Return To Zork: A Review

There are six Zork games for PC worth knowing.  Three of them are text adventures, followed by three more standard adventure games for PC.  The text adventures are hilarious though all but impossible to get very far into.  They are ridiculously difficult, mostly due to quirky inventories and how they are used. First released in 1977, Zork 1 became the father figure for most adventure games that followed.  Return to Zork, the game under discussion here, was released by Activision in 1993, in the same month that Myst was released.  Two more different games could not be imagined.  Though I love both of them, at least Myst was playable without having an IQ of 160 and a completely warped sense of what to do next in a game.  When I originally played RTZ (March 2000) I found the game impossible to get very far without hints and a newly available walk through guide, and never managed to finish it.  People would congregate on forums trading ideas as to how to progress.  Hardly anyone ever finished the game back then, and I daresay no one ever did without the solutions in front of them.

 

So this review is really of a 2026 walk through, which took us about 5 hours.  Without a walk through in hand frustration will quickly erase any humourous moments the game provides.  And it provides plenty of humour.   The game follows the lead of the text adventures in its absurdity and unabashed use of very confusing mazes.  Yes, there are several mazes and none of them are the least bit fun.  While the humour helps support the game (in walk through mode), the graphics are a complete let down.  After playing Myst and trying this game, I was hugely disappointed back in the day to see what had been done with Zork.  I might have preferred the text games at the time.

 

The game opens at the white house as the man that lives there goes out to check for mail.  Soon he, and we, are sucked into the land of Zork, and our adventure begins on a hilltop overlooking a wide valley with a road leading down towards adventure land.   It all seems so exciting and fun.

 

We arrive in Zork, greeted by a buzzard and then a wizard.  We will soon descend the road into chaos.

   

Somewhere near the beginning this place is encountered.

 

Things I really like about the game are the different characters one encounters, including a cow that eats carrots and will only give milk if your hands are warm enough.  We meet a wood fairy, a bowman, a mayor, a blacksmith, a guy with a boat to take us across to the witch, a schoolteacher, some dwarves, a drunkard who wants to share his rye, a lighthouse keeper, a comedy club manager and a waif.  Now we come to a few of the puzzles.  How about trying to figure out that one must capture several rats to power an outboard motor on a boat?  Or lighting hay on fire in a barn, after feeding carrots to a cow, so you can warm your hands and milk her using a thermos?  How about burning a bra in an incinerator to retrieve a wire in which to pick a lock?  These all very funny, but damned near impossible to figure out.

 

Be prepared to die often, get robbed, and even get turned into a bog rat a few times by a witch who needs to be appeased.  You can be killed by grues at the hotel and booed out of the comedy club (that hurts).  And don't get me started on the bat guano, or the duck Canuk, or the joke book method.  Turning to the game's music for a moment, much of it is midi fun time.  I especially liked the Fools Monument theme.  However, if stuck on a puzzle, the music anywhere can be extremely annoying.

 

Don't expect to go this game alone.  Come prepared with a very good hint system, which will get you places, though not all places, and a walk through guide.  Even with both it still took us five hours to get  through the game.  Expect to spent eternity without help.  The game ran fine on Steam though the graphics are very pixelated.  Funny and enjoyable with help.  Frustrating and maddening without. 

 

East or West Shanbar, the only towns in the game.  You will meet some fun people there.

 

The witch's cave.  Do her a favour and she will do one for you.

 

You are live at Chuckles Comedy Club.  Bring your joke book and tape recorder when you meet people in the game.

 

Looks like we are at the lighthouse.

Up top at the lighthouse, if you get that far.

 

The famous control dam #3.

  

This is one of the most difficult puzzles in the game, lowering the bad bridge and raising the good one.

 

Outside the evil wizard's palace. 

