In the second quarter of 1995, Domark and Divide By Zero will release The Orion Conspiracy, a very different kind of adventure. Instead of your typical quest, this is the story of a murder and the business organizations who ordered it.
In the not-so-distant future, free enterprise has run out of control, giving more power to the multi-conglomerates and the mega corporations than to the governments, which have suddenly become mere pawns to be bought and sold in the never-ending pursuit for profit. One of the most profitable arenas is the uncharted galaxy, thanks to the recently discovered Interstellar Space Drive. There has been a period of massive exploration and expansion with each of Earth's companies investing heavily in exploration, looking for the mineral deposit or scientific breakthrough that will satisfy the accountants back home.
One of these companies is Yamagashi, one of the market leaders in Interstellar Drive Technology. They have established a small research facility on the edge of a black hole called "Devil's Gate." With a hint of irony, the company calls its outpost "Cerberus", after the three-headed dog who guards the portals of Hell.
Danny Marshall was a Junior Research Scientist for Yamagashi. He was sent out on a routine mission to repair a probe on the event horizon of Devil's Gate. This is always a risky operation, and, unfortunately, Danny didn't survive.
His father, Devlin, is a retired engineer for the company, and he manages to pull a few strings in order to be allowed aboard the normally restricted station for his son's funeral. In his conversation with the station residents, Devlin learns that the death is being registered as an accident. He also notices that the employees of the medical research station are being very tight-lipped about their work. After the strain of the memorial service, he takes a rest in his temporary quarters. He notices a note slide under the door, which reads, "Danny's death was no accident . . . It was murder."
Devlin brings the note to the attention of the station authorities, who open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the repair mission. It isn't long before a few other unexplained situations are reopened in the light of the murder theory. It turns out that Danny was somehow connected with these "accidents," and what's more, much of the evidence actually points back to Devlin!
The player takes the role of the grief stricken father who must escape from his holding cell and continue the investigation on his own to learn the truth about his son's murder . . . and also clear his own name. This will take courage, versatility, imagination, and a VESA compliant SVGA card.
Diplomacy will play a large part of your investigation. In order to gain information, you'll have to not only get past people's fear of you as an escapee, but you will also have to circumvent the cover-up conspiracy which is gaining power with every minute. The Orion Conspiracy is full of interesting and secretive characters, and you will get to converse with them in full digitized speech. But can you really trust anyone?
There will also be lots of challenging puzzles to solve, enough to keep an experienced adventure gamer on his toes. But you won't have any trouble figuring your way through the interface. The design emphasis is definitely on an instinctive, "plug and play" experience. The interface is point and click and completely icon based. "Domark is committed to maintaining our reputation as a publisher of titles that are leaders in technical merit. At the same time, however, we intend to create an unintimidating and enjoyable gaming experience for all levels," stated Michael Anthony Keane, Domark's Vice President of Marketing.
The storyline is very convoluted and unpredictable, with lots of twists and turns that will surprise and infuriate you, but ultimately keep you hooked. But this is also going to be a great looking game. All the graphics are SVGA, and the backgrounds are entirely hand-painted. Plus, there's lots of fully rendered cinematic cut scenes to further carry the plot along. The sound will be just as breathtaking as the visuals, with a full CD quality soundtrack and sampled sound effects.
If you are ever going to get to the bottom of your son's murder, you will have to break through the wall of deceit and intrigue that surrounds the case, and possibly go up against your former employer. There's one thing for sure, and that is that there's a lot more to this situation than the removal of a Junior Research Scientist. You'll be able to get to the bottom of things when The Orion Conspiracy hits the shelves.
