Review Force Majeure 2: The Zone Developer: Leo Nordwall Publisher: Interacting Arts Genre: Adventure Release Date: Q1 2006 Platform: Review by Robert Washburne May 9, 2006		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

The English call it an “Act of God.” The more atheistic French call it the “Force Majeure.” It is the disaster which changes everything. It is the calamity which cancels the contract. It is the apocalyptic experience which changes your life.

From the web site:

“You are the sole survivor of an unknown catastrophe, trapped in an air-raid shelter. Escaping your confinement, you face a delusional reality known only as the Zone – a place where your own mind is your enemy. The city is in ruins: explore a dreamy landscape through the eyes of a lone wanderer trying to piece together fragments of the past.

“Force majeure II: The Zone is a mind-blowing journey that will take you into another world and beyond. The project is a serious-minded attempt to make you question the nature of reality you are living in. What is ”real”? Can you really trust your senses or are you seeing illusions? Are you dreaming of being in the Zone, or are you in the Zone dreaming that you are in front of this computer? There is no coming back from this trip.”

This game is first and foremost a piece of interactive fiction – it tells a story. There are places to explore, but this is not an eye-candy vacation. There are puzzles to solve, but they are there for a purpose. The whole point is not to save the world, but to try and learn what happened to you. Or what is happening to you. Or what will happen to you. Or whether any of it really matters.

This is heady stuff. It is Art. It will first mess with your head and then mess with your brain.

As you can see from the screen shots, the graphics are simple photographs. But they are perfect for the story. The reality of the images contrasts sharply with the unreality of the situation.

The sound is very good. You hear what you are supposed to hear and the music is excellent. You can even download mp3s of the sound track from the game’s web site.

Playability is good. Adventure Game Studio was used as the game engine and it is quite stable. There are plenty of places to explore and people to talk to. You have a map with locations appearing and disappearing as they fade in and out of reality. You can go where ever you want, but you usually have a good idea of what can be done next. There is no “wrong” choice, but there are decisions which will just waste your time. That is, if “time” and “waste” have any meaning. Starting to get the idea?

The puzzles are straight forward and are just the type you would expect under the circumstances.

There is no voice acting, but the dialog is very good. It all boils down to the story. Others have tried to create existential games, but this is the first one I have played which took you there and kept you there. No silliness in the journey and no compromise at the end. The sneaky, must use a pair of headphones for full effect end...

This game is different. It is unique. And I cannot say any more without ruining it for you.

So, what we have here is an independent developer who achieved exactly what he wanted and did it better than anyone else who has tried. And is selling it on-line for only $17.

If you liked this game, then
Play: Eve, by Peter Gabriel
Watch: Jacque Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
Read: Barefoot in the Head

Final Grade: A
(find out more about our grading system)

System Requirements:

• Windows 95 OSR2, 98, ME, 2000 or XP
• Pentium processor or higher
• 32 MB RAM
• DirectX 5 or higher
• DirectX-compatible sound and graphics card