 

There is also one movie to report, another World Cinema Project film, again introduced by Martin Scorcese.  Yam daabo (The Choice) is a film from Burkina Faso and directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo.  When was the last time you watched a film from Burkina Faso?  If like me, then likely never.  Do you even know where Burkina Faso is?  I didn't (but I do now).  Before watching this incredible film I knew nothing about this country.  But I think I know something about it now.  It is a simple story using mostly non-professional actors and limited dialogue.  The opening scene and final scene are nearly identical:  a village of desperate looking people await the coming of a regular food truck.  After the opening scene we watch as a family breaks away from the group and sets out on their own to try and seek a place where they can grow their own food and raise a family.  The story follows the family into the wilderness until they finally reach a river.  They begin to prepare the land for crops and to build huts in which to dwell.  A side story about a jealous bad guy isn't really needed to hold our interest, as the family itself is fascinating to watch, both through tragedy (the youngest boy is killed by a car en route to their paradise) and triumph (their crops grow and a son is born to the daughter of the patriarch).  The film is rich in human endeavour and hardship, and not even the bleak and mostly flat  landscape can keep us from hoping for their success.  A recommended film now showing on Criterion, along with a whole host of other treasured films from the World Cinema Project.  As usual, there is a short but very good documentary about the making of the film.

 

Now showing on Criterion.

 

 

More DSO

We've been back for a week now and routines have been going well.  Deb is hard at it on a new film, my piano practice has resumed and I've even been gifted with two clear nights for observing.  This time of year it's mostly galaxy viewing and I've seen some beauties lately.  I'm also at work on the London blog, with 3 posts up already and many more on the way.  A two week visit seems just right for us.  It was long enough to feel part of the great city again, and by the end we had pretty well worn ourselves out.

 

There are three films to report.  My book reviews will return in late May or early June.  But first, we watched another Detroit Symphony Live broadcast last night.  While there was no Mahler on the program, we did get Handel, Bach and Haydn.  After the Fireworks music I got to hear my favourite Brandenburg Concerto (#3), all all-string work featuring some of the best counterpoint ever written.  There is no 2nd movement, but the lead violinist improvised a bit before the cadence leading to the 3rd movement.  It was a superb performance.  These almost weekly broadcasts are free and can be watched on Youtube or the DSO website.  If on the website and you set up a free account you gain access to the DSO performance library, going back several years.  We will use this library when our Mahler project lifts off (see previous blog entry) as four of the 9 symphonies are available by the DSO.

 

Next came my favourite Haydn Symphony, #104, his last.  This work is truly a summation of all that Haydn stands for:  brilliant writing, engaging themes, all new material, four terrific varied movements and his characteristic optimism.  While nearly any one of the 104 symphonies could easily fill this list of achievements, 104 seems to do everything just a bit better than any of the others.  This was a performance to treasure, as conducted by Dame Jane Glover, a Baroque music specialist.  Hopefully these performances will be included in the DSO library.

 

While in London we usually have early nights.  For the first week we didn't turn on the telly, but we did the second week.  It was pretty grim offerings without any ad-free channels available.  However, Deb was able to get us into our Criterion account on her tablet and we watched a movie on the hotel TV screen.  I call it wizardry, but Deb seemed to pull it off easily.  The Heroic Trio is the first of a two part series.  From 1993 and directed by Johnnie To, he gives us a Hong Kong trio of female super heroines to treasure.  We have Thief Catcher, Wonder Woman and Invisible Girl battling bad guys everywhere they trod.  The action is practically nonstop and silly, but the stunts are quite amazing.  A baby snatching eunuch is terrorizing the city, but the gals at first are all opposed and fighting each other until they finally unite to defeat the evil in their midst.

 

Showing on Criterion. 

