Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

ReleasedOctober 1988

Commodore C64/128/MAX
Linux
Atari ST/STE
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Mac
DOS
FM Towns
Amiga

About

Zak McKracken is a tabloid reporter (and not a very good one at that). After having a psychedelic dream one day, Zak realizes that something is wrong -- space aliens are dumbifying the general public through the telephone system. Zak must stop this, but he can't do it alone. After finding a strange crystal, Zak manages to get the help of the anthropologist Annie and her friends, Melissa and Leslie. The four unlikely heroes must now figure out a way to destroy the dumbifying devices and save the Earth. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is a third-person puzzle-solving adventure similar in gameplay to Lucasfilm's breakthrough title Maniac Mansion. The player chooses verb commands (Open, Pick Up, Give, etc.; there are no Look or Talk commands) to interact with the game world. The game features up to four controllable protagonists; it is possible to switch between them at any time after they have been introduced, and also exchange inventory items if the characters are in the same location. The game can be described as a "globe-trotting" adventure, since the heroes are required to travel to different exotic countries and even leave the Earth for a while in order to complete it. Some of the puzzles are optional or can be solved in different ways. The FM Towns version has VGA graphics with 256 colors and higher-quality music and sound effects.

Developer: Lucasfilm Games
Publisher: Fujitsu Interactive, Lucasfilm Games
Genres: Point-and-click, Adventure
Themes: Science fiction, Comedy
Modes: Single player
Perspective: Side view
IGDB rating: 73 / 100 (40 ratings)
Also known as: scummvm.exe

Release dates

Release dates by platform
Platform	Release
Amiga	1988
Atari ST/STE	1988
Commodore C64/128/MAX	October 1988
DOS	1988
FM Towns	Feb 1, 1991
Linux	Mar 19, 2015
Mac	Nov 16, 2018
PC (Microsoft Windows)	Nov 16, 2018