Customer Reviews

Lucas Archives Volume 1

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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For fans of LucasArts' classic DOS adventure games, LUCASARTS ARCHIVES VOL. 1 is a must-buy. This six-CD set contains full versions of the 1992 game INDIANA JONES AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS, and the two 1993 masterpieces DAY OF THE TENTACLE and SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD (the latter will have a sequel coming in 2004). If you are unable to buy this set here, you can still order the three games directly from LucasArts as of today -- go to www.lucasarts.com/companystore and order "The LucasArts Archives: Adventure Collection."

Since these games were made for the DOS environment, they run best on a DOS PC with legacy Sound Blaster support. On a Windows XP machine, where DOS mode is nonexistent, one needs a third-party DOS emulators such as the free and open-source DOSBox, VDMSound, and SCUMMVM (which was made specially for many LucasArts games). I managed to run the three games in this set (and also other DOS games) on an XP Home PC with Audigy sound card using these DOS emulators, with SCUMMVM giving me the greatest success. So, in short, these old games CAN be run on your new PC. LucasArts provides no support for its DOS titles, but one can get help from user-support forums such as vogons.zetafleet.com .

Also included in this set is a CD containing Star Wars-themed screen-savers, a CD containing a three-level demo of REBEL ASSAULT, and a CD with playable demos of other LucasArts games -- FULL THROTTLE, DARK FORCES, TIE FIGHTER, REBEL ASSAULT II, and THE DIG. None of these three discs is really essential. The only reason to get this set is to have the three classic adventure games.

All three adventure games run in 320x240 resolution and 8-bit color, with speech, sound effects, and MIDI music. They all use the so-called SCUMM interface that enables point-and-click actions with the mouse. The two older games, INDIANA JONES and DAY OF THE TENTACLE, still rely heavily on text during gameplay -- you see a text description when you point at an object, and you click on large text buttons to perform actions such as "Look", "Give", "Pick up", etc. SAM AND MAX, however, is fully graphical -- all the actions, including conversations, are icon-based.

All three games are memorable because of their humorous stories, nice drawings, and puzzles that are enjoyable but not ridiculously difficult. THE FATE OF AN ATLANTIS is the first game to feature the Indiana Jones character, and it is a fun adventure about treasure hunting. DAY OF THE TENTACLE features a wacky and outrageous story about a mad scientist and his evil creations, the living tentacles, which try to use time travel to conquer the world. SAM AND MAX HIT THE ROAD is about a free-lance police team, a dog and his rabbit sidekick, trying to find a missing pair of circus freaks, a big-foot and a giraffe-necked human.

LucasArts has released a widely uneven library of games over the years, but this collection manages to assemble some of the strongest and most entertaining ones. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, and Sam and Max Hit the Road all rank among some of the finest no-typing adventure games of modern day computer gaming. All of them offer liberal doses of humor, lots of replay value, and more entertainment than can be found in most titles. This is definitely a collection not to be missed by adventure game fans.

Nostalgia rocks. I remember sitting for hours in my cavernous high school bedroom, in front of my power-machine 486 sx, learning my vocabulary for years to come from Sam n' Max, and squandering hour after hour zoned out to LucasArts games. Day of the Tentacle(which most people do not know also contains Maniac Mansion within!), Sam & Max, Indiana Jones, Rebel Assault; all fine games and among the best ever put out by any company. Really.

These games are classics and, in the case of "The Day of the Tentacle" and "Sam and Max Hit the Road" totally entertaining to play.

I bought an older IBM PC that runs Windows 98 (built like a bank vault too) just so I could keep playing these games and others I love, like the Journeyman Project series.

Sam and Max have come back too and have a new series of Adventures available.

I wish that Lucasarts was still publishing adventure games like these.

I have only played one of these games that I bought in a single pack: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

It is possibly the greatest game I have played.

These are the best of the best. Classics from LucasArts and that says a lot.
They are simple to learn, no manuals needed - but not so easy to finish and FUN. The wit and humor in these games makes them unlike any I have ever played. Like certain old movies my kids and I take themn out and replay them every so often.

They are not geared to a certain age. If you're 8-80 and clever, you can enjoy these games. There is a story line and you must use your wits to move on, so theres a sense of satisfactiion when you advance. But they are not frustrating. You don't die if you make a mistake, just turned away to gather more information before you try again. You might not realize it at first, but just wandering around (which is fun by itself) gives you clues. But sooner or later, almost everything you see or do, will come in handy. - a lot like life. Keep a sense of humor and you'll love these games.

They're hard to find. but worth it if you do.

I got these for Christmas the year I was fourteen and all of them turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. I used to think Sierra was the only company that turned out true quality computer games, but Lucas Arts gives them a run for their money in this amusing little compilation from the past.
Day of the Tentacle was my favorite, and the one I remember the best now. It is non stop amusement, with a completely insane plot. You alternate through the games playing three characters, a fat guy that gets sent back in time, a girl with nutty hair and (possibly?) down syndrome that gets sent into the future, and I think, a pretty normal guy wandering around the present. The highlights of this game are the past takes place in prerevolutionary America and in one part, (no kidding!) when Ben Franklin is trying to catch lightning with a kite you have the option of telling him that he is "truly whacked". The game was done completely on CD rom so all the characters had voices and I remembered that also impressed me at the time.
Sam and Max was my second favorite. You play Sam, a huge dog, and Max ( I can't remember what he is supposed to be) and they are detectives that conduct their investigation through the tackiest tourist traps of our Good Old USA. Some of them include the world's largest ball of twine museum and some wacky backwater Florida Alligator park.
I also played Indiana Jones, and enjoyed parts of it, but it lacked the true wacky wit of Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max.
Anyway, the quality of the games were way over the price which my relatives must have paid for it and I spent many enjoyable hours.

manic mansion is the most fun game in the world. it has everything from robbing cars to freezeing hamsters. Funny game but is pretty short.

Indiana Jones and Day of the Tentacle are the most hilarious and amusing games I've ever played. Who thinks of a little tentacle that sprouts arms and tries to take on the world? The best thing is that these games don't make you panic; you can choose whether you want to fight or figure in Fate. You use your brains and wits which have got to be pretty strange to figure these strange games out. Sam & Max is fun as well, although the other games are somewhat tedious, but Day of the Tentacle and Indiana Jones more than enough make up for them!

If you ever heard about at least on of the games included in this pack, or you were born after 1990 or you were in a comma. Anyway, for those Adventure lovers and Lucasarts fans, this is a must buy, you just can miss all the good humor of Guybrush the might wanna be a pirate, or the fight against the Nazi in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

From a true adventure game fan, i say: Buy this pack and all the other Adventure games from Lucasarts. Thank me later :)