 

The 2nd film in the series is Executioners, also from 1993 and directed by To.  The same gals are back, but this film is quite different.  There is a level of violence more intense than the previous film, some of it so over the top as to be highly questionable and not inspiring a lot of confidence in the sanity of the director.  This one is set after a nuclear war.  The search for clean water is on, with the bad guys controlling the supply and constantly raising prices.  While the first film was enjoyable on a comic book level, this one wasn't.  Too much gratuitous violence spoils the recipe for a good campy film.  Many of the jokes fall flat as a result.  The stunts are as good as ever and the gals dish out the kicks and punches and receive it right back.  If you liked the first film you might consider giving this one a miss.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Lucia is a collection of three short films by Cuban director Humberto Solas from 1968.  Like many serious Criterion films this one comes with extras: a short intro by Martin Scorcese and a documentary about the film featuring interviews with the director and actors.  Here is the Criterion blurb:

 

A breathtaking vision of Cuban revolutionary history wrought with white-hot intensity by Humberto Solás, this operatic epic tells the story of a changing country through the eyes of three women, each named Lucía. In 1895, she is a tragic noblewoman who inadvertently betrays her country for love during the war of independence. In 1932, she is the daughter of a bourgeois family drawn into the workers’ uprising against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado. And in the postrevolutionary 1960s, she is a newlywed farm girl fighting against patriarchal oppression. A formally dazzling landmark of postcolonial cinema, LUCÍA is both a senses-stunning visual experience and a fiercely feminist portrait of a society journeying toward liberation.

 

The first two films are quite good.  The photography is outstanding, especially when scenes of chaos are being depicted.  Battle scenes, the raping of several nuns and scenes of a crazy woman in the village (whom we learn was one of the nuns) are all handled with masterly acumen.  The end of the first film, when Lucia realizes she has betrayed her brother, she goes mad and seeks revenge on her false lover.  Once her madness is made manifest the director uses overexposure of film to enhance the effect.  It is brilliant (no pun intended)!  The third film is very hard to swallow, as the director tries to break the ice with his countrymen's overbearing machismo.  He chooses one of the worst characters in cinematic history who isn't by definition a criminal.  Lucia, as his new bride, is kept locked indoors whether he is there or out working.  She wants to work (as the revolution dictates she should) but he refuses to let her out of the house.  She finally rebels but doesn't seem to get very far.  This is supposedly a light-hearted film, but it is anything but.

 

Now showing on Criterion as part of Martin Scorcese's 

World Cinema Project.  All films in this series are worth watching. 

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

Mahler 9th and the Search For Truth

This afternoon we were treated to a live television performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra featuring one work on the program: the Mahler 9th Symphony. It was conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, once a very favourite conductor of ours whom we had not seen in decades.  He is now in his 99th year (!!!) and still at it, appearing in Detroit to conduct this magnificent work.  Needless to say it is a sprawling work, with more to say about life and human existence in its 90 minutes than one could ever imagine.  While our search for Truth has taken many forms over our own longish life spans, music has been in the forefront and for very good reasons.

 

Is Truth an abstract idea or a concrete one?  Being the ultimate in ideas, the one we all are striving towards in some way or other, it is likely both and more.  The close study of Bach will bring one face to face with its abstract appearance, though his large religious works (such as the B Minor Mass) also reflect on human suffering and joy.  Listening to Mozart symphonies 35-41 will bring out the abstract even more clearly than Bach, with the joy of life also represented in his operas.  The struggles that Beethoven endured represent exactly what it means to be human: suffering, more suffering, some joy, perhaps, and then it is all over.  Mahler expands on Bach and Beethoven, encompassing the richness of the final years of the 19th C. and the sense of ongoing struggles with the search for Truth into the 20th C.

 

Mahler's 9 completed symphonies, along with his Song of the Earth, bring us the most complete look at what it means to be human.  There is great beauty contrasted with supreme ugliness; ultimate serenity with brashness and chaos; human pain and misery with the very lightness of being alive and happily aware of the fact.  Each symphony is like an epic book that needs to be read and reread, not only to explore things missed the first, second, or third time, but to reinforce the ideas presented and keep them uppermost in our minds as we grind away at our daily lives.  Walking around with high-level ideas in our head can help keep us focused on why we are even here in the first place, and should be of some aid in assisting us in what we should be doing and how we should be going about it.

