Zork: Nemesis

Activision

Adventure

Quintin Stone

I've always been a fan of Zork and other Infocom games; not only did I play them with a passion, but I also wrote a few of my own. But I was hesitant to play Nemesis, though, because I knew that it wasn't going to be like the previous games. It was all graphical, so not very similar to the other Zorks.

When I did play it, though, I discovered it differed in other ways as well. This game contains none of the humor and comedy contained in other Zork games. This game is incredibly serious and dark, so expect this when you play it. Some of the scenes actually chilled and disturbed me. (Me! Little ol' desensitized me!) So be warned....

If you liked Myst, you may like this game. Or you may not. There are subtle and not-so-subtle differences. Zork: Nemesis does have beautifully rendered scenes just as Myst does, but not as often. Not every room is such a high resolution; but this is due to the fact that unlike in Myst, not every room is a single, still picture. Instead, you can almost always spin 360 degrees in Zork: Nemesis to view every corner of the room. Because of this, the images have to be scaled slightly, depending on your perspective, and the graphical quality suffers because of it. But not always. Some scenes, such as close-ups of objects, are very high-quality, fully rendered images. Additionally, there are so many wondefully done animations and cut-scenes.

The acting in Zork: Nemesis is nice, if a bit overdone at times. Clicking on various objects throughout your adventure allows you to peer into the past, viewing the lives of the "victims" of the Nemesis like a temporal voyeur.

I think, though, the problem with this game is the puzzles. Not that they were too easy, or too hard, or too counter-intuitive (though a few were), but that you kept asking yourself (or, at least, I kept asking myself), "Why am I the one doing this?" You see, in Zork: Nemesis, you are completing the work of Nemesis' victims: the work they couldn't complete before slain by the Nemesis. But in each and every case, they were so close to finishing, it's not even funny. The hard part is just getting to where they were: getting access to their labs, or secret rooms, or hidden stuff, etc. etc. etc. Nearly all of the steps needed to finish their projects are written in their notes, or journals, or on maps, and so on. So they knew what to do, but apparently they didn't have the time. Maybe if they had just done the work instead of leaving cryptic messages to themselves....

So, to sum up, Zork: Nemesis can be a fun game. Like all adventure/puzzle solving games, though, it can be frustrating. It does come with a plethora of wonderful animations and graphics, though, as well a bone-chilling storyline and turn of events. If you liked Myst, and you liked other Zork games, this might be for you. Don't expect a lot of action or violence; just plan on some long hours puzzling over an odd assortment of objects and locations.