Tag: LucasArts
X-Wing and TIE Fighter game remakes may be coming soon
I recently wrote a series of posts about the glorious return of the point-and-click adventure genre of games, which has historically been dominated by LucasArts. Now, it appears that LucasArts may have something equally as exciting in store for us…
From g4tv.com:
LucasArts’ two-pronged attempt to revitalize their classics with The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Tales of Monkey Island appears to be a success. As part of a follow-up interview with LucasArts president Darrell Rodriguez about plans for the months ahead, I asked Rodriguez for thoughts on a return of the company’s lauded X-Wing and Tie Fighter flight sim series.
His answer?
“We don’t have any announcements now, but stay tuned,” said Rodriguez. “We will soon…..”
By the way, that’s his number of dots, not mine. We conducted the interview over e-mail. Five dots is far more mysterious than three dots, so I’m willing to bet I’m onto something here.
Whether it’s a full-on remake ala The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition or an addition to the company’s growing Steam lineup…well, who cares? Either one would be the first acknowledgement of a major part of LucasArts’ legacy in a long, long time.
The last major release in the series was X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter X-Wing Alliance. I missed that one.
X-Wing and TIE Fighter were two of the greatest Star Wars games ever to be released. They were fantastic flight simulators (well, space flight at least) that allowed Star Wars fans to embrace their dreams of piloting iconic spacecraft from the films. And they were fun too.
These games are begging to be remade for the XBox 360 in HD with surround sound. Plus, I already own a flight stick for the 360, which I hope the remakes would support. But I’m clearly getting ahead of the news. It is likely that LucasArts is simply re-releasing these games on Steam, as they recently did with many of their other classic games. But I hope it’s much more than that.
TweetReturn of the point-and-click adventure game – Wish-list for the future
After lending you my thoughts over the past few days on the return of the point-and-click adventure genre via Sam & Max, Monkey Island™, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, I now offer my hopes for the future…
Future Point-and-Click Adventure Release Wish-List
If I had my say in what point-and-click adventure games to re-release next, my top choice would easily be Day of the Tentacle. Screenshots:
This sequel to Maniac Mansion (which would also make for a fantastic remake) epitomizes everything that is great about the point-and-click adventure game genre. The artistic style is completely off the wall and is just begging for a talented artist to come and and redraw it all in HD.
Day of the Tentacle’s original voice acting is superb and would not need to be touched. Hopefully the original recording masters are still lying around a hard drive somwhere.
I still have my original Day of the Tentacle game discs and I’m regularly tempted to pop them in and play through the whole story again. However, I’ll hold off with the hope of a remake emerging some day.
In a close second place, I’d love to see Telltale Games take on Grim Fandango and bring Manny Calavera back to life… er, death. Screenshot:
This was LucasArts’ entry into the world of 3-D adventures and it closely resembles what Telltale Games is doing now with Sam & Max and Monkey Island™. It seems like it would be a no-brainer for Telltale to pick up where LucasArts left off and continue this unique story.
But until these come to a console near you, those of you who want to enjoy these classic point-and-click adventure games should check out ScummVM. It’s an emulator that allows you to play any of these old LucasArts games that use the “SCUMM” engine. Of course, you have to have a copy of the game too.
That wraps up my series of posts about point-and-click adventure games. Weigh in with your thoughts on this genre by commenting!
TweetReturn of the point-and-click adventure game – Indiana Jones
In the last two days, I’ve written about the return of the Sam & Max and Monkey Island™ series as part of a revitalization of the point-and-click adventure genre of video games. Now we turn our attention to…
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
One often overlooked entry in the world of LucasArts point-and-click adventures is Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. It is one of the few Indiana Jones games that has actually been good. On top of that, it’s a great point-and-click adventure. Screenshots:
Unlike the Sam & Max and Monkey Island™ series, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis has not been remade in HD, 3-D, or any other D. However, you can still enjoy this incredibly fun game on your Nintendo Wii by way of the new Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings game.
While Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings is a clumsy game crippled by unnecessary Wii motion controls (too much waggling and flailing for my tastes), it comes with the bonus feature of the entire Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.
When you first launch Staff of Kings, you’ll see the option to play Fate of Atlantis tucked away in its menus. Unfortunately, you’re required to unlock it by playing Staff of Kings. I tried and became too frustrated with the controls to even get past the first 15 minutes of the game. Fortunately, the generous programmers at LucasArts included a code you can enter to unlock Fate of Atlantis without ever playing Staff of Kings. Here’s the code:
While holding down Z on the Staff of Kings Main Menu, press A, UP, UP, B, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, B
That will instantly make available for playing the full game of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis where you can help guide Indy through a fun adventure filled with artifacts, Nazis, and a few snakes. Unfortunately, you’ll need to enter the code every time you start up the game. Fortunately, it’s easy to memorize.
Playing Fate of Atlantis with the Wiimote is a natural fit and a ton of fun. Staff of Kings is available for purchase for just $37 and, in my opinion, Fate of Atlantis is worth that price alone. You can simply consider getting Staff of Kings as a bonus feature.
What are your thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (and all of the other terrible Indiana Jones games ever made)? Comments!
Next up in tomorrow’s post… My wish-list for the future!
TweetReturn of the point-and-click adventure game – Sam & Max
When the Nintendo Wii was announced to have a mouse-like controller/remote several years ago, my initial reaction was hope for the return of point-and-click adventures. Out of all game genres, this comedy-filled play-at-your-own pace style of gameplay suits me best. These games are simply fun. There’s no dying or game over screen. You simply navigate through endlessly-detailed locales, talking to zany characters via amusing conversation trees, and even occasionally use your brain to solve puzzles using inventory items in inventive ways.
The best point-and-click adventures came from LucasArts. Classic titles like Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Secret of Monkey Island™, Day of the Tentacle, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis really embodied everything that the genre is all about. Unfortunately, likely do the increasing popularity of gaming consoles, the genre faded away toward the end of the ’90s.
But now, point-and-click adventures are finally making a comeback, not only on the Nintendo Wii, which allows for traditional point-and-click interaction using its Wiimote, but also on the XBox 360. One-by-one, classic characters are finding new life off of the computer and onto televisions everywhere.
In a series of posts over the next few days, I will explore this return of the point-and-click adventure beginning with…
Sam & Max
Sam & Max Hit the Road was a hilariously bizarre point-and-click adventure computer game from LucasArts that followed an anthropomorphic dog and rabbity-thing through various capers in a film noir meets Saturday morning cartoon kind of way. Screenshot:
Now, Telltale Games has released two volumes of new “episodes” featuring the duo, rendered in 3-D that still holds mostly true to the 2-D style of the original. The first volume (Sam & Max Save the World) is available on PC, Nintendo Wii, and XBox 360 (via XBox Live Arcade). The second volume (Sam & Max Beyond Time & Space) is currently only available on PC but is coming to the other two platforms “soon.” Screenshot:
I believe Telltale Games can be credited for the resurrection of point-and-click adventures. Prior to the release of Sam & Max Save the World, gamers were completely without any interesting or worthwhile additions to the genre.
I’ve played through the entire first volume of this new Sam & Max series and found it to be about 95% accurate to what the original LucasArts games were all about. It was full of inane comedy that often makes no sense, crazy characters, and a bizarre array of inventory items that ultimately come in handy.
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