 

After hearing today's performance I am more determined that ever to become reacquainted with all the symphonies of Mahler.  I already have healthy doses of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart passing within me, and I believe I have some room left over.  The symphonies should never be listened to all in one go, as in a solid weekend.  That would be like overdosing on a drug that may assist you if used reasonably, but kill you if overdosed.  Beginners should, in fact, take him one movement at a time, listening to the first symphony over the period of a week or so, and hearing some movements more than once before proceeding to the much denser 2nd symphony.   I'll keep readers posted on this topic.

 

We just returned from a two week visit to London U.K.  The trip was a major test for us (especially Deb) to see if world travel is still feasible for us.  Our favourite trips are road trips within the USA, usually using New Mexico as our destination.  Since we have opted to avoid the US for some time due to political circumstances, we turned to our favourite international destination instead.  I will have much more to say about this trip in my Travels Abroad blog, but will confine myself to a few words here.  It had been 8 years since we last visited London.  It has changed in many ways and seems busier and more chaotic than ever.  We did our best to avoid central London, as we have been doing for the past several visits, choosing instead more rural areas and park lands.  We also escaped the city completely on two fun day trips.

 

The main difference between a road trip to NM and a flight to London is that the road trip is fun from day 1 onward, whereas the London trip means total and complete misery on the first and last days.  If the journey itself is to be part of the experience, than we much prefer road trips.  Flying in 2026 should be a hassle free and pleasurable experience: it is not.  Even though we experienced no problems with our four flights (Windsor to Toronto; Toronto to Heathrow and return), flight days are severely taxing and best forgotten.

 

On our return home we discovered our backyard purple lilac bush in full bloom, singing away to itself and the bees in a degree of splendor we have never seen before.

 

If one photo had to sum up our visit to London, this would be it.

 

We returned to find our lilac bush amidst its finest bloom to date.  We brought a cutting from our house in Windsor back in 1991. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Walking with Orthotics

Deb got new orthotics a few weeks back, at the same time I got my very first pair.  It's been making a difference, especially on longer walks.  While my legs still get tired, my feet remain comfortable and painless afterwards.  We both have indoor shoes that we wear with the orthotics, switching to our outdoor pair when needed.  They are easy to switch around.  No other insoles are needed, including the ones that come with the shoes.  Anyway, we've been putting in the miles lately, despite the warming temps.  Deb hasn't walked this much in a long time and while her breathing isn't yet at optimum levels, she is managing a 19 minute mile when it's flat.  So we can gobble up six miles in two hours, plus breaks.  If it's flat.  Here are a few pics from recent walks.

  

Due to recent rains the Canard River is flooding.  It's usually a quiet woodland stream.  

 

Canard River from a bridge along the rail trail path. 

 

 

A lot of trees were flowering today. 

A lady swan was sitting on her eggs today at the edge of a small island on our lagoon walk.  Deb spotted a tiny painted turtle, newly hatched, slowly dying on the path and in danger of being stepped upon.  We were able to place him in the water, where he seemed to revive quickly. 

 

As there were no suitable nights for astronomy (the fifth month in a row), my piano pieces are charging ahead.  About half of the program is memorized more or less, but there is still a considerable amount of work to do.  It is unlikely that the Chopin Nocturne will be ready, but I'll keep working on it for the next next recital (that is two recitals from now, not a typo).

 

In movie news there are two to report, one of them a feature film and the other a documentary about the picture.  Chess of the Wind is an Iranian film from 1976 which was virtually ignored when it came out, then banned in 1979.  All of the prints and negatives were reported to have been destroyed.  The documentary tells how the a copy of the negative was found, and how the film was restored to its original condition.  Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani, he had given up on ever hoping to see the film again.  It had brought him so much grief that he had mixed feelings when it was rediscovered many years later.  With his help the restoration can be considered a very authentic one.  It is an edgy tale of murder set within an aristocrat's house in Tehran.  The use of colour is a wonder to behold, and the story will keep viewers off balance throughout.  
Recommended viewing.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

