Chatt Rhuller is a new agent with the ITC Special
Projects Division and he’s just been assigned his first case: a
homicide. His mission sounded easy enough: go to Rheom-I and
escort Dr. Victoria Fayne and the body of Dr. Geopp back to ITC
central. Upon arriving on the small satellite in the Rheom system,
Chatt’s investigation begins to uncover that things are not what
they seem on this planet of eternal daylight. Interrogating the
scientists and exploring the compound slowly reveals the
mysteries surrounding the murder, the previous scientist’s insanity
and the mysterious SATIN project. Bethesda Softworks’ Zero
Critical will remind most players of any Sierra title circa 1994,
however compared to more recent games like Blade Runner,
Sanitarium or even Hopkins FBI, Zero Critical’s Macromedia
Director core isn’t very impressive.
With the massive memory requirement of a P-75 with a
256 colour compatible video card, it’s rather obvious that Zero
Critical won’t be manipulating very many 3D objects. The NPCs are
rather stiff and unanimated and character movement isn’t fluid or
lifelike in the least. To Bethesda’s credit though, the backgrounds
are rather well done and add unquestionably to the game’s
ambiance.
A series of 19 .WAV files make up the entire score of
sound effects. For those who take pleasure in the inane hum of
electricity or the whirring of a fan, read no further for you’ll most
likely disagree with the remainder of this review. Speech is
non-existent and I believe hearing a human voice while playing
this game could be the only thing to knock you out of the catatonic
stupor caused by the background noise.
Zero Critical may not look too good or sound too good
but it does have one redeeming quality: The story behind the
Rheom-I murder will totally immerse you into the game. There are
subtle twists and turns in the plot as well as several puzzles woven
in to further challenge the player. Were this game to have been
published five years ago, it would have most likely have ranked as
high as any Police Quest.
Since the entire game is mouse driven, it only takes
about five minutes to get the hang of the inventory and dialogue
systems. If you’ve ever played a Quest for Glory then you’ll
immediately understand how to converse with the scientists or use
items. Although this game isn’t even slightly innovative, it’s easy to
learn and even easier to play, making Zero Critical perfect for the
novice player (everyone else ... choose another title).