''Nick Delios - Conspiracies'' ( el, Νικ Δέλιος - Συνωμοσίες), known also as ''Conspiracies'', is a FMV

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by Greek studio Anima Interactive and published by

Got Game Entertainment Got Game Entertainment, LLC was an American developer and publisher of videogames, based in Weston, Connecticut. Got Game chiefly published adventure games, with ARMA II being the most notable exception. In January 2011, founder Howard Horowitz re ...

in North America, with GMX Media handling distribution in Europe. It is the first installment in the ''Conspiracies'' series of

s, and the first Greek adventure game to receive an international retail release. A sequel, '' Conspiracies II - Lethal Networks'', was released in March 2011.

Story

''Conspiracies'' is set in a futuristic 21st century, where human society is threatened by a destroyed natural environment, overpopulation, poverty, organized crime and increasing forms of depression and neurological diseases. Earth has dissolved into a single federation of cities.

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, where the game takes place, is one of them. Every city-state has its own governor and local government, which is subject to the Supreme Federal Government. Beneath the surface however, political lobbies, big companies, and organized crime impose their own will, surpassing the law and creating their own reality. Nick Delios, the protagonist, had been a top student at the University of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, specializing in medical software. His career however takes a turn for the worse when the head of his scientific research team, Dimitris Argyriou, a member of the scientific and business elite, presents Nick΄s revolutionary research on electronic transplants programming as his own. Nick is subsequently laid off the team, while his wedding to Dimitris' sister Annita is cancelled. Deeply hurt, and plagued by gambling and drinking problems, Nick ends up earning a living as a detective, specializing in cases of industrial espionage, using his acquaintances in the underworld. When Thanos Pekas, Police Inspector and old friend of Delios, asks him unofficially to help solve a murder case of a small-time crook, Nick accepts. However, Delios soon comes to realize that the case is far more complex than he initially thought, involving multiple conspiracies that surpass even the borders of the planet itself.

Release

In August 2003, Anima Interactive signed with publisher

to release ''Conspiracies'' in North America later that year. In April 2004, GMX Media announced that it had secured the rights to publish the game in the UK. The UK version of ''Conspiracies'' was eventually published on June 25, 2004.

Critical reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the

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website

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. ''

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'' said, "Although the vocally overdubbed actors try to give decent performances, Conspiracies' overall quality is so much like a B movie that you'll be surprised no killer tomatoes ever attack - and you just might be praying that they do." ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' game reviewer Chuck Osborn awarded the game a rating of 23% in its January 2004 issue, to which Anestis Kokkinidis, CEO of Anima Interactive, retaliated by sending a critical letter accusing the magazine of promoting style over substance, concluding that "We feel sorry that you’re not supporting us independent developers at all." ''

'' published the letter in their March 2004 issue, to which Osborn replied, "Sadly, ''Conspiracies'' received a 23% because of its confounding plot and pathetic gameplay. To answer your question: Yes, we enthusiastically support small developers – we just don't support bad games."

Sequel

Development on a sequel began at the end of 2004, with a projected release date set for mid 2008. After having been stuck in

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game en ...

for 8 years, '' Conspiracies II - Lethal Networks'' was released by Anima Interactive in March of 2011.

References

External links

''Nick Delios - Conspiracies (2003)'' at anima-ppd.com
* * {{IMDb title, tt5512980 2003 video games Adventure games Detective video games Interactive movie video games Full motion video based games Windows games Windows-only games Single-player video games Video games developed in Greece Video games set in Greece Got Game Entertainment games