The Majnoun of the Wind is a 2022 documentary by the director's daughter Gita Aslani Shahrestani, and is almost as good as the film.  There is a great section where the director of Chess (her father) takes us on a tour of the now abandoned house, reviewing scenes from the film where they were shot.  While the feature film stands on its own, having this documentary is a great addition for interested viewers.  Criterion also has a short intro by Martin Scorcese, whose World Cinema Project financed the restoration.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Some Good News

After a nearly two year battle with various health issues, Deb is finally back to her old self.  Her check up yesterday indicated that she is on a good path.   This opens up the world of travel for us, so watch this space in the next month or so to see where we might be headed (Europe or UK), if there is enough jet fuel to take us there and back.  We are excited to be able to have choices again, though sadly New Mexico will still have to wait until at least the next president of the US comes on board.

 

We have had so much rain of late that outdoor walking has not been feasible.  More rain is the way tomorrow, but then it should dry out enough for us to walk the local trail again.  We've had some decent if warm walks so far, with two segments left to tackle of the seven segment trail.  Wildflowers are beginning to appear and we came across several impressive stands of trout lilies.

 

A lovely bunch of trout lilies, from our walk earlier in the week. 

 

In PC gaming news we are currently working on two games.  Return To Zork is a very old game, and almost impossible to figure out.  We are doing this oldie but goodie with a walkthru, enjoying the jokes and the primitive scenery.  "Want some rye? 'Course ya do."  

 

Scene from Return to Zork, which we are playing with a walkthru guide. 

 

The other game is the much more dark and serious Zork Nemesis, one of my all-time favourite PC games from yesteryear.  We are attempting this one on our own, though my notes from my last time (year 2000) are coming in handy.  It's amazing that these old games can still run on new machines and Win 11, thanks to Steam and other platforms.  They are also very inexpensive.  More on these as we go along.

 

Scene from the library in the main temple building from Zork: Nemesis, a much more serious game. 

 

In movie news there are a few to report, including a short film. First the features.  Guilty Bystander is a 1950 b & w film directed by Joseph Lerner.  This is a great little B noir starring Zachary Scott as a washed up former police detective, Max Thursday, living in a seedy flophouse and drinking himself into oblivion.  The story about a kidnapped little boy (his son) is almost an aside compared to the characters and locations (NYC) in the film.  This is an amazing film with many unforgettable moments, including the gangster boss with a bad ticker who shouldn't be getting too excited over anything.  This one is worth another viewing, but it's leaving Criterion for now.  Hopefully it will return.

 

A terrific noir film leaving Criterion this month. 

 

An unforgettable film can work two ways.  The above film is unforgettable in a good way, while the next film would rather be forgotten but likely cannot.  The World's Greatest Sinner is pretty much a one man effort, directed by and starring Timothy Carey.  It is a b & w film from 1962 and features one of the creepiest leading men ever put on film.  Carey quits his job as an insurance salesman (I don't blame him there) and becomes a sort of populist preacher.  His mantra is that every man is a god, especially himself.  He begins by shouting his message at gathering places and eventually gets a small following of fellow wackos.  He leaves his wife and kids and becomes more and more popular until he has achieved full cult status.  He uses women, some as young as 14, and becomes so full of himself that there can be no turning back.  His life becomes one big parade of sleaze and lies, until its ultimate conclusion.  The film was fully restored and can be seen better than it ever was when new.  The music is by a young man calling himself Zappa (!).  Carey also wrote for Kubrick (The Killing and Paths of Glory).  Highly not recommended, it is still a film one should see (Does that make sense).

 

Leaving Criterion in a few days.  Be thankful. 

 

King of the Night is from 1975 and is a Brazilian film directed by Hector Babenco.  Here is the Criterion blurb:

 

Héctor Babenco’s first feature traces the descent of Tertuliano (Paulo José), a once-promising aspiring lawyer, into a life of decadence and amorality on the bohemian fringes of São Paulo as he falls into tempestuous relationships with several women, including a sex worker (Marília Pêra). Tracing both Tertuliano’s slide into self-destructive hedonism and São Paulo’s changing social landscape from the 1920s to the 1970s, KING OF THE NIGHT is a striking first expression of Babenco’s career-long concern with life on the margins. 

