Zork Grand Inquisitor

by ACTIVISION

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001QHYE
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,691 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com

Zork Grand Inquisitor is an adventure game in the tradition of the earlier, text-only Zork games: addictive, challenging, and dryly funny. A gorgeous first-person perspective delivers a game experience much like Myst, only within the world of Zork and the Great Underground Empire.

You begin your adventuring career as a Suck-O-Matic sales representative, caught outside the town of Port Foozle after curfew. This in itself is a life-threatening situation, because the town is under martial law. The Inquisition has arrived to stamp out all magic, and petty rule infractions are punishable by death. Soon you've landed in even more hot water, finding a talking lantern and a book of spells. Traveling with this contraband, you encounter a number of bizarre characters and attempt to outwit the Inquisition on your quest to recover the three magic artifacts that will supposedly restore magic to the land.

Zork Grand Inquisitor features super design, great graphics, and an interesting story, but its best feature is the famous Zork sense of humor. From the Grand Inquisitor's battle slogan--"I am the boss of you!"--to the snide comments your lantern makes when you get killed, this game will keep adventure fans laughing late into the night. Just be sure to keep a light on, lest you be eaten by a Grue. --Alyx Dellamonica

Product Description

MAGIC has been banned from the great underground empire of Zork. By edict of the grand inquisitor, the empire has been sealed off and the practice of magic declared punishable by totemization (a very bad thing). Can you save the underground?

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midnight in the Underground Underground, February 20, 2000

By 

rw9 (Stony Brook, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zork Grand Inquisitor (CD-ROM)

The storyline: Zork has been conquered by a failed former wizard with MDD (Magic Deficit Disorder). This Grand Inquisitioner (tyrant) is hand-in-glove with the Frobozz Electric Company, and is using force to replace all magic with Frobozz technology. The game takes you on a fantasy quest-adventure in the famous Underground Empire. Your mission: to restore magic to all of Zork.

Pros:

1. Highly inspired zaniness of the best kind. A six-armed, invisible monster with an Irish accent. A walking castle that whistles "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." A way to lose the game that exiles you to New Jersey.

2. Colorful, archaic, fantasty-land-type graphics. Journeys through time and through the looking glass. A spell system that reverses itself, with hilarious results.

3. Some unique ways to die and to be transformed. An opportunity to become something akin to a paperweight, or perhaps an ash tray. A chance to find Love in a bottomless pit.

Cons:

1. If you don't turn the text option on, you're likely to miss some of the funniest wisecracks in the game. (To do this, click at the top of the screen on Prefs, then flip the Captions switch to "On.")

2. A very cynical view of the phone company.

Bottom Line: A delightful place to adventure, loaded with crazy characters and some fun, wacky puzzles. You need not have played any previous Zork games in order to have a grand time with this one.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best Zork game Activision has done yet..., January 27, 2000

By 

Genesis Whitmore (Goldenrod, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zork Grand Inquisitor (CD-ROM)

The first Zork game done by Activision was Return to Zork, which looked cheap in many spots and although had some innovations it wasn't very impressive. Next was Zork: Nemesis, which was worlds better but also very dark and serious. The only thing that made it a 'Zork' game were a few familiar names and locations thrown around. It lacked the humor of a true Zork game.

Grand Inquisitor is both high quality and a true Zork game. The humor is there, familiar locations are there, and the mood is most assuredly Zork. From a Brogmoid eating rocks to shoving a river raft in a dragon's nose to getting a house drunk... the game is pure Zork humor.

The visuals are from first person perspective much like Myst and Riven, with video of various characters (CGI and live action) interspersed throughout. It's a 2 CD game with one Cd devoted to being above ground and the other below. As an added bonus, you can also play ZGI in multiplayer. As far as I know this is the only multiplayer first person adventure game in existance.

The premise is that magic has been banned by the Grand Inquisitor and the head wizard has been trapped in a lantern. Said lantern makes interesting wisecracks as you play ("Your sword is blowing glue! I mean.. er... glowing blue!") and helps keep a light edge to it all.

If you like the humor of Monkey Island and are a fan of zork you'll enjoy this game, or even if you just want to play an adventure game with a light mood and good quality graphics.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the classic adventurist!, July 10, 2001

By 

M. Littrell (Wales, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zork Grand Inquisitor (CD-ROM)

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I bought this game over two years ago and it was well worth the money. Time and time again I and my family have enjoyed this rare gem.

It is difficult now to find a decent adventure game based in the classic style of simply point and click, though this game should be setting the standard. The easy control system is part of the key, you can't really get into a game if you need to memorise twenty or so keystroke combinations!

Even if you are unaware with previous "Zork" games, please don't let this put you off. The game itself consists of a very original story line weaved with a large helping of humour and suspense, it can be appreciated by both the beginner and the experienced adventure.

Graphics wise the game delights your senses by feeding your eyes with screen after screen of beautiful graphics and wonderful animated and video sequences.

Do not be suprised if you are to notice a few familiar faces in this game, although you have seen them before, they totally engulf you into the characters they portray.

So yes, I throughly recommend this game, it is one that you'll be sad to complete!

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