The Shadow of Zorro

Cryo, in association with leading French game developer, In Utero, today announced the 23rd November 2001 release of the exhilarating 3D action adventure game The Shadow of Zorro on PC CD-Rom (£29.99), followed by the PlayStation 2 release on 7th December 2001 (£39.99). In Utero, led by Project Manager, Frédéric Ressaire has skillfully captured the same action and adventure that remains faithful to the original TV series.

The Shadow of Zorro is a 3D-stealth/adventure game in the pure style of the original television series and comic book. Eight missions spiced up with romance, intrigue and suspense will whisk the player into a fabulous and exotic world of thrills and spills. The levels of difficulty are adaptable, making the game perfect and absorbing entertainment for all ages.

Cryo has obtained the exclusive rights to Zorro for he next five years and will continue adapting video games based on the adventures of the Fox in other formats.

Introduction to the game

• Brave and romantic, Zorro is one of the most charismatic popular heroes to have ever existed and who's daring exploits have fed the minds of generations since his creation in 1919. For the first time, a video game brings this mythical dispenser of justice to life. Duels, plots and seduction pave the way for grand adventure.
  
  
• The year is 1822. Don Alejandro, the father of Don Diego, thinks he recognises the new police chief of California. In reality, it is De La Hoya, an infamous war criminal known as the Saragossa Butcher, long believed dead. How did he survive his aching wounds? What can he be doing in California?
  
  
  
• Who is the beautiful young woman with the sad eyes whose charm has won Don Diego's heart?

About the game

The game begins at a time when Los Angeles is bubbling with excitement and anticipation. A new police chief arrives that very morning from the port of San Pedro. Don Diego (accompanied by Sergeant Garcia and his father Don Alejandro) sees the horse-drawn carriage arriving. As the clumsy Sergeant does his best to whip his patrol into shape to salute their hierarchical superior properly, Don Alejandro suddenly looks as if he's seen a ghost. He has a feeling he recognises the person who is being introduced as Capitan Montero.

In an abrupt, violent flash, he relives a painful episode from the past. In 1810, as a gentleman living in Spain, Don Alejandro witnessed a horrifying episode during the Peninsular War with Napoleonic France; the Saragossa Massacre. Don Alejandro, faithful to the Spanish cause, almost died under the sword of Capitan Montero.

A traitor to the Spanish nation, this infamous collaborator worked for the imperial French troops. Feared and hated by an entire race of people, he finally succumbed in a duel against Don Alejandro. Later on, he was forced to recount the painful episode of war to his son. Once peace was restored, Don Alejandro moved to a Spanish colony in California.

How could Saragossa Butcher, left for dead on the battlefield of a ravaged city, survive such defeat? How did he manage to cling on to dear life when Don Alejandro's sword pierced right through him? The invincible soldier should have should have been given up for dead.

Could this person actually be an imposter? Don Alejandro is helpless and unable to recall the painful episode of the Aragon struggle in any great detail.


Is Montero the odious war criminal known under the dreadful moniker of Saragossa Butcher? If so, what is he doing in Los Angeles?

Three people accompany Capitan Montero throughout the game. These include



• Coroto: the officer's right-hand man.
  
• A lovely young woman named Carlota. Don Diego is touched by her charm and perhaps also by her apparent distress. She seems quite ill at ease in the company of the Capitan.
  
• An elderly man, who, to Don Diego's amazement, turns out to be one of his former teachers, a renowned specialist in Mexico's Aztec civilization, Professor Orneillo of Saragossa University


Zorro's suspicions about the alleged Capitan Montero are reinforced by the hour. Of Californian origin, young Diego had left to study in Spain in his teens. Professor Orneillo should have embraced Don Diego affectionately, but he failed to do so. As a result, Don Diego is convinced that something is amiss with the new Capitan. Zorro is forced to penetrate the enigma surrounding Montero, and, in doing so, unearths the mystery behind his presence in California.

Game Features



• Seven extensive chapters brimming with suspense and seduction, divided into various tasks (spying, rescue missions.)
  
  
• Twenty Eight different locations
  
  
• A blend of fighting styles which increasingly test your metal the further you progress in the game and the harder the level
  
  
• Two degrees of difficulty
  
  
• 700 scenes fully animated in motion capture and a fully animated clock


The Shadow of Zorro is a game that lets you, the player, decide. You can relive Zorro the warrior, in combat mode, or you can play the elusive fugitive. For every occasion there are several options from which to choose. Test your dueling prowess, shooting skills or simply keep a low profile. The game also comprises of special 'features' unique to Zorro. In common with the movies and TV series, the upholder of the law blows out candles with a single swipe of his sword and can make a candelabra fall on Sergeant Garcia's head!