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Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

Game Mechanics

Zak McKracken is the third adventure game developed by Lucasfilm Games and the second game based on the SCUMM engine created for Maniac Mansion. Like the latter, it is a two-dimensional horizontal scrolling video game in which the player controls his characters through a pointer-and-click graphical interface and needs to solve puzzles to advance in the game. The player can interact with his environment by selecting one of the fifteen verbal commands proposed, such as "go", "gather", "open" or "grow", then by clicking on the object on which he wishes to perform this action. The commands can be selected to the mouse but also by pressing the corresponding keyboard key.

In addition to Zak, the player can also control Annie, Melissa and Leslie by switching from one to another whenever he wishes. Each of the four characters has specific abilities. Thus, Zak is the only character to be able to use alien artifacts that he can use for example to take control of an animal or teleport. For her part, Annie can use her knowledge to decipher texts or messages. The other two, which are on Mars, are similar but Leslie is less frightened by the unknown and Melissa has a cassette player she refuses to lend to Leslie. Some puzzles require the cooperation of several characters. Each of the characters can be killed and, although it is possible to continue the adventure, it is no longer possible to finish the game. In addition to its inventory, the player must also manage the Zak bank account. In fact, it needs money to buy certain items and to fly to travel between the different areas of the game. At the beginning of the game, his bank account is credited to $12,000 and can in particular get $10,000 extra using an extra-terrestrial machine capable of predicting the loto results. For Melissa and Leslie, who are on Mars, he must also manage their oxygen reserves.

The action of the game is frequently interrupted by non-interactive dialogues, providing the player with information about the scenario. However, the player does not have the opportunity to enter a conversation himself.