Having played and enjoyed Zork Nemisis, decided it was about time for Grand Inquisitor, developed by Activision in 1997 after Zork Nemisis came out in 1996. In Grand Inquisitor the "Nemisis" is alluded to, but doesn't figure in this game. I have to say, I think Nemisis is a darker, more fascinating, complex game and Inquisitor is a more satirical, humerous game with less complex levels.

the game controls are the same-point and click with arrows for L, R, back, forward, up down and close-up.Graphics are well rendered, colorful and artistic. However the cut-scenes become sort of fuzzy. However the witty dialogue makes up for it. The inventory is easy to access, but with 2 sections-one for "spells" which you collect along the way and one for useful objects you'll find and pick up. You'll also have a book to explain each spell and a magnifying glass to examine objects and find out what they are. To complicate matters you get a different inventory system when you travel thru time. Sort of confusing at first.There are 20 save game slots, which come in handy-unfortunate things can happen, but it's worth it because your disasters are accompanied by hilarious dialogue. System specs are such that older computers can easily handle: Pentium 90, 16 RAM. Had no glitches playing or installing.

There is a wide variety of puzzles, from easy to very difficult, to figure out- some are logical and straightforward and at least one was very obscure-to the point that even with a WT I couldn't see how the solution was reached.

Enter the story- Welcome to Port Foozle. You are the only one wandering about and noone wants to talk to you. You need to figure out how to get out of this strange, but sinister little town. The Inquisition guards are out and about looking for people like you. (In the beginning you are just a vacuum cleaner salesman) but that will change.

Once you finally leave the place, there will be interesting things to do, such as figure out how the Teleporter works-it can get you around quickly. Or you can take the weird subway train that has no brakes. Then there's the Time Travel doors-you'll need to find them.

Meanwhile, your friend Antharia jack has been captured by the Inquisition and is in danger of being "Totemised" This means being processed thru a giant machine and turned into a flat disk forever.(You get a chance to experience the process-but beware! you could end up being a manhole cover in Newark, New Jersey, among other things)Which means it's wise to save your game before trying something like this.

Oh yes, and there's the walking castle, G.U.E. Tech.the college of magic and the hilarious take-off on Hades complete with a touch tone phone that is very unhelpful.

Your quest, by the way, is to find The Great Coconut, The Skull of Yoruk and the Cube of Foundation-and to rescue Antharia Jack in time to save the Great Underground Empire from Mir Yannick, the Grand Inquisitor. And restore magic to the land.

If you're into analysing the (ahem...) deeper meaning of games, it is interesting to follow the ever recurring theme in this game: human society falling under brutal, inhuman dictators and depersonalising technology and the struggle of spirituality versus materialism sybolised by the "Frozzboz Electric Company".

But don't worry about this- the humor and tounge-in-cheek satire in this zany world will more than make up for it.

I rate it as an older game well worth playing-and give it a ****

Bigmamma 1 -- great review! Isn't this a wonderful game? A true classic that somehow doesn't get the attention it deserves.

Did you hear the walking castle humming (or was it whistling?) "Tiptoe through the Tulips"? And the funny bit with the rubber raft. And the extremely aggressive grass. And the wizard's bedroom Through the Looking Glass. And the cynical outlook on the phone company, including where the phone is located. Oh, and the chess puzzle -- one of my favorites of all time.

My opinion on Mir Yannick's problem? You can't do magic when you take yourself THAT SERIOUSLY.

Now I remember! Thanks, Becky, for giving me a rush of brains to the head (unlike our lovable friend who has nothing with which to rush)!

EDIT: Are there Easter eggs for ZGI? Where can I find out about them?


Lady K.

Yes Becky-the chess puzzle was so totally Zorkian!Also got a kick out of the "strip poker" game-not complicated at all-just keep playing until something happens-and it usually does.

Yes, I liked that part too. I won that strip-whatever-it-was encounter honestly and then read somewhere later about the way the game encourages you to cheat. I mean, the game provides a way to cheat if you're observant enough to notice it.

Hmmm. I guess the chess puzzle was a bit of cheating too, wasn't it? ARE there any rules in Zork? Maybe Yannick was just trying to impose some much-needed order!

Hey Lady K --

I just saw this information over at Mr. Bill's .

I'm looking forward to trying some of this stuff.

ZGI is the best game ever! I absolutely loved it!
(and it played great on my XP!)

ZGI was really a lot of fun to play. Got a real kick with the Lamp's dialog. Although I had played it earlier on my old computer I played it again recently on my new with XP. I toned down the acceleration on my graphic card and it worked fine.

That was a very fun game, and a good review that most accurately reflected the silliness of the game and the overall ambiance of the entire series. I loved the Zork series right from the old Infocom days. If any of you ever played those old DOS games you would remember that the Frobozz Company figured heavily as an sort of Arch-Corporate Nemesis. And who could ever forget the Flathead family, and its scion, Dimwit Flathead. I wish it were possible to play those old games, still - they were my first love in terms of computer gaming...