Zax: The Alien Hunter
| Zax: The Alien Hunter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Reflexive Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | JoWooD Productions |
| Engine | Velocity Engine |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release date(s) | September, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Zax: The Alien Hunter is a game that was created by Reflexive Entertainment in September 2001. It is an isometric 2d shooter adventure game for the PC.
Gameplay
The main characters is Zax, an alien humanoid who crashlanded on an unknown planet, which is overrun by hostile robot forces. His goal is to navigate through the planet and help local people, the Korbo, to defeat robots. The game is mostly shooter with minor puzzle elements. A role-playing game element is also present, as player is required to collect ore and crystals to assemble new weapons and items, such as energy shields, first aids, and protector drones. The main accent in shooting mechanics is placed on enemy teleporters, which constantly spawn new robots unless a console is destroyed, which is usually somewhere nearby. The opponents of the game are robots, plus some of planet's dangerous wildlife.
Plot
The game plot is centered on Zax's hunt for ore and crystals, which eventually transforms into his quest to liberate the primitive Korbo race from the army of Om, a powerful robot whom Korbo believe to be an angry god.
Characters
Main
- Zax - the protagonist. He is an alien hunter for minerals who crashlanded on an unknown planet.
- Zelon - she is female AI of Zax' ship. She helps Zax with advices and assembles weapons for him.
Korbo
- Mindaza - one of the leaders of Korbo, Mindaza is the last remaining son of Marsindor, once a great Korbo chieftain.
- Valeth - the shaman of Korbo.
- Din - young Korbo who is eager to help Zax.
- Butu - white-colored Korbo leader.
- Partha - blue-colored Korbo leader.
- Jispur - a Korbo with some knowledge of Om's drilling machines.
Robots
- Om - the leader of robot forces, Om is spider-like robot who originally come to Korbo planet for the minerals, but eventually become a "god" and tyrant for Korbo.
- Azah-Pan - mysterious "spirit" that serves Om, Azah-Pan appears as a number of glowing red orbs that can possess a robot. He tries to kill Zax numerous times.
- Om's forces - composed of robots of different kinds. The weaker are half-Korbo, half-machine hybrids, while the strongest are Om Overseers, the towering robots with rocket launchers.
Summary
When the alien hunter's ship is shot down by an unknown attacker on the surface of a planet, there is no other option for Zax and Zelon to get the ship to planet in order to survive. Zax soon encounters the force behind his presence here: Om, the leader of an army of robots that enslaved local primitive tribes of Korbo. Zax, all while collecting the minerals he sought for, has aligned himself with the Korbo and started a crusade against Om. On his way through the jungles, temples, caves, and mines, he is aided by Korbo leaders, like Mindaza, Valeth, Butu, and Partha. Mindaza presents Zax with Sphere of Zin, a powerful artifact which could detect any evil forces near him: it comes in handy to detect robots that approach. Zax witnesses as Om forces Korbo into slavery in the mines, and also turns some of them into cybernetic drones to serve himself. On his way, Zax is often opposed by Om's servant, mysterious "spirit" Azah-Pan, which possesses a robot to fight him. Slowly, a rebellion is formed, led by Mindaza and Valeth. Even though all other leaders of Korbo are assassinated, Zax is nevertheless successful in locating the Om ship and entering it.
Deep inside the ship, Zax confronts Om and destroys him. Moments later, Valeth appears, and reveals the truth about what was happening. It turns out Om and his robots arrived on the planet to harvest the minerals, however, Valeth find a way to fully control the robots, while other Korbo feared them. Valeth toyed with them for a while, but then come up with a plan to eliminate the ruler of all Korbo tribes, Marsindor, and his family, turn Korbo into Om' slaves and then liberate them, becoming a hero and, most importantly, the new chieftain of all tribes. All of Valeth's requests were actually targeted on Zax being killed, while Azah-Pan, a major obstacle in Zax' way, was in fact Valeth himself. The traitor also explained that he feared Sphere of Zin, which detected him as an enemy, and thus never meet with Zax while robots were not around. Shocked with this discovery, Zax kills Valeth. Later, he, Mindaza, and other Korbo celebrate the victory, with Zax receiving giant crystal as a gift and finally leaving the planet.