Lucasfilm Point-And-Click Classics Zak McKracken, LOOM and The Dig Now Available On GOG

GOG has uncovered their third wave of Lucasfilm classics to be added to the DRM free store, and of the six games, three are available for Linux. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is now available through digital distribution for the first time, while The Dig and LOOM have their commercial Linux début. And as usual we have the ScummVM team to thank for the Linux support.



Zak McKracken was one of the first point and click adventure games I played after my family got an Amiga in the late 80s. I had already played some of the Sierra classics at a friend's house, but this was one of the games that truly ignited that adventure loving flame in me, and is one of my fondest childhood gaming memories. The game is not without faults, seen from a modern perspective, but with its zany humor, challenging puzzles and plentiful and varied locations, it's one that shouldn't be overlooked by fans of the genre.

Like Maniac Mansion before it, Zak McKracken also requires you to select the "What is" command before you swipe the screen for hotspots -- something that can in all honesty be a bit annoying. It also commits the greatest adventure game sin of having dead ends. I can't remember encountering any dead ends on any of my playthroughs of the game, but I have encountered them in other games, and there are few things that kill your enjoyment of a game more than suddenly discovering that you messed up your playthrough several hours ago. To avoid this issue, I recommend giving this StrategyWiki entry a quick glance before playing the game, as it doesn't really spoil anything, and it will increase your chance of enjoying the game. Personally, I don't consider deaths dead ends, as it's immediately obvious that you screwed up, and can be corrected quickly by loading a save.



LOOM is the story of Bobbin Threadbare of the guild of Weavers. When the Elders flee after witnessing a bad omen, Bobbin must learn to master his distaff to eventually stop Chaos from taking control of the guild's Loom. The game was a slight departure from Lucasfilm's previous point-and-clicks in that you have no inventory or verb commands, but instead play various four-note drafts that you learn throughout the game to perform actions.

The game has three difficulty options; Standard, Practice and Expert. Unless you have absolute pitch, I recommend playing Loom in Standard or Practice mode. There is a small change in Cobb's death scene when playing the game in expert mode, but other than that, I found the mode a lot more tedious than the more forgiving modes. Loom is also a very short game compared to other point and click adventure games of its time, and shouldn't take more than about four hours to beat. The version on GOG also appears to be the talkie version, which was further cut to allow it to fit on a CD-ROM. Hopefully, one of the earlier versions will be added in the near future.



Last, but by no means least, The Dig is now also available on GOG. This is a game many consider their all-time favourite adventure game, and with a suspenseful sci-fi story conceived by none other than Steven Spielberg, it's no wonder.

There is little to complain about with this game, but if you prefer comedy adventures, this might not be for you, as it's a lot more serious than most other Lucasfilm adventures. The Dig is also notorious for its skeleton puzzle, but as with any puzzle, difficulty is a highly subjective matter. What's obscure for one might be straight-forward for another, and vice versa. I never struggled with that particular puzzle, but I remember stuck for a long while on the light bridge puzzles on my first playthrough of the game.


Zak McKracken gives you the choice between the original MS-DOS version and the enhanced FM Towns version, and all games come with manuals. The Dig has the Alan Dean Foster novella included, while Zak McKracken has downloads of the National Inquisitor, the in-game newspaper Zak writes for. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.