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So I was all excited when someone on my board posted the Abandonia link yesterday, and thus I shared it here. Free Sierra/LucasArts games? Be still my heart!
Imagine my frustration (and also, I wager, yours) when I began to truly read the various game pages in detail and learned that so damn many of the games are not actually available. They're abandoned, but the companies have locked them out with legalese. Disappointment!
Another, closer look, however... reveals some worthy games that are available for free on the site. I thought I would compile a few of the most obvious draws for you right here.
Classic Adventures:
King's Quest I - The game that started it all for Sierra, presented in new-age VGA graphics. This is actually an "enhanced" recreation by very dedicated and very talented fans. I played it for many hours last night, and I can safely say that it's totally faithful and will not disappoint fans. Beautiful new graphics and sound only add to the old-school joy.
King's Quest II - Sir Graham is back in another graphically-enhanced loving recreation of a classic King's Quest title. This time, instead of questing for treasure and power, you're questing for love. How sweet, I guess.
The Black Cauldron - Yes! My personal Sierra adventure game of choice as a kid is here in its full old-school incarnation. Nothing enhanced about this one, it's totally old-style Sierra. Based largely on the Disney bastardization of the Lloyd Alexander "Prydain" series, this one offers all the usual multitudes of endings and item-hunting with puzzles to spare.
Maniac Mansion Deluxe - Pretty much your classic Maniac Mansion, only with a tiny bit of added bonuses (like some graphical improvements and the fact that you can finally explore the stairway in the library). MM was the first LucasArts adventure and remains a defining part of the genre. Who doesn't have fuzzy memories of tossing Weird Ed's hamster in the microwave and making it explode? Good times... good times.
Pirates! Gold - Now this is a classic. An extremely frustrating one, but a classic nevertheless. Round up your own team of pirates from the scallawags in the local saloons and take to the high seas. Ransack coastal towns and recruit more members. Face fierce ship battles against rival ships and fence their captains to the death. You probably all know this one as well as any Sierra title.
Jack in the Dark - This game uses the "Alone in the Dark" engine and was created by Interplay/Atari to serve as a teaser for the second game in the series. In it, it's Halloween and you must deal with demonically haunted toys. The usual old-school survival horror adventure ensues, albeit a bit shorter than most "Alone in the Dark" games.
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Warning: Text adventure game afoot. If you don't mind the text-only format, you're in for the usual brand of wackiness you'd expect from the title. Enjoy typing things like "lay down and wait" and be impressed at how far it gets you.
Les Manley in: Search for the King - Imagine Leisure Suit Larry, only with possibly less class. This was a popular Larry ripoff back in the day, and even led to...
Les Manley 2: Lost in LA - A sequel, which is pretty much more of the same, but a bit prettier.
Wayne's World - I always wanted to play this game when I was younger. Wayne and Garth are your adventurers as you journey through Aurora, IL on a quest to... well, I don't know exactly. But it's not based on either of the movies. What makes this one unique from many other adventures is that there's a lot of focus on conversation puzzles. You have to choose from a list of around five responses when having dialogue with various characters.
Ween: The Prophecy - If Myst made some kind of sense but looked less beautiful, it might be like this one, which I always remember finding fascinating (from a distance) when I saw it in magazines at a young age.
Jack the Ripper - Imagine a Deja Vu/Shadowgate/Uninvited-esque adventure with far better graphics and some really confuzzling puzzles and you get the horrific tale of Jack the Ripper. You have to solve the Ripper's crimes throughout London, which as you may imagine will put you in considerable danger.
All-New Adventures:
The New Adventures of Zak McKracken - Zak McKracken was a popular LucasArts adventure title once upon a time, but unlike many others, it never inspired a sequel. Well, the fans have fixed that. Zak's back for more.
5 Days a Stranger - Murder most foul is all afoot when you're trapped inside the DaFoe Mansion. You've got to solve it. This was made in 2003 and is a favorite among old-school adventure gamers.
7 Days a Skeptic - The sequel to the above takes place many centuries later aboard a spaceship, but the gory cut scenes are still intact.
Stranger by Night - Good morning, Katrina Rose. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to hunt down a murderer who has set up a series of traps for his victims. Be forewarned, because you are amidst one of his sinister traps right now. The next victim could be you. Escape and find the one responsible.
Games in Other Genres:
Flashback - From the creators of "Out of this World," it's fucking Flashback motherfuckers! For free!
Alien Trilogy - I never got to play this first-person shooter back in the day, which I'm sure you can imagine was quite frustrating for an avid Alien junkie like myself. Well, with Acclaim dead and buried, it's finally free for us all to enjoy. It only loosely follows the first three movies, but who cares? You're Ripley and you're kicking ass.
Cannon Fodder - If you're interested in Cannon Fodder, you probably already know about it. A war-based action/strategy game that was one of the few big draws to the long-dead Atari Jaguar, Cannon Fodder looks cute but seems kind of pissed off about it.
Grand Theft Auto - The classic game that started all the craze has been offered by Rockstar for free for a while now. The question is: Can you tolerate the top-down driving perspective? Good luck with that bullshit.
GTA2 - The sequel to the above. More top-down madness, but it's much easier to see how the much-beloved structure of GTA3 grew out of this game.
Double Dragon II - You can actually download all the PC conversions of the three Double Dragon arcade titles, but this is easily the one that sucks least.
