Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

The Good
When I was around 12 and this game first made a splash on the scene, I pretty much became obsessed with it. It was nothing I've experienced before on my trusty C64: its breadth and atmosphere felt just surreal. I could submerge in it for entire weekends. Granted, I used to progress awfully slowly in adventure games, prone to savour and take in every new location for quite a while.
On a less personal note, this game was the first truly accomplished, epic point-n-click adventure game -- or 'arcade adventure' as we called them back then. It really gave Sierra a run for their money by taking to the next level everything the then-simplistic Quest franchise stood for.
It had heartfelt dialogs, an intricate if goofy plot, plenty of good ideas and in-jokes, loads of locations, and even a catchy theme song. In other words, it was a cut above the Quest series it was designed to challenge.
Significantly, it also directly paved the way for the more sophisticated Monkey Island duo by boldly experimenting with the SCUMM design system.

The Bad
The maze scenes; these were obvious fillers in a game that didn't need filler material.

Also, if you're much older than 12 or 13 -- which I think was my age at the height of my Zak fandom --, you might find the plot and the characters a tad too juvenile.

The Bottom Line
Lucasfilm's adventure department evolved in leaps and bounds after this game, releasing a classic a year, so in retrospect their 1988 effort may not look much.
But as the first Lucasfilm adventure game that requires more than just a casual approach, Zak McKracken's spot is forever secured in the annals as an important release.

The Good
A much closer view of what is normally regarded nowadays as the "Classic" adventure game than it's predecessor and forefather, Maniac Mansion, Zak McK. is your archetypical semi-linear adventure game with a globe-hopping, epic storyline, multiple characters, light npc interaction, "the-weird-item-that-you-get-at-the-beggining-and-use-only-at-the-end" cliche, and heavy-duty inventory and deduction puzzles. Nothing wrong with that, uh?

As far as plots go, Zak's pretty bizarre, it's far more surreal and humoristically appealing than Maniac Mansion, mostly because of the lack of Ron Gilbert as head honcho (whose sarcastic edge is always recognizable in the games he helms), so it's weird and funny but in far more "mainstream" way than Maniac Mansion. That's not to say that there isn't weirdness to be found here, mind you! As a tabloid journalist whose usual assignments include taking pictures of two-headed squirrels, you find yourself in the way of a world-threathening plot to stupidify the human race with copies of Final Fantasy 8 and Metal Gear Solid!! .... uh, wait...no... that wasn't it... though it makes sense to me!

Anyway, as Zak and his main love interest Annie, you'll enlist the help of a couple of coeds by the name of Leslie and Melissa who can Commander-Keen their way to Mars with a mini-van (!!??) and somehow try to make heads and tails of a plot so sinister and evil that it could only be crafted by the most phalic-headed aliens of the universe. Very entertaining stuff and quite interesting indeed!

Technically speaking the game takes some major leaps from MM, mainly in the graphic front, with characters far better proportioned, and much more detail and items as well as NPCs to interact with. Most of the improvements come courtesy of the grander scope of the game, but the technology itself is pushed way past the edge seen on Maniac Mansion.

There are also a small amount of non-linear elements included in the game, such as money management and multiple solutions to some puzzles to add some flavor to the game, which makes it far more open-ended than the usual adventures but falls in the pitfalls of making the game unsolvable or incredibly hard to beat at times.

The Bad
As long as we remember this was the first "super-production" of Lucasarts in which the concept of adventuring is moved closer to the accepted ideal of being an epic game, chockful of characters and locations, we can forget some issues. But the fact is that I think Lucas wasn't yet ready for something so big, and it shows in the game. Kind of like a shoe that is just one size too small for your foot, the narrative cohesiveness for a game like this just isn't "there" and you feel quite lost in a game that is pretty hard by itself, with long stretches of seemingly inconnected adventures that never seem to truly aim for the jackpot (or anything for that matter). It takes quite a bit of patience aside from the usual neuronal work associated with adventure games to survive in Zak, and the addition of money-management elements and several dead ends don't help it either.

Furthermore, the code-system sucks. Since it forces you to use it constantly as you travel from location to location, while on MM you only had to open the door to the upper floor once, in here you'll be checking the manual eeeeevery time you want to travel to another destination and believe me, that happens a LOT in this game. More than it's funny, I'm affraid.

In fact so much more than the comedy aspects seem rather dull and forced, and the whole ordeal starts to reek of the "click-on-stuff-until-some-shit-happens" with alarming ease, not just from the difficulty but from the lack of interest you'll soon be experiencing... "Oh yeah, the aliens just brainwashed my character.. ho-hum.. cute. Next!!"

Oh, and before I forget: THE ENDING SUCKS ASS!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry for that, but quite frankly after wrestling with one of the hardest adventure games ever for months, wading through innane Martian mazes, and bashing the monitor in frustration for countless times (I beated this game back in the days Before handy-dandy internet and it's collection of game faqs and tips) all your reward happens to be a text-epilogue that scrolls by as the two leads gaze in idyllic joy!!! F@#K YOU ZAK!!!!! Even Maniac Mansion had a little animated cutscene!!!!! Heck, even SNK fighting games have more rewarding endings!!!

The Bottom Line
Solid adventure game, but on the face of other games (both before and after) Zak has more of an historical signification than actual value. Yeah it's got a good story and lots of killer stuff on it, but there are many pitfalls that detract from it. For hard-boiled adventurers only though... This game means bussines! But then again, I've always been screwy with difficulties. I can breeze past what most people consider challenging and get stuck in the most retarded situations for many games, so you probably shouldn't listen to me there.

The Good
It's a giant leap from the cozy Maniac Mansion, and therefore gives you a lot of freedom to move around. The graphics are in the same style as MM, though slightly improved. And there's just something magical about being able to control a tabloid reporter.

The Bad
Sadly, there's a lot. LucasFilm Games (now LucasArts) tried too hard to make a game that was bigger and bolder than Maniac Mansion, and they mostly failed. It must have been fun and groundbreaking to travel the world in a game, but in this modern age, it's the flaws that are more noticeable. The game just gives you to much of a load, and is too unrewarding for all your work. It's too complicated, and that gets in the way of the fun. It's also a shame that there was never a sequel, since I would have been anxious to see what a new Zak title, made by a more seasoned LucasArts, would be like.

The Bottom Line
This is the game where LucasArts started to get the rhythm of adventuring, realizing that you can't be stuck in a house for a whole game, and you need to move around outside. They were a bit overzealous when they went for the complete opposite, and made this game take place in locations all over the Earth. It's an interesting play, but don't expect to get very much enjoyment out of it, as it's just too overwhelming and confusing. Noteworthy today only historically, as it was the prototype for all LucasAdventures to come.