Lucasarts Games come to GoG

[Syt]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/10/28/x-wing-tie-fighter-sam-max-gog/

GOG weren't the first joint in cyberspace slinging vintage video games, but they did get publishers digging a lot deeper into their archives (Good Old Games, they called themselves back in the day). Most publishers came to realise that hey, maybe it's good for everyone if folks can buy our own games, but some were tangled in knots or lost in mysteries for yonks. It took almost five years for a group to free System Shock 2, and we're still waiting for the best parts of the LucasArts catalogue.

Or we were, anyway. Here, they're coming! Sam & Max Hit the Road, X-Wing, and TIE Fighter are now on GOG – the first time they've been on sale in years – as heralds of a re-release-o-rama.

GOG and Disney Interactive say "20+ classic titles" from Lucasfilm (film, Arts, whichever) will come to GOG in time, but they're kicking it off with only six.

X-Wing Special Edition and TIE Fighter Special Edition are £6.19 apiece, while Sam & Max Hit the Road is £3.69. They've been available elsewhere for a while, but you can also get The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for £6.19 (they'll be £7.79 once launch discounts expire) and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is £3.69.

What might these other 15 or so games be? Cross your fingers, gang, for Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, and all the Monkey Island games. We probably won't get Grim Fandango, as Double Fine are currently remastering that for re-release. It's a fair bet that things already on Steam and other digital stores, like the Jedi Knight games, will be coming over too.

LucasArts games have dominated GOG's community wishlist for years and I too am jolly glad to see some of them emerge from the archives. Sam & Max is one of only four PC games I still own on physical media, and I find possessions slightly unnerving.

X-Wing! TIE-Fighter! Indy! Sam & Max!

(Here's hoping for Indy III, Zak McKracken, Maniac Mansion, DoTT, X-Wing Alliance. Maybe Afterlife?)

[Syt]

And how did I miss that Indy a.t.F.o. Atlantis, Loom and The Dig are already on Steam? Hell, there's even a bundle.

[DontSayBanana]

TIE Fighter and Sam and Max?  Hells yeah!

Count me in for hoping for X-Wing: Alliance, BTW.  Kain and I got clever and used his Steel Battalion controller with an Xbox-USB dongle and hacked drivers for that game.  Using a full console to pilot a YT freighter?  Glorious.

[Warspite]

[Sophie Scholl]

I was so excited when I heard this.  I love GoG.  Now I need to hunt down a joystick for the computer as I doubt my ancient one will work.  I also have been hoping for Blizzard to release Warcraft I and II and Starcraft I via GoG as well.

[mongers]

Woah, good news, thanks for the top off.

If only they'd release Day of the Tentacle, I could die a happy chap. 

[Syt]

In fact, this was something I was hoping for when Lucas sold out to Disney. Disney are pretty pragmatic when it comes to squeezing money out of old licenses.

[Berkut]

I suspect this is the kind of thing that sounds awesome...until you actually try playing the game and the horrificly dated graphics makes your eyeballs bleed.

That is what happened to me when I revisited Jedi Knight.

[crazy canuck]

I suspect this is the kind of thing that sounds awesome...until you actually try playing the game and the horrificly dated graphics makes your eyeballs bleed.

That is what happened to me when I revisited Jedi Knight.

Yeah, I have such good memories of some of these games I am not sure I want to actually revisit them for that very reason.

[katmai]

What the zebra and giraffe said.

[Tamas]

Pretty much. I got super excited until I checked out the TIE Fighter screenshots. I shall stay strong and stay away from these to protect my very fond memories.

[Ed Anger]

He's going supercritical! EVACUATE

[celedhring]

We need a current-gen Star Wars space sim.

[Pedrito]

We need a current-gen Star Wars space sim.

L.

[DontSayBanana]

Pretty much. I got super excited until I checked out the TIE Fighter screenshots. I shall stay strong and stay away from these to protect my very fond memories.

I usually have this problem with low-res classic games, but TIE Fighter does such a good job taking you into its environment that after the first mission or two, it feels natural again.