Imagine my frustration (and also, I wager, yours) when I began to truly read the various game pages in detail and learned that so damn many of the games are not actually available. They're abandoned, but the companies have locked them out with legalese. Disappointment!
Another, closer look, however... reveals some worthy games that are available for free on the site. I thought I would compile a few of the most obvious draws for you right here.
Classic Adventures:
King's Quest I - The game that started it all for Sierra, presented in new-age VGA graphics. This is actually an "enhanced" recreation by very dedicated and very talented fans. I played it for many hours last night, and I can safely say that it's totally faithful and will not disappoint fans. Beautiful new graphics and sound only add to the old-school joy.
King's Quest II - Sir Graham is back in another graphically-enhanced loving recreation of a classic King's Quest title. This time, instead of questing for treasure and power, you're questing for love. How sweet, I guess.
The Black Cauldron - Yes! My personal Sierra adventure game of choice as a kid is here in its full old-school incarnation. Nothing enhanced about this one, it's totally old-style Sierra. Based largely on the Disney bastardization of the Lloyd Alexander "Prydain" series, this one offers all the usual multitudes of endings and item-hunting with puzzles to spare.
Maniac Mansion Deluxe - Pretty much your classic Maniac Mansion, only with a tiny bit of added bonuses (like some graphical improvements and the fact that you can finally explore the stairway in the library). MM was the first LucasArts adventure and remains a defining part of the genre. Who doesn't have fuzzy memories of tossing Weird Ed's hamster in the microwave and making it explode? Good times... good times.
Pirates! Gold - Now this is a classic. An extremely frustrating one, but a classic nevertheless. Round up your own team of pirates from the scallawags in the local saloons and take to the high seas. Ransack coastal towns and recruit more members. Face fierce ship battles against rival ships and fence their captains to the death. You probably all know this one as well as any Sierra title.
Jack in the Dark - This game uses the "Alone in the Dark" engine and was created by Interplay/Atari to serve as a teaser for the second game in the series. In it, it's Halloween and you must deal with demonically haunted toys. The usual old-school survival horror adventure ensues, albeit a bit shorter than most "Alone in the Dark" games.
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Warning: Text adventure game afoot. If you don't mind the text-only format, you're in for the usual brand of wackiness you'd expect from the title. Enjoy typing things like "lay down and wait" and be impressed at how far it gets you.
Les Manley in: Search for the King - Imagine Leisure Suit Larry, only with possibly less class. This was a popular Larry ripoff back in the day, and even led to...
Les Manley 2: Lost in LA - A sequel, which is pretty much more of the same, but a bit prettier.
Wayne's World - I always wanted to play this game when I was younger. Wayne and Garth are your adventurers as you journey through Aurora, IL on a quest to... well, I don't know exactly. But it's not based on either of the movies. What makes this one unique from many other adventures is that there's a lot of focus on conversation puzzles. You have to choose from a list of around five responses when having dialogue with various characters.
Ween: The Prophecy - If Myst made some kind of sense but looked less beautiful, it might be like this one, which I always remember finding fascinating (from a distance) when I saw it in magazines at a young age.
Jack the Ripper - Imagine a Deja Vu/Shadowgate/Uninvited-esque adventure with far better graphics and some really confuzzling puzzles and you get the horrific tale of Jack the Ripper. You have to solve the Ripper's crimes throughout London, which as you may imagine will put you in considerable danger.
All-New Adventures:
The New Adventures of Zak McKracken - Zak McKracken was a popular LucasArts adventure title once upon a time, but unlike many others, it never inspired a sequel. Well, the fans have fixed that. Zak's back for more.
5 Days a Stranger - Murder most foul is all afoot when you're trapped inside the DaFoe Mansion. You've got to solve it. This was made in 2003 and is a favorite among old-school adventure gamers.
7 Days a Skeptic - The sequel to the above takes place many centuries later aboard a spaceship, but the gory cut scenes are still intact.
Stranger by Night - Good morning, Katrina Rose. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to hunt down a murderer who has set up a series of traps for his victims. Be forewarned, because you are amidst one of his sinister traps right now. The next victim could be you. Escape and find the one responsible.
Games in Other Genres:
Flashback - From the creators of "Out of this World," it's fucking Flashback motherfuckers! For free!
Alien Trilogy - I never got to play this first-person shooter back in the day, which I'm sure you can imagine was quite frustrating for an avid Alien junkie like myself. Well, with Acclaim dead and buried, it's finally free for us all to enjoy. It only loosely follows the first three movies, but who cares? You're Ripley and you're kicking ass.
Cannon Fodder - If you're interested in Cannon Fodder, you probably already know about it. A war-based action/strategy game that was one of the few big draws to the long-dead Atari Jaguar, Cannon Fodder looks cute but seems kind of pissed off about it.
Grand Theft Auto - The classic game that started all the craze has been offered by Rockstar for free for a while now. The question is: Can you tolerate the top-down driving perspective? Good luck with that bullshit.
GTA2 - The sequel to the above. More top-down madness, but it's much easier to see how the much-beloved structure of GTA3 grew out of this game.
Double Dragon II - You can actually download all the PC conversions of the three Double Dragon arcade titles, but this is easily the one that sucks least.
4 monsters destroyed | destroy all monsters