Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Matthew Alan Kane | Chris Grigg (C64) | |
Engine | SCUMM | |
Platform(s) | Commodore 64, DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, FM Towns | |
Release | ||
Graphic adventure |
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a 1988
Like Maniac Mansion, it was developed for the Commodore 64 and later released in 1988 for that system and DOS.[1]
Plot
The story is set in 1997, nine years after the game's production. The plot follows Zak, a writer for the National Inquisitor, a
Development
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders was developed and published by
Release
Zak McKracken was originally released in October 1988,
The Japanese version of the game was released in 1990 under the title Zak McKracken (
Re-release
In March 2015, Zak McKracken was re-released on the digital distribution platform GOG.com after years of commercial non-availability.[2] The GOG.com release marked the first time the 256-color version of the game had been made officially available outside Japan.
Reception
Discussing Zak McKracken's commercial performance, David Fox later wrote, "I think Zak was far more popular in Germany and Europe than in the States. I'm not sure why ... maybe my humor was more European in nature?"[3]
Many reviews, both online
The game was reviewed in 1989 in Dragon No. 142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 3+1⁄2 out of 5 stars.[10]
The game received high scores in general press. It received 90 out of 100 in several reviews, such as of Zzap!, Power Play, Happy Computer, HonestGamers, Pixel-Heroes.de, Jeuxvideo.com, ST Action, and Quandary magazines.[11]
Reviews
Legacy
The title of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Zach and the Alien Invaders" pays homage to this game's title.
Fan sequels
Some Zak McKracken fans have created and released their own sequels, so called
- The New Adventures of Zak McKracken, released in March 2002 by "LucasFan Games"[13] and containing graphics from the Japanese FM Towns 256 color version and country-specific backgrounds from various Neo-Geo games. The original release was notorious for containing an adult ending. However, the ending was soon changed when the developers were told that the female characters were based on actual persons. This sequel is very short and fairly limited compared to the two other fan sequels.
- Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space, released in German in April 2008 and re-released as a director's cut in German, English and French (subtitles) in May 2015 by "Artificial Hair Bros.". The game consists of hand-drawn 2D scenes and sprites and pre-rendered 3D videos. It uses the Visionaire Studio engine that professional developers like Daedalic use.[14]
Other notable but unreleased fan sequels include:
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Rockstars, which was planned for a final release in 2007 following the release of a demo. After several project restarts and lead changes the project was stopped.[15][16] However, the game engine's source code was released on SourceForge.[17]
- Zak McKracken and the Lonely Sea Monster was scheduled for July 1, 2007, but has come to a halt. It was supposed to maintain the look of the original.[18]
References
- ^ a b c "LucasArts Entertainment Company – 20th Anniversary". Archived from the original on April 28, 2006.
- ^ Jones, John Paul (March 19, 2015). "Outlaws, Zak McKracken among new line up of classic Lucasarts games hitting GOG.com". gamewatcher.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
Following on from their agreement with Disney last year to release the Lucasarts back catalogue, digital retailer GOG.com have gone and put five more classic titles from the house that George built on their store. There are some real gems there too. From underrated wild west FPS Outlaws to cult point and click adventure Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders[...]
- ^ "Interview mit David Fox". home.nikocity.de. Archived from the original on March 6, 2001. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ Reviews of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, the Zak McKracken archive, archived from the original on July 17, 2011, retrieved May 24, 2011
- ^ "Do Games Come Any Sillier Than This?", Zzap!64, March 1989
- ^ "Zak McKracken", Power Play / Happy Computer, pp. 72–73, September 1988
- ^ Ardai, Charles (October 1988), "Big Zak Attack", Computer Gaming World, pp. 8–9
- ^ Trivette, Donald B. (October 1988). "Fun!". PC Computing (column). pp. 251–256. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ Ferrell, Keith (January 1989). "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders". Compute!. p. 82. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
- ^ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (February 1989), "The Role of Computers", Dragon (142): 42–51
- ^ "Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders for Amiga (1988) MobyRank". MobyGames. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^ "Jeux & stratégie 58". May 20, 1989. Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Die neuen Abenteuer des Zak McKracken (2002) Archived April 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine on IMDb
- ^ "Visionaire Studio". Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ^ Zak McKracken and the Alien Rockstars (ZMAR) Archived March 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine – ZMAR history on zak-site.com
- ^ zak2project.net/ in the webarchive
- ^ mindbender Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine source code on SourceForge
- ^ Zak McKracken and the Lonely Sea Monster Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine on zaksite.com
External links
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders at MobyGames
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders at Lemon64
- The Zak McKracken Archive Archived August 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Zak McKracken C-64 version theme at the High Voltage SID Collection
- Zak's Theme, original 1987 recording predating the in-game versions
- Zak McKracken Between Time and Space
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders - re-released by Disney/Lucasfilm on GOG.com for Windows, Mac, Linux (March 19, 2015)