~2 minute readPleasing Puzzle Games from 'Zoop' to 'Zork'
Hot summer days are a perfect time to go underground. And returning to the Great Underground Empire is no problem at all.
"Zork Nemesis" (Activision; $54.95) is not only one of the most challenging CD-ROM puzzle games ever designed, but it also is a triumphant tribute to the original “Zork” series.
During the 1980s, the "Zork" games were Infocom’s flagship series of text adventures. Infocom was swallowed up by Activision, and text adventures gave way to graphics-intensive games. Activision tried to revive the games with "Return to Zork," which sold more than a million units but was clumsy and didn’t have the trademark "Zork" flair.
“Nemesis” is rich in detail and character, not to mention story. The player is a free-lance adventurer hired to investigate the disappearance of — get this — an investigator hired to solve the disappearances of four famous figures. It seems the four were secretly involved in alchemy, the process of using nature to learn the world’s secrets.
"Zork Nemesis" is really five games: The player begins in a remote workshop where the four alchemists are buried. When all four bodies are found, their ghosts warn the player of an evil demon called Nemesis who will be able to take over the world if he can unlock the alchemists’ secrets. The adventurer, of course, has to discover those secrets first.
This means traveling to the alchemists' homes, representing fire, water, earth and air. This is where the game gets hard: The puzzles are no cake walk. Even seasoned Zorkers will have to buy the hint book. An example: One early puzzle has the player click on stars on a map of constellations. Each star corresponds to other stars. Lighting one illuminates or extinguishes stars on either constellation. The object is to light one constellation completely while blacking out of the other. Not as easy as it sounds.
Old-time "Zork" purists will grumble about the death of the text-only interface, which forced game authors to write well and players to express their thoughts clearly. There’s also a darker feel than the often-funny early "Zorks."
The art is visually stunning. Activision recruited Hollywood talent for the visuals, including director Joe Napolitano ("The X-Files," "Quantum Leap") and designer Mauro Borrelli (“Batman Forever,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”).
The bottom line? Get this game if you’re into puzzles (the “Zork” games were "Myst" before "Myst" was a twinkle in its programmer’s eye). If you have hours to spend wandering cavernous conservatories and magnificent monasteries, it's sure to please.
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