 

Tertuliano is as sleazy and low as the character from the above film, Sinner.  He chews through women, making demands of them while he lives a more carefree life.  He is particularly harsh on his favourite girlfriend, a singer and prostitute whom he lives with for a time.  But he spares no mercy for three sisters his mother wants him to meet.  He drives the youngest insane, marries the middle one and eventually murders her after tormenting her for far too long, then has sex with the eldest at his wife's funeral, taking her in the kitchen while guests wait in the living room for coffee.  He ends up paying for his sins, spending 15 years in prison and then working jobs such as carrying advertising signs up and down the street and handing out pamphlets.  At the end he is in a retirement home when who should come marching in but the first love of his life.  They then live happily ever after at the home together.  If you enjoy watching despicable characters parade through a film, this one has your name on it.  Enjoy.

 

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

The final feature is from our DVD collection "Chilling Classics" and is called I Bury The Living.  From 1958 it sounds as if it might be a trope-filled horror, but it's actually a neat little noir starring Richard Boone.  As an influential town business man he must take over directorship of a cemetery for a year, a job that is passed around among town leaders.  The film centers around a wall map of the cemetery and plots.  It is filled with pins, black for people already buried and white for those who bought plots but haven't needed them yet.  When he mistakenly sticks two black pins into plots that should have white ones, the two people are killed in an accident.  He wonders if it was chance, and sticks another black pin into a white plot.  Same result.  The film has been compared to a longer Twilight Zone episode.  Up until the very stupid (and impossible) ending, this is a very effective and well directed film.  With a much better ending this could have truly become a cult classic.  As it is it's still worth a view.

 

From our 50 movie pack "Chilling Classics." 

 

Lastly comes a nifty short film that I wish had been made into a feature.  The Hedonists is a 2016 film from China with a running time of 26 minutes.  Three miners are laid off from their job when their mine closes down.  Being eternal optimists they try out for some new jobs.  This very funny look at job searching makes for a gem of a film.  First they try out as bodyguards for a big crime boss.  That doesn't go so well, especially as their middle ages seem to define them.  Next they try out for actors in a pageant in a new complex that will welcome tourists for historical reenactments.  As it turns out they aren't quite in tune with their boss.  A lovely film, and the three characters are welcome heroes of this short film.

 

A short Chinese film leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoor Walking Returns

It's been a very strange Spring, with temps varying from highs of 39 F to 72 F.  We've had rain, snow, and winds.  Astronomy has been a total bust, with the one usable night far too cold to venture out.  The temps have finally settled down,  so we are finally getting outdoors.  We walked rails to trails segments yesterday and today (Thursday), and hope to continue on until it gets too hot.  Deb isn't walking fast, but she is walking.  She has a big medical appointment in two weeks, and we should know then if she is fit to travel.

Our last snowfall was in March, and it melted quickly.  This is our backyard from the back window.  In the foreground is our white lilac bush.

 

Two pics from our walk today.  To our surprise a small batch of bloodroot was blooming.  We usually don't see wildflowers till very late April.

 

The trail passes over a very large marsh, which was alive today with birdsong. 

 

In movie news there are three to report.  Have you seen a good documentary lately about moths?  We have.  Nocturnes is a 2024 film from India directed by Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan.  It follows the night research exploits of a young female scientist who is trying to determine how climate change is affecting moths.  She collects them on a plastic sheet, attracting them with bright lights.  When they land and spread their wings they are photographed (the sheet has a grid pattern) and measured.  An overwhelming number of moths are viewed, so she has to limit herself to studying only hawk moths.  The research was conducted at different altitudes in the rain forest mountains of northern India near the border with Bhutan.  The photography, both of moths and of landscape, are absolutely riveting and spellbinding.  A must see film for nature lovers and for people who like sit within nature and simply watch what happens.

