Zork Grand Inquisitor

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Zork Grand Inquisitor
Developer(s)	Activision
Publisher(s)	Activision
Engine	Z-vision
Release date(s)	1997
Genre(s)	Adventure game
Mode(s)	Single player, 'Linked' (network) play
Rating(s)	ESRB: T
Platform(s)	Apple Macintosh, Windows
Media	2 CDs or 1 DVD-ROM

Zork Grand Inquisitor is a graphical adventure game, developed by Activision and released in 1997 for the IBM compatible PC and Apple Macintosh (by MacPlay). It builds upon the Zork and Enchanter series of interactive fiction computer games originally released by Infocom. The cast includes Erick Avari, Dirk Benedict, and Rip Taylor. It is a 'point-and-click' game on 2 CD-ROMs (or one DVD that also includes Zork: Nemesis) that allows the player to look around in a full circle of 360 degrees at each pre-rendered location (called 'Z-vision'). This visual freedom applies to the horizontal axis only; looking up and down is restricted, although possible in some locations.

Zork Grand Inquisitor was one of the first computer games to include true closed captioning so that a deaf person could play without missing any of the sound effects and spoken dialog in the game[1].

Contents 1 Game overview 2 Story 3 Locations 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] Game overview

The player, known by the acronym AFGNCAAP, joins forces with the Dungeon Master Dalboz (voiced by Michael McKean), who was imprisoned in a lantern by the Grand Inquisitor, Yanick. They attempt to find three legendary objects that will restore all magic to the realm and bring about the fall of the Inquisitor. The three artifacts are: one of the Cube of Foundation, the Coconut of Quendor and the Skull of Yoruk. Zork Grand Inquisitor is set in 1067 GUE, after the events of Zork: Nemesis but before Return to Zork. Zork: The Undiscovered Underground was written and released as a promotional prequel to the game.

The music for the game was composed by John Beal and Mark Morgan.

[edit] Story

The game begins in Port Foozle, which has been occupied by the Inquisition. The evening curfew has just begun. Megaphones in the streets continuously spout ridiculous propaganda, including a reminder that all residents must have standard Inquisition loudspeakers in their homes, blaring standard Inquisition propaganda at all times. Violation of any of the numerous rules of the Inquisition will result in swift totemization "courtesy of Frobozz Electric" (formerly the Frobozz Magic Company, before magic was banished). The player discovers an old lamp in the sea, and takes it to the TV-star-adventurer Antharia Jack (an Indiana Jones parody), whereupon we discover that the lamp is possessed by the Dungeon Master in exile, Dalboz. Jack is later arrested by the Inquisition for setting a fire in the street which was actually set by the player character. In-game cut-scenes show the events of Antharia Jack's imprisonment throughout play.

The player eventually ends up in the Great Underground Empire itself accompanied by Dalboz. Magic spells are hidden all over the Underground. These spells are automatically added to the player's spell book as they are discovered, and include rezrov, throck, obidil and snavig. See Zork Magic for details on these spells, many of which originated in Infocom's original series of Zork and Enchanter games. Along the way, three other characters are met, all of whom have been subject to the totemizer: a fanciful dragon, a creature called Brog, and the rightful heir to the kingdom - Lucy Flathead. To recover the three artefacts that will restore magic, each of these three characters must be sent through time tunnels to the places where the artefacts were last known. Once recovered, they are stored in a giant, living castle.

[edit] Locations

Locations to explore include:

• GUE Tech - the magic university, which is now deserted. The Dungeon Master and the Grand Inquisitor attended this university in the same year.
• The Dungeon Master's lair - a small house and garden.
• The Underground Underground subway - a transport system that takes the player to and from the locations of Hades, Flood Control Dam #3, the monastery and the crossroads.
• Hades - a light-hearted rendition of the Greek underworld, featuring Charon the oarsmen, who sails the player across the river to the gates of Hell. To summon Charon, the player must use the 'Hades Shuttle Courtesy Phone' - a spoof of automated telephone support systems with directions like "to press 3, please press 7".
• Archipelago - a set of islands wherein lies a dragon, and in which the Coconut of Quendor can be found.
• The White House - the famous landmark from the original Zork game.

[edit] Trivia

Planetfall makes a cameo appearance in Zork: Grand Inquisitor, but the screen that's shown has a few mistakes: there is no text before the explanation about Deck Nine, and the last sentence says that the bulkhead is "cleared" when it's supposed to say that it's "closed".

Much of the humor in Zork Grand Inquisitor stems from the ludicrous Inquisition policies and propaganda. Example quotes:

• 'Shun magic, and shun the appearance of magic. Shun everything, and then shun shunning.' - the Grand Inquisitor (Mir Yannick), played by Erick Avari.
• 'This is a paid announcement: "The Grand Inquisitor rules!"' - voice of the Inquisition, played by David Lander.
• 'And never forget who is the boss of you--Me! I am the boss of you!' - The Grand Inquisitor (Mir Yannick), played by Erick Avari.

The game also makes frequent use of self parody, and contains numerous references and asides to staples and cliches of the traditional adventure genre; for example, two items almost invariably found and heavily used in almost all Zork games, a tattered map and an elven sword, are to be found in a glass case at the start of the game, with the notice "In case of adventure, break glass!".

[edit] External links

• [2] Explanation of how to setup ZGI on an XP system.
• Return to Hotel New Zork - Mirror of the Activision promotional mini site 'Hotel New Zork'.
• Zork: Grand Inquisitor at MobyGames
• Zork Grand Inquisitor - Adventure Classic Gaming Game Summary Information & Review
• Zork Grand Inquisitor at The JAVE
• Zork: Grand Inquisitor at the Internet Movie Database