloon sailed away, and I fell to my death when the spell wore off.

The Bottom Line
Helpful to play Zork 1 first (just to get the hang of the Zork environment), but not a necessity. The game adds to the rich world set forth in the first game, but it is isolated enough to stand on its own. Give it a shot, and don't give up!