 

Showing on Criterion. 

 

Next came two black and white classic Hollywood films, both leaving Criterion this month.  Barbary Coast is from 1935, and purports to tell the tale of San Francisco in the early days of the gold rush era.  It stars Edward G Robinson as the brutal owner of the main restaurant, saloon and casino.  He owns the town and lets everyone know it.  Miriam Hopkins is the first "white" woman to arrive in town (there are Mexicans), and she causes quite a stir.  Her fiancee was murdered so she is taken in by Robinson and set to work as hostess on his crooked roulette wheel.  She meets innocent gold hunter Joel McCrea and they hit it off.  Robinson goes insanely jealous.  A fun film to watch, with lots of mud, fog and rain.

 

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

Lastly came a Fritz Lang film we had never seen.  It's called The Blue Gardenia and it's from 1953.  It's a murder mystery film with not very much new to say to fans of the genre.  Anne Baxter is dumped by her soldier boyfriend who is over in Korea, and she gets mixed up with Raymond Burr, a lecherous artist.  She gets so drunk that she passes out.  He is murdered.  Did the sweet girl do it?  Since we are told nothing at all until the very end, of course she did it.  But of course she didn't.  Not a great example of noir film, it was written by Vera Caspary, perhaps better known for Laura.  It is good enough to watch, though.

  

Leaving Criterion April 30th. 

 

We have started to replay a very old PC game called Zork Nemesis, from all the way back to 1996.  We had some problems getting it to run on Steam, but it seems to be mostly working now.  This was always one of my favourite games, a a very dark cousin to the much lighter Zork games.  It was the first game I played that offered a 360 degree field of view, which is what caused the Steam problem at first.   Luckily there are always geeks out there who figure out what to do when things go wrong.  Hopefully we can continue to play trouble free, though the cursor and sound sometimes give trouble.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 

 

 
 

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened Review

 

 

This is a review of the PC game released in 2023, which is a remake of the original 2008 game.  We have not yet played the older version, so I won't be comparing them here.  Like most adventure games from the past 30 years, there is good and there is bad.  There is a sense of accomplishment and a sense of being sadistically used by the developers.  We'll begin by examining the eight chapters of the game.

 

Chapter One is supposed to be there to introduce players to the gameplay.  We needed plenty of help from a walkthru to get through it.  It begins at 221b Baker Street and explores some of the neighbourhood.  While Sherlock thinks a crime has been committed, it turns out that he was stretching his imagination too far.  Watson points this out to him at the end of the scene.  But players have learned some of the gameplay.  The street scenes are done well, but as the game is played in third person mode (sometimes as Holmes and sometimes as Watson), one or both men are always in the way of one's view.  Aside from the mouse, many keyboard commands are also used throughout the game, so it can be very confusing even long after the first chapter is done.  In other words, there is a long learning curve to this game.

 

Chapter Two is quite long, as Sherlock accepts a case from a man whose Maori servant has disappeared.  This is where using the game's resources gets complicated.  Again, a lot of help was required to finish the chapter.  Much of the action takes place in the docks of London, as Holmes investigates.  In lieu of a hint system, the developers use something called a Mind Palace.  Information is stored here and requires three different types of clues to be sorted and used to gain aid in finding the next step.  Once this system is mastered it is quite a good one, but it takes a long time to get the hang of it.  Even more complicated, though extremely useful, is using the Q key to get Sherlock to observe closely and analyze crime scenes.  After he has observed every aspect of a crime scene he can visualize different scenarios of what might have happened.  We see green ghostly figures in tableaux acting out various possibilities.  We must choose the correct action.  Sometimes there are multiple crime scenes in one area and we must piece together various actions.  Once this is done successfully, the entire crime is then visualized, and Sherlock relates what happens in the correct sequence.  This is pretty nifty and is quite useful.

 

Sherlock on the banks of the Thames, heading for the docks in Chapter Two.

