USE Steam WITH LucasArts Classics

USE Steam WITH LucasArts Classics

Honestly, you leave the team alone for five minutes, and people like me creep onto The Reticule’s team followed by them missing news like this? It’s anarchy I tell you. So of course, I’m rectifying this matter.

Monkey Island Logo

LucasArts had been teasing for some time on their Twitter account that they had a big announcement for this Monday, and thousands of fans provided guesses ranging from the possible to the ludicrous. Luckily the real announcement was enough to send fans of the former masters of the adventure genre into a state of elation. Teaming up with everyone’s favourite download service Steam, LucasArts are bringing many of their classic games to the service, including The Dig, both Indiana Jones point ‘n’ click adventures and of course, a few Star Wars titles. Initially ten games are to be launched on Steam on Wednesday, followed by the long await enhanced remake of the sublime The Secret of Monkey Island which allows you to play it as both the original 256-colour version and new talkie version with brand new spangly HD graphics on the top due next week.

Of course, many fans may point out that certain games are missing (Grim Fandango and Day of the Tentacle certainly spring to mind) but LucasArts promise more titles in the coming weeks, and all made to work on XP and Vista. We at The Reticule are already freezing our hamsters in anticipation. Here’s the full press release from Valve and LucasArts, including the all important names of the first ten games to be shoved onto our internet pipes:

Fans have asked and LucasArts has delivered! Today the company announced a new initiative in its effort to revive its classic and beloved franchises by making its games available for the first time ever as digital downloads online.

In this first round of releases, ten fan-favorite LucasArts PC games will be made available Wednesday, July 8 on Steam®, Valve Corporation’s delivery and management platform for the PC. Scheduled for release are classic adventure titles like LOOM and The Dig and hit action games including Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars Republic Commando.

The complete list of games to be released on July 8 via Steam includes:

Armed and Dangerous™
Indiana Jones® and the Fate of Atlantis
Indiana Jones® and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure
LEGO® Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure
LOOM™
Star Wars Battlefront® II
Star Wars Republic Commando®
Star Wars Starfighter™
The Dig®
Thrillville®: Off the Rails™

“This effort is going to make it possible to introduce a whole new generation of gamers to LucasArts’ classic games,” said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. “It also gives more people a chance to play our games by making them available long after they’ve disappeared from store shelves. We hope our fans are as excited as we are about our plans and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next. This is just the beginning.”

This series of launches continues LucasArts’ new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises.

LucasArts previously announced the return of the classic Monkey Island® franchise with two new projects due to be released in the near future. Tomorrow, July 7, Telltale will premiere the Tales of Monkey Island® game series on PC, delivering a completely new epic storyline and swashbuckling flair that will unfold across five monthly episodes. The first Tales of Monkey Island chapter is expected to release for WiiWare™ in the coming weeks as well.

The Monkey Island celebration continues on July 15 when LucasArts publishes The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, a completely re-imagined version of the first game in the series that adds updated high definition graphics, a re-mastered musical score, and full voiceover to the classic adventure game originally launched in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be made available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC via Steam and other online distribution channels.

Future announcements about the re-release of LucasArts’ back catalog titles will be made through LucasArts’ Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/lucasartsgames.

And for more adventure goodness, stay tuned for our verdict on the first episode of the new Tales of Monkey Island – ‘Launch of the Screaming Narwhal’ right here on The Reticule. My first post and look how good I am to you guys already, eh?

Comments are closed.