Zak McKracken and the
Alien Mindbenders
| Developer: Lucasfilm | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: US Gold | Sound: |
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| Year: 1988 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Adventure | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
The second point-and-click adventure game published by George Lucas’ studio, after Maniac Mansion. Like the latter, it was developed for the Commodore 64 before being ported to the Amiga.
The story takes place in the future … in 1997. Zak, a journalist for the National Inquisitor, a low-tier tabloid, witnesses an extraterrestrial plot to make humans stupid and manipulable by spreading waves via the telephone network (oh, really). He will rely on the help of three friends: Annie, Melissa, and Leslie (all playable characters) to thwart their plan and save the world.
Zak McKracken is a classic. Lots of humour, likeable characters, challenging puzzles, and some references to Maniac Mansion. Despite its age, the verb-based interface (where you click on verbs to perform various actions with different objects) works relatively quickly. I did experience a few moments of confusion (such as in front of a button: what to do? “push”, “use”, “turn on”?) but it’s a far cry from the frustrations endured in Operation Stealth.
Nevertheless, the repeated passages through mazes won’t be to everyone’s taste, and once again, the French version is absolutely dreadful.
The game was sold with a reproduction of the March 29, 1997 edition of the National Inquisitor, packed with useful clues.
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