KGB (computer game)
Encyclopedia
KGB is a computer game released for the Commodore Amiga and IBM PC Compatible
computers in 1992. Set in the decadent final days of the Soviet Union
, KGB is considered to be quite difficult, even for experienced gamers, since it relies on a real time clock and correct/wrong answers which can end the game immediately or after an event needed to be triggered; also, players may make errors which they will notice only hours later in-game. The game engine, graphics and interface have plenty of similarities with Cryo's Dune
.
KGB was also released on CD under the title Conspiracy, which included clips of Rukov's father played by Donald Sutherland
giving advice. In the CD version, all references to "KGB" within the game and manual were changed to "Conspiracy".
after three years' duty, is ordered to investigate possible corruption inside the KGB
after a former agent turned private eye was found murdered. However, as the plot progresses, Rukov finds himself investigating a political plot of dangerous proportions.
. His parents, Mikhail Stepanovich Rukov and Svetlava Shailova, were killed on 23 May 1983 during an Afghan
terrorist
attack in Dushanbe
(in the Tajik SSR
) where his father was on active duty. Rukov learned English
, Arabic
and Spanish
and joined the Spetsnaz
as a paratrooper
in 1988. The game begins as he makes his first steps in Department P.
Uncle Vanya is the brother of Rukov's father. He was also injured in the attack and uses a wheelchair, but is still able to take care of his nephew. He seems very suspicious of Maks's new employers. (The name "Uncle Vanya" is a nod to the book by Chekhov)
Major Vovlov is Rukov's direct superior at Department P. He is bad-tempered and authoritarian.
Colonel Galushkin works at Department P. He personally knew Rukov's father and went after his assassins.
Major Radomir Savinkov, also a Department P member, is Rukov's controller in Leningrad. He is highly intelligent.
Colonel Vladimir Kusnetsov is the head of KGB's Department 7 in Leningrad. He is very hostile to Department P.
Captain Piotr Chapkin works at Department 7 with his father-in-law, Colonel Kusnetsov.
Major Grigori Agabekov is second in command at Department 7. He served in Afghanistan. He has a clean record and good reputation.
Nathaniel Greenberg and Carla Wallace are American CIA agents who happen to be working on the same case as Rukov.
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
computers in 1992. Set in the decadent final days of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, KGB is considered to be quite difficult, even for experienced gamers, since it relies on a real time clock and correct/wrong answers which can end the game immediately or after an event needed to be triggered; also, players may make errors which they will notice only hours later in-game. The game engine, graphics and interface have plenty of similarities with Cryo's Dune
Dune (video game)
Dune is a 1992 video game, based upon Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. Developed by Cryo Interactive and published by Virgin Interactive, is the first of the Dune computer games. Dune blended adventure with economic and military strategy, and is considered by many the most...
.
KGB was also released on CD under the title Conspiracy, which included clips of Rukov's father played by Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
giving advice. In the CD version, all references to "KGB" within the game and manual were changed to "Conspiracy".
Plot
The protagonist Captain Maksim Mikahilovich Rukov, recently transferred to the Department P from the GRUGRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
after three years' duty, is ordered to investigate possible corruption inside the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
after a former agent turned private eye was found murdered. However, as the plot progresses, Rukov finds himself investigating a political plot of dangerous proportions.
Main characters
Captain Maksim Mikhailovich Rukov was born on 12 January 1966 in SverdlovskYekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. His parents, Mikhail Stepanovich Rukov and Svetlava Shailova, were killed on 23 May 1983 during an Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
attack in Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
(in the Tajik SSR
Tajik SSR
The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Tajik SSR for short, was one of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. Located in Central Asia, the Tajik SSR was created on 5 December 1929 as a national entity for the Tajik people within the Soviet Union...
) where his father was on active duty. Rukov learned English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and joined the Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
as a paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
in 1988. The game begins as he makes his first steps in Department P.
Uncle Vanya is the brother of Rukov's father. He was also injured in the attack and uses a wheelchair, but is still able to take care of his nephew. He seems very suspicious of Maks's new employers. (The name "Uncle Vanya" is a nod to the book by Chekhov)
Major Vovlov is Rukov's direct superior at Department P. He is bad-tempered and authoritarian.
Colonel Galushkin works at Department P. He personally knew Rukov's father and went after his assassins.
Major Radomir Savinkov, also a Department P member, is Rukov's controller in Leningrad. He is highly intelligent.
Colonel Vladimir Kusnetsov is the head of KGB's Department 7 in Leningrad. He is very hostile to Department P.
Captain Piotr Chapkin works at Department 7 with his father-in-law, Colonel Kusnetsov.
Major Grigori Agabekov is second in command at Department 7. He served in Afghanistan. He has a clean record and good reputation.
Nathaniel Greenberg and Carla Wallace are American CIA agents who happen to be working on the same case as Rukov.