Zork: Grand Inquisitor

Zork: Grand Inquisitor is another game from the legendary adventure game series, the first installment of which debuted on the market in 1980. This item presents events taking place after those known from Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands and is based on the modified Engin of this program released a year earlier.

Heavy times have come in the Underground Empire. The power in the fantastic world was taken over by the despotic Great Inquisitor, who made any attempts at disobedience punished with so-called totemization. He uses an old machine built by Frobozz Magic Company, now renamed Frobozz Electric. Exclusion of the magic word from the name was necessary due to the fact that a categorical ban on the use of secret knowledge has just come into force in the whole land.

In these circumstances, the player takes control of the main character of the game, who is supported by the scoffing Dalboz - the spirit of the Underground Master trapped in the lamp. The aim of the adventure is to find three magical artifacts and dethrone the Grand Inquisitor, thus restoring the old order.

The creators of Zork: Grand Inquisitor decided to go back to the roots of the cycle, which is why we are accompanied by a relatively humorous, black-minded setting in a series of activities. This is evidenced by Dalboz's specific comments, reactions and statements of the characters encountered, or the content of propaganda messages. Very often we also encounter references to previous page views of the series, or even the species, maintained in a similar tone.

The game is based on a proven point and click interface. In addition to the customary lifting and manipulation of objects, the player can also use spells (although it is formally forbidden). Spell scrolls are found along with the progress of the game and most of them go to our handy book, so you can use them at any time.

In Zork: Grand Inquisitor, a point system has been used, which determines our level of completion of adventure, and at the end of the game we should be represented by the number 1000. We explore the virtual world from the perspective of the first person, based on the jumping transition to the next locations. It is worth noting that at any time it is possible to rotate around its axis by 360 degrees. Although this functionality works only horizontally, it is necessary to pay attention to the year of the premiere and the then technical limitations.

The visual impressions of the game are intensified by the film inserts in which real actors appear. The atmospheric soundtrack was created by Mark Morgan, the creator of the soundtrack for the first two games from the Fallout series, Planescape: Torment or Descent II.

An interesting fact is that in Zork: Grand Inquisitor you can play two. Then the first player leads the game, and the second player plays the role of an active observer. Such cooperation may turn out to be very helpful, because, as we know, what two heads are not one, and as befits every Zorka, the challenges prepared by the creators are not easy.

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Last updated on August 14, 2015