Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands

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.