Holmes and Watson visit a tavern in the docklands in their search for a missing servant. 

 

Chapter Three takes place in a private asylum in Switzerland.  The game grows darker with each chapter.  Here we can see influence from Black Mirror, especially with a doll that belongs to one of the patients.  Holmes has his second pyschotronic episode of the game, visiting a strange underworld where even more must be learned about how to use the keyboard and various techniques for advancing the game.  Like the asylum scenes in Black Mirror (and Syberia 3), things are pretty grim here.  Holmes is still on the original case, searching for the missing servant.  What he finds is a well organized crime syndicate that is kidnapping people and shipping them in crates to the asylum and then on to New Orleans.  We are soon traveling again.

 

Chapters Four and Five take place in New Orleans, with four being in the town itself and five in the mansion of one Mr. Arneson.  We make allies and enemies in Chapter Four, and investigate a multiple murder scene in Chapter Five.  Here are two images showing how the scenarios appear once the crime scenes have been investigated and interpreted correctly.

 

These two images show the correct interpretation of four of the crime scenes in the New Orleans mansion.  Holmes fills in the details for us, which are recorded within the game for reference.

 

Two views of New Orleans, which is actually a large town to explore in the game. 

 

A large mural in Arneson's upstairs study, which holds an important key to solving this part of the game.

 

Chapter Six is still within the area of New Orleans, but it is night now and Watson is rowing us through the bayou.  This was my favourite part of the game, and it is not only atmospheric but quite scary!  However, I have some advice for people who make Sherlock Holmes games, or write stories of Holmes.  Rule Number One:  He can't die.  No ifs about it.  Put him in danger, but you cannot kill him.  Otherwise....  Well, in this game Sherlock cannot only die, but he will die many times whilst the player frantically tries to find ways to prevent it.  After several deaths and help from a walkthru, death can be avoided.  But it's too late, isn't it?  I mean, he died already.  One positive side of Holmes dying in the bayou is that Steam gives out awards for completing certain tasks.  Yes, there is a reward for being eaten by gators, and we now own it.

 

Four scenes from the bayou chapter.  Each scene has been getting grimmer and grimmer, and bloodier and bloodier. 

 

Holmes has another trippy episode in a strange land, likely drug-induced.  He is slowly being driven crazy. 

 

Chapter Seven takes us back to Baker Street.  Homes has had another other-worldly experience and is now more than half crazy.  Watson returns to a book store location from Chapter One and has an old grimoire partially translated.  This will lead them to the location of the final chapter, a lonely lighthouse in Scotland.

 

Two views of 221b Baker St.

 

Chapter Eight takes place first outside of the lighthouse, then far beneath it, then, finally, within it and to the very top.  It is a dark and stormy night, and the bad guy is in the final stages of calling forth Cthulhu! A flock of kidnapped people, now zombies, are being sacrificed to the dark waters from the top of the lighthouse.  Holmes and Watson must get up there and stop him.  But first Sherlock must die a few more times (in the caves beneath), and then Watson gets his turn to die a few times, being thrown off the top of the lighthouse.  Realistic, no?

 

Beneath the lighthouse.  Sherlock gets lost in the cave and dies a few times.

 

Cave paintings as seen without Sherlock observing closely.

 

Cave paintings with Sherlock observing closely (Q key). 

 

This is an epic game produced by Ukrainian developers Frogware.  They worked on the game as their country was being invaded.  It is as complex as some advanced board games.  A second time through would be much smoother than the first, and it is likely worth replaying.  We will probably play the original version first, though.  Graphics are usually excellent and often dripping with atmosphere.  It took us 18.7 hours to get through it, some of it using a walkthru.  There is no way anyone could get through the game without aid, as some of the puzzles have no logical way of working through them without some kind of fore knowledge of what is required and how to achieve it.  The game has so many different environments that it seems much longer than it actually is.  I give the game an A- rating (82%).  I mostly enjoyed playing, but when the game wants to be frustrating, then watch out.  Recommended.

 

Mapman Mike