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Adventure

Zork: Grand Inquisitor

19977.9/ 10 · 56 votesTeen9

Screenshots (49)

About

Magic is banned in the Great Underground Empire, and the Grand Inquisitor Yannick (with the kind help of Frobozz Electric) has a stranglehold on the world of Zork, establishing a totalitarian regime. According to his own words, the goal of the new state is to "shun magic, shun the appearance of magic, shun everything, and then shun shunning." Any opposing forces will be "totemized", which is apparently a rather unpleasant procedure. The player character in the game is just that - the player character: Ageless, Faceless, Gender-Neutral, Culturally-Ambiguous Adventure Person (abbreviated AFGNCAAP), as the politically correct designation by the Dungeon Master Dalboz defines him/her (it?). Naturally, it is the hero's duty to save the world by collecting a Cube of Foundation, the Skull of Yoruk, and the Coconut of Quendor, so that magic can return to the land and the Grand Inquisitor falls victim to his own shunning policies.

Zork: Grand Inquisitor is the third in the row of graphical Zork games. It utilizes the same engine as its predecessor, with first-person perspective, 180 degree camera rotation, pre-rendered backgrounds, and live actors. Compared to the previous game, it is more similar in tone to the early, predominantly humorous Zork adventures, containing plenty of references to them.

The gameplay is puzzle-oriented; most of the puzzles are inventory-based, though there are also a few that require manipulating the game's environment. Casting magical spells is an important element of the gameplay. The protagonist discovers spell scrolls and learns spells from them, which must be frequently used on objects and items to solve puzzles. The spells range from simple magic that can open locked doors to exotic variations such as "making all purple things invisible". The player can also cast spells backwards, in which case they will have an opposite effect; in the aforementioned examples, casting the reversed spells will lock a door or magically make an object visible, provided it was purple before that condition was inflicted upon it.

Ways to play

Modes

Single player

Perspective

First person

Languages (1)

Languageaudiosubtitlesinterface
English

Game details

Business Model

Commercial

Versions Available

Native & Emulated

Media Type

CD-ROM, Download, DVD-ROM

Sound Capabilities

Dolby Digital

Input Devices Supported/Optional

Keyboard, Mouse

Multiplayer Options

Internet, LAN, Modem

Multiplayer Game Modes

Co-Op

Number of Offline Players

1 Player

Number of Online Players

2 Players

GOG.com

Cloud saves, Single-player

System requirements

Min. CPU Class Required

Intel Pentium

Min. OS Class Required

Windows 95

Min. RAM Required

16 MB

Min. DirectX Version Required

DirectX 5

Min. CD-ROM Drive Speed Required

4X (600 KB/s)

Min. DVD-ROM Drive Speed Required

2X (2.64 MB/s)

Min. Video Memory Required

1 MB

Video Modes Supported

Full screen

Video Resolutions Supported

640×480

Box art

Also known as

Zork: Der GroßinquisitorGerman title

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Facts

Developer

Activision

Publisher

Activision

Released

1997

Series

Zork

Platforms

PCWindowsMac

Age ratings

ESRBTeenUSK12ELSPA11+

Standing

Top 28% by 24hr peak players

Official website

Tags

1st-personGraphic adventurePuzzle elementsPoint and selectFantasyComedy