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Midnight in the Underground Underground

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 30
Date: February 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

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.

The best Zork game Activision has done yet...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: January 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

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.

Cleverly Done

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: May 01, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This Zork game follows in the grand tradition of the text-only Zork games. Overall, the graphics are good, the plot interesting and funny, and the gameplay fun. Though a bit harder to navigate if you are used to the text-only games where you can ask lots of questions, for the most part it is pretty fun to play. It is very similar to Myst because there is no fighting or other movement. There is 360 degree scanning so you can search all around the landscape but for the most part you are stuck in one place that the computer places you in. The humor is funny which makes it a good game to play and it is cleverly done, so I recommend this game to anyone who likes strategy role-playing games. I also definitely recommend this to fans of the text-based Zork games.

An Exercise in Wonder and Adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Zork Grand Inquisitor is without a doubt the best adventure game ever. If you played the old text versions of Zork, then you will want this game. If you haven't, there is still a lot here to enjoy. The story picks up sometime after magic was banned by the Grand Inquisitor (who insanely says "I am the Boss of YOU.") You eventually meet up with a magician who has been placed into a lantern and off you go to the Great Underground Empire. The game itself is full of wonder, humor and clever puzzles. The music adds a lot to the locations and brings a sense of wonder to them. The humor is outstanding. There are several pop culture references that you will catch and there are some slapstick jokes. The humor can be best described as a Monty Python/ Saturday Night Live / Mystery Science Theater 3000 type of humor. The puzzles, at times obscure, are always rewarding when you complete them. Without giving too much away, you will find many moments of awe (humor wise.) This is one game everyone should own.

A must for the classic adventurist!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

~~~

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!

~~~

Clever and creative!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Now this is what a puzzle game should be! Not as challenging as some, perhaps, but utterly engaging and set in a completely believable world. Don't be concerned about the fact that it's part of a series; as other reviewers have said, you really don't need any prior Zork experinece, and I say that from the viewpoint of somebody who had no prior Zork experience. Many of the puzzles were odd and a little esoteric, but there was a definite internal logic to the entire game. Anyone who's considering purchasing this game should be warned of that particular fact: succeeding at "Grand Inquisitor" requires the player to have the same slightly bent sense of humor as the game designers. Also, this is a 3D environment game and the usual rule applies: LOOK EVERYWHERE, TRY EVERYTHING. I did have to hit a hint site (and hints for this game are readily available online) once or twice only to find that the answer was simply something I hadn't been aware that I could do. That's my fault, though; don't blame the way the game is set up. In addition to having a wonderful world packed full of clever riddles, "Grand Inquisitor" boasts a great cast of characters voiced by some very talented people. A must-have game for the slightly wacky and the completely around-the-bend!

This Game is a Wonderment (a Thing of Wonder)!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I can't describe how wonderful this game is. Please buy "The Official Strategy Guide: Zork Grand Inquisitor" by Margaret Stohl to accompany it. I don't really want to ruin the game for you by describing it. My reviews are usually quite long. Just order the game and book and really begin to live. It's like a vacation to another world. Have a good journey!

Simply Enchanting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The title says it all. As soon as I heard the strange yet wonderful music of the underground, I was pulled into this magical world of grues and goblins (trolls, actually) ... The graphics were amazing, and it's still hard to solve some of the puzzles even after I've played it 10 times. The only part of this game I didn't enjoy was the jail puzzle. You must beware of dying in strange and humurous ways, there are interesting spells to find and collect, and I guess that's I can really say about the game. I would indefinetly reccomend both Return to Zork, and Zork Nemesis, which is sadly without humour... This has to be one of the best games I've ever played, and I just hope Activision will make another one.

One of the Best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 21, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I play tons of adventure games and found this game to be one of the most well balanced games around. I don't like alot of fighting in my games, and this didnt have that at all. It was funny, great storyline and made for people who want to do more with games than blow things up. I played Zork Nemesis and wasn't too inpressed, but this one is pretty dang cool.

A must for the classic adventurist!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

~~~

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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