Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands

The Good
The graphics in this game are excellent. It has a dark, foreboding atmosphere that is only occasionally lightened up by the typical Zorkian sense of humor. I liked the size of this game...each "section" of this game is about as long as some whole games I've played. Puzzles are difficult but logical and are usually well integrated into the storyline.

The Bad
The only thing I would say is that some puzzles were a bit too difficult, but none were impossible for the average adventure gamer.

The Bottom Line
If you are familiar with other Zork games, that will not help you here. While there are many references to the usual Zorkian placenames, objects, and historical events, this game is much darker in tone. The puzzles are challenging, the graphics are wonderful, and the story keeps you interested through to the end. I highly recommend this game!

The Good
Its a fantastic game about a lost couple challenged by four alchemists. You wander around a temple, using it as a junction to travel to the four homes of the Alchemists. Each home holds a part of the puzzle of the temple.

While many didn't like the darker mood of the game, Its not without lighter moments, particularly the frozen morgue. The atmosphere of each home blended in the puzzles. The artistry in the design was unbelievable. The artists used techniques of tapestry and oil paintings to embellish the 3-D rendered structures.

The homes of each Alchemists tells a story. While this is a worn out practice in adventure games, ZN brings a life and color to the stories that sparks the curiosity of the player. The images and stories are full of intrigue.

The sound and music are well done, and appropriately spooky. The acting is decent if not spectacular.

The puzzles will work your brains. They are logical and seamless with the story. No obscure steps to take. Disc swapping wasn't as bad as others.

The Bad
Configuring it to work with DOS. It plays much better with Windows. If you can, purchase Zork Grand Inquistor on DVD. It will have the entire Zork Nemesis game on it as well.

The Bottom Line
An underated classic that had a really good story.

The Good
The music and 360 motion in the game was state of the art in 1997. So many adventure games fail to correctly unfold an interesting plot and story at the beginning but Zork Nemesis raises the bar without giving away too much. The game is also 4 mini games in one with different universes using a strange device to transport you there. The game plunges into the world of alchemy in that a fantastic journey will challenge your imagination and wits as you struggle to solve puzzles. There is a hint mechanism built into the game and a dangerous being called the NEMESIS around every corner of the temple. I found the puzzles to be the most interesting of any adventure game to date.

The Bad
The DOS version takes you away from swapping the many CDs used in the original windows version. The thing that really angered me about ZN was the use of the Zork name with about 3% reference to the great underground empire storyline and the lack of humor. This looks like someone pitched a love story game called Nemesis to Activision and it was somehow piggy-backed onto the Zork franchise with little effort. I have not met many people who actually finished this game as the puzzles are quite challenging.

The Bottom Line
You are challenged to solve the murders of four alchemists that are held prisoner in a coffins in a state of torture while exploring an ancient ruined temple. Then there is a love story intertwined along the story line that puts you at odds not knowing who is your friend and who is your enemy. After first finding each of the four elements to revive each alchemist you must travel to four different universes to finally confront the Nemesis at the climax of the game.