<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
and	I-Application
the	I-Application
Alien	I-Application
Mindbenders	I-Application
is	O
a	O
1988	O
graphic	O
adventure	O
game	O
by	O
Lucasfilm	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
SCUMM	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
after	O
Maniac	B-Application
Mansion	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Maniac	B-Application
Mansion	I-Application
,	O
it	O
was	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
later	O
released	O
in	O
1988	O
for	O
that	O
system	O
and	O
DOS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plot	O
follows	O
Zak	O
,	O
a	O
writer	O
for	O
the	O
National	O
Inquisitor	O
,	O
a	O
tabloid	O
newspaper	O
;	O
Annie	O
Larris	O
,	O
a	O
freelance	B-Language
scientist	O
;	O
and	O
Melissa	O
China	O
and	O
Leslie	O
Bennett	O
,	O
two	O
Yale	O
University	O
coed	O
students	O
,	O
in	O
their	O
attempt	O
to	O
prevent	O
the	O
nefarious	O
alien	O
Caponians	O
(	O
who	O
have	O
taken	O
over	O
"	O
The	O
Phone	O
Company	O
"	O
,	O
an	O
amalgamation	O
of	O
various	O
telecommunication	O
companies	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
)	O
from	O
slowly	O
reducing	O
the	O
intelligence	O
of	O
everybody	O
on	O
Earth	O
by	O
emitting	O
a	O
60Hz	O
"	O
hum	O
"	O
from	O
their	O
"	O
Mind	O
Bending	O
Machine	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
and	I-Application
the	I-Application
Alien	I-Application
Mindbenders	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Lucasfilm	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
SCUMM	B-Application
engine	I-Application
,	O
after	O
Maniac	B-Application
Mansion	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Maniac	B-Application
Mansion	I-Application
,	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
was	O
initially	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Commodore	O
64	O
and	O
ported	O
later	O
to	O
other	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
many	O
places	O
visited	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
are	O
common	O
hotspots	O
for	O
these	O
ideas	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
pyramids	O
of	O
Egypt	O
and	O
Mexico	O
,	O
Lima	O
,	O
Stonehenge	O
,	O
the	O
Bermuda	B-Application
Triangle	I-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
Face	O
on	O
Mars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Skolarians	O
are	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Greys	O
alien	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Caponians	O
(	O
a	O
name	O
derived	O
from	O
"	O
Al	O
Capone	O
"	O
)	O
are	O
primarily	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Men	O
in	O
Black	O
,	O
with	O
their	O
Cadillac-shaped	O
spaceship	O
and	O
Elvis-themed	O
leader	O
(	O
nicknamed	O
"	O
The	O
King	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
released	O
in	O
October	O
1988	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
C64	O
,	O
self-published	O
by	O
Lucasfilm	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
port	O
to	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
(	O
DOS	B-Device
)	O
followed	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1989	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Amiga	B-Device
and	O
Atari	B-Device
ST	I-Device
.	O
A	O
DOS	B-Device
version	O
with	O
enhanced	B-Device
graphics	I-Device
was	O
also	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Japanese	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1990	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
(	O
Zakkumakkurakken	O
)	O
;	O
for	O
the	O
Japanese	O
Fujitsu	B-Device
FM	I-Device
Towns	I-Device
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2015	O
,	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
was	O
re-released	O
on	O
the	O
digital	O
distribution	O
platform	O
gog.com	O
after	O
years	O
of	O
non-availability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discussing	O
Zak	B-Application
McKrackens	I-Application
commercial	O
performance	O
,	O
David	O
Fox	O
later	O
wrote	O
,	O
"	O
I	O
think	O
Zak	O
was	O
far	O
more	O
popular	O
in	O
Germany	O
and	O
Europe	O
than	O
in	O
the	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
reviews	O
,	O
both	O
online	O
and	O
in	O
print	O
,	O
rate	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
as	O
among	O
the	O
best	O
adventure	O
games	O
ever	O
made	O
,	O
but	O
others	O
disagree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Charles	O
Ardai	O
in	O
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
described	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
as	O
a	O
good	O
game	O
,	O
but	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
have	O
been	O
better	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
central	O
flaw	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
environments	O
,	O
limited	O
to	O
a	O
relatively	O
small	O
number	O
of	O
screens	O
per	O
location	O
,	O
giving	O
each	O
town	O
a	O
movie-set	O
feel	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
size	O
and	O
detail	O
of	O
Maniac	B-Application
Mansion	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Computing	O
wrote	O
that	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
for	O
the	O
PC	O
had	O
a	O
clever	O
story	O
but	O
"	O
grade	O
B	O
animation	O
"	O
,	O
concluding	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
result	O
falls	O
short	O
of	O
the	O
magic	O
we	O
expect	O
from	O
George	O
Lucas	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
favorably	O
reviewed	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
,	O
but	O
wished	O
that	O
Lucasfilm	O
would	O
next	O
produce	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
depend	O
on	O
jokes	O
and	O
puzzles	O
to	O
tell	O
its	O
story	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
fans	O
have	O
created	O
and	O
released	O
their	O
own	O
sequels	O
,	O
so	O
called	O
fangames	B-Application
,	O
among	O
which	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
New	O
Adventures	O
of	O
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
March	O
2002	O
by	O
"	O
LucasFan	O
Games	O
"	O
and	O
containing	O
graphics	O
from	O
the	O
Japanese	O
FM	B-Device
Towns	I-Device
256	O
color	O
version	O
and	O
country-specific	O
backgrounds	O
from	O
various	O
Neo-Geo	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
:	I-Application
Between	I-Application
Time	I-Application
and	I-Application
Space	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
German	O
in	O
April	O
2008	O
and	O
re-released	O
as	O
a	O
director	O
's	O
cut	O
in	O
German	O
,	O
English	O
and	O
French	O
(	O
subtitles	O
)	O
in	O
May	O
2015	O
by	O
"	O
Artificial	O
Hair	O
Bros.	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Alien	O
Rockstars	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
planned	O
for	O
a	O
final	O
release	O
in	O
2007	O
following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
a	O
demo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
engine	O
's	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
SourceForge	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zak	B-Application
McKracken	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Lonely	O
Sea	O
Monster	O
was	O
scheduled	O
for	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
2007	O
,	O
but	O
has	O
come	O
to	O
a	O
halt	O
.	O
</s>
