Zax

Story

Caranthian Ore and Crystals were once common commodities. Now they are the most rare, precious and priceless substances in existence. They were the foundation of a fortune, the life blood of an economy and a lifelong obsession.

As a youth, Zax had listened with interest in history class about the year his society changed forever – the year that the pioneer Oleus Caranth journeyed to a nearby planet.

There Caranth found a staggering concentration of minerals he called Caranthian Ore and Crystals. He discovered that the unique molecular structure of these minerals made them perfect for use in Materials Generators – machines that converted raw materials into other more useful objects.

Whereas most minerals could only produce a few rudimentary objects, Caranthian Ore could be converted into virtually anything imaginable. His discovery soon became an integral part of daily life and made him a very wealthy man.

The Ore and Crystals were in such demand that Oleus' company, Oleus Mining, soon strip-mined the nearby planet of all obtainable ore.

A devastating economic depression resulted when the Ore supply dwindled and its price began to skyrocket. Oleus Mining sent out several new ships to the reaches of space to find more ore, but none ever returned. As the society slowly returned to using other minerals in their materials generators and toward a more traditional economy, Caranthian Ore became exorbitantly valuable and a symbol of the “Good Old Days”. It became so rare that it was virtually priceless.

Zax grew up at the tail end of this 40-year depression dreaming about being the next Oleus Caranth. His lifelong ambition was to explore the universe and seek his fortune exactly the way Caranth had. Others had tried and failed of course, but Zax knew that he would be different.

Zelon

He had tasted poverty enough to know that he hated it. He had never known wealth, but its allure was all encompassing to him. So he worked long and hard to acquire his very own space ship. The one he finally found was veteran of other failed explorer missions. It was old, beat up, and nothing to brag about – but it was for sale. He bought it, fixed it up the best he could, and named it “Zelon” after a famous actress from the “Good Old Days” who once had a ‘relationship’ with Oleus Caranth.

Zelon's best feature was its commonplace, but very sophisticated, onboard artificial intelligence. The AI was capable of thinking, performing research, and had a rudimentary personality. Zax reprogrammed its speaking voice to be that of the real life Zelon, or “Babe”, as Caranth had called his mistress.

Finally, when the onboard materials generator was repaired, Zax set off to make his dream a reality. He knew there was more Caranthian Ore out there somewhere, and he would find it.

Ten long years later, he was about to set down on what he thought was an uncharted and unclaimed planet in deep space.

Frequently asked questions

From the official FAQ by Reflexive Entertainment (2001). Note: the Zax CD-Key is found on the back of the jewel case, not the back of the manual as indicated in the manual.

What kind of game is Zax: The Alien Hunter?
Zax: The Alien Hunter is an Action / Adventure game, with heavy emphasis on the action. We have spent a great deal of time and effort making sure that the player always has a goal and plenty of enemies to deal with. The adventure side comes in with an involving storyline that unfolds over one hundred maps.
How many missions does Zax: The Alien Hunter have?
There are 22 missions in the game. Many of these missions have several maps, which means that some of the missions can be completed in a non-linear fashion. That is, what you choose to do first in a given scenario, impacts which order you finish the missions.
Is there multi-player in Zax: The Alien Hunter?
Yes, Zax has multiplayer capabilities. Death Match, Capture The Flag, and our new addition to multi-player called Salvage King, which is our company favorite!
Will Zax: The Alien Hunter ship with a level editor?
There are no plans to ship any of the developing tools with Zax.
Is there a story in Zax: The Alien Hunter, or is it just kill all the bad guys?
There is a very compelling story that drives the player throughout the game. We have spent a lot of time developing and scripting special events throughout the game to facilitate telling the story to the player. At the same time, we have tried not to overwhelm the player with a billion sub-plots.
What are the minimum specs?
Pentium II 233 compatible processor with 32 megs of RAM. Of course if you have a faster machine with more RAM, we won't complain.
Can Zax: The Alien Hunter be played over the Internet?
Yes, Zax is playable over the internet. We are estimating a maximum of 16 players per game. However, that will depend on the system specs of the machine running the server.
Is it fun?
It rocks! We think it'll keep you in front of your PC for hours at a time just so you can see what happens around the next corner. (and there are a lot of corners!)