Ork

The Good
Ork is an entertaining, and grey matter flexing puzzle/action game that seems to be appealing to the ‘Shadow of the beast’ crowd, though here puzzle solving takes centre-stage, and whilst there is still an element of action, it is decidedly more understated compared to that of the aforementioned title. That said, Ork is more than just some kind of seminal sequel with a change of focus, it has its own mystique and characteristics which are uniquely its own.

As you come to expect from a game bearing the glaring owl’s stamp of approval, the presentation here is of a very high standard. The visuals are a definite strong point, and sport multi layered backgrounds, with an interesting alien flavour that creates a captivating atmosphere. The pixel pigmentation here is soft and subtle, with pale variations in colour tones, and the overall effect is uniformly aesthetically pleasing.

Like Reflections Beast’ games, there are the occasional rather large nasty to contend with, and the graphic artist here has taken a similar approach with some suitably hideous designs, that while not animated, make up for this with much intricate detail. There is certainly plenty here to feed your optical senses.

One thing that I think works well here is the very intuitive interface. When you collect the various objects throughout the game world, they are easily seen on the lower part of the display, and simply pressing the space bar gives you instant access to the inventory, which then individual objects can be selected by using the joystick. There is no real break in play, so things keep moving along nicely.

What’s really great about Ork is how logical the puzzles are. They usually require using an object with something or someone in any given level, and you only have to be observant to draw a solution to any given problem, the answer is always there, you just have to see it. Some other puzzles require flicking switches, and this sometimes involves some trial and error to find out what combination results in what reaction, e.g. a receptacle to open an electric fence becomes usable, when it wasn’t before, and so forth. Later in the game teleports are introduced for larger, more complex levels. Also, the way in which your jet-pack factors into moving around the game world, using launching pads strategically to move from one area to another, makes for some interesting play mechanics.

An interesting game facet is the computer terminals that can be found throughout the game worlds which you can interact with. Here you can access a handful of programmes, including an object analysis, which will give a description of objects you have, and sometimes hint, in a sort of cryptic fashion, regarding the use of an object, it is extremely helpful when you are stumped. Providing you have collected it, a scanner can be used with the computer to show a view of your immediate surrounding environment, to give you a more robust look at the various parts of the world layout, to help put things into perspective. You can also see your energy level expressed as a percentage, also how much of the game you have completed. Also here, you can save your current progress to a blank floppy, which is greatly helpful, and is a very welcome addition given the nature of the game. All of this is navigated with a clever graphical user interface, which is simple to use, and very well implemented.

The Bad
I don’t have too many gripes with this game, but here a few things I’ll note;

The feel of the controls takes a little getting used to at first, your protagonist isn’t greatly agile, so you have to learn how to make the best of his limitations.

When your accessing computer terminals, you are still vulnerable to attacks.

When you die, you are re spotted to the last location you were, and if that happened to be hazardous lava, you can’t avoid taking damage.

The nasties in the game can be very persistent, and other hazards and pitfalls, make this sometimes quite frustrating. I would say the difficulty was slanted a little high, and some may find this off-putting.

These are only minor quibbles, and for me didn’t detract from the fantastic game-play.

The Bottom Line
Ork is a very polished, highly enjoyable game, with loads of thought-provoking puzzles, and has a striking visual style that is quite intoxicating. The games’ length is also very good, with plenty of fodder to get your teeth into, and there are some real corker puzzles here that will have you constantly ticking over, even when you manage to pull yourself away from the game. If you’re after a game that’s challenging for your mind and your reflexes, which offers a highly rewarding game experience, look no further, Ork has it in spades. A real gem.