<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	
	>
<channel>
	<title>Comments on: LucasArts Time Machine: Zak McKracken And The Alien Mindbenders</title>
	<atom:link href="https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/</link>
	<description>Science, gaming, and all things in between.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 22:05:15 +0000</lastBuildDate>
		<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
		<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=3.7.36</generator>
	<item>
		<title>By: Anonymous</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-61503</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anonymous]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:33:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-61503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[e]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>e</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Anonymous</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-61486</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anonymous]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 05:45:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-61486</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[e]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>e</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Anonymous</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-61420</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anonymous]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 10:00:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-61420</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[e]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>e</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Franklin Schwartz</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-61168</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Franklin Schwartz]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2022 00:32:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-61168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I echo your thoughts on the shortcomings of this game. I managed to make it about halfway through without hints, but at some point, the puzzles became completely insufferable. Towards the endgame, I feel that it becomes borderline impossible without following a guide. The fact that you can run out of oxygen and die on Mars if you aren&#039;t following a fairly optimal path is just the icing on the cake.

One thing worth mentioning: the original hard copy of the game came with a printout of The National Inquisitor which is 100% required to solve several of the puzzles in the game. Most of the scans I found of it are completely unreadable, but I did find a high-quality scan here: https://openretro.org/file/6359141ccb61f63f2f57d3571b516b283a553171/Paper%20%28en%29.pdf

There&#039;s no way I would have figured out how to solve the dolphin puzzle without it!

Regarding graphics and sound quality - I didn&#039;t figure out until half-way through my playthrough that my copy also came with the FM Towns version. If you purchased a digital copy, you most likely have it too. You can access it by hitting F5, then &quot;Return to Launcher&quot; and select &quot;FM Towns&quot;. This version has superior graphics and sound, additional music and background effects. It even includes some easter eggs you won&#039;t find in the original, such as a poster of Maniac Mansion on the wall of the Mindbender machine, and the kazoo song is the Indiana Jones theme instead of &quot;Pop Goes the Weasel&quot;. Sometimes the backgrounds can be a bit muddy in this version, making it harder to pick out objects, but I&#039;d recommend it just because you can see a whopping 10 items in your inventory at a time, rather than 4!]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I echo your thoughts on the shortcomings of this game. I managed to make it about halfway through without hints, but at some point, the puzzles became completely insufferable. Towards the endgame, I feel that it becomes borderline impossible without following a guide. The fact that you can run out of oxygen and die on Mars if you aren&#8217;t following a fairly optimal path is just the icing on the cake.</p>
<p>One thing worth mentioning: the original hard copy of the game came with a printout of The National Inquisitor which is 100% required to solve several of the puzzles in the game. Most of the scans I found of it are completely unreadable, but I did find a high-quality scan here: <a href="https://openretro.org/file/6359141ccb61f63f2f57d3571b516b283a553171/Paper%20%28en%29.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://openretro.org/file/6359141ccb61f63f2f57d3571b516b283a553171/Paper%20%28en%29.pdf</a></p>
<p>There&#8217;s no way I would have figured out how to solve the dolphin puzzle without it!</p>
<p>Regarding graphics and sound quality &#8211; I didn&#8217;t figure out until half-way through my playthrough that my copy also came with the FM Towns version. If you purchased a digital copy, you most likely have it too. You can access it by hitting F5, then &#8220;Return to Launcher&#8221; and select &#8220;FM Towns&#8221;. This version has superior graphics and sound, additional music and background effects. It even includes some easter eggs you won&#8217;t find in the original, such as a poster of Maniac Mansion on the wall of the Mindbender machine, and the kazoo song is the Indiana Jones theme instead of &#8220;Pop Goes the Weasel&#8221;. Sometimes the backgrounds can be a bit muddy in this version, making it harder to pick out objects, but I&#8217;d recommend it just because you can see a whopping 10 items in your inventory at a time, rather than 4!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Hentzau</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-60564</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Hentzau]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:32:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-60564</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hmmm, that&#039;s actually quite interesting! Another way of getting around the replayability issue -- LucasArts make several attempts at this and none of them really work. I read a Let&#039;s Play of the Quest for Glory series years ago (this was back when the majority of them were screenshot-based because YouTube didn&#039;t exist and most people were still on 56k connections, which should tell you something about how long ago this was) and have forgotten almost all of it, but I do remember thinking that it seemed significantly more interesting than my mental image of a Sierra adventure game -- which is bad art and even worse jokes. Right now I&#039;m all adventured out, but maybe I&#039;ll do (some) of the Sierra games next year.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hmmm, that&#8217;s actually quite interesting! Another way of getting around the replayability issue &#8212; LucasArts make several attempts at this and none of them really work. I read a Let&#8217;s Play of the Quest for Glory series years ago (this was back when the majority of them were screenshot-based because YouTube didn&#8217;t exist and most people were still on 56k connections, which should tell you something about how long ago this was) and have forgotten almost all of it, but I do remember thinking that it seemed significantly more interesting than my mental image of a Sierra adventure game &#8212; which is bad art and even worse jokes. Right now I&#8217;m all adventured out, but maybe I&#8217;ll do (some) of the Sierra games next year.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Ninjafoodstuff</title>
		<link>https://scientificgamer.com/lucasarts-time-machine-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders/#comment-60560</link>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ninjafoodstuff]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2020 18:41:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://scientificgamer.com/?p=6294#comment-60560</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have a soft spot for the sierra games, probably because I played them before the lucasarts one (except for I think Loom and The Dig, which are both great aside from the turtle puzzle…) but even so I think the Quest for Glory series is required playing at this point. I don&#039;t know how well they hold up in 2020, particularly the stat-based or combat systems, but the thing that blew me away at the time was how you could have scenes play out in completely different ways based on the character type you chose. One character type might go to a location and pick up an item and never go back, another could experience a whole mini-narrative there.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I have a soft spot for the sierra games, probably because I played them before the lucasarts one (except for I think Loom and The Dig, which are both great aside from the turtle puzzle…) but even so I think the Quest for Glory series is required playing at this point. I don&#8217;t know how well they hold up in 2020, particularly the stat-based or combat systems, but the thing that blew me away at the time was how you could have scenes play out in completely different ways based on the character type you chose. One character type might go to a location and pick up an item and never go back, another could experience a whole mini-narrative there.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
	</item>
</channel>
</rss>
