Top 10 LucasArts Games

LucasArts was one of the greatest game studios ever bought, but in April 2013 it was announced that its new owners Disney would be closing it.

As the mouse house goes off to degrade the quality of Star Wars even more, releasing film after film to sell more and more merchandise, we're taking a fond look back at the glory days of this much-loved studio. What we know for sure is that there'll never be another company like it again. 

Full Throttle

CD-based game distribution gave developers a chance to use music, voter and rendered cut-scenes in a way that couldn't be done before. Pull Throttle was the first game from LucasArts, using proper voice actors (including Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamlll) and a cinematic intro with proper music.

The game is just as brilliant. Set In a dystopian future where vehicles have anti-gravity devices to let them hoverthe leader of the Po, you play Ben, lecats motorcycle gang. It's your job to stop  the evil Ripburger from destroying the famous Corley Motors company by manufacturing mini-vans instead of motorcycles. Brillantly conceived with a truly cinematic feel to it, Full Thottle is a game that simply has to be experienced. 

Sam & Max Hit the Road 

A game concerning the antics of a canine freelance police detective (read vigilante) and his psychotic bunny side-kick, just shouldn't work, but LucasArts puled it off. Your job is find the bigfoot, Bruno, and the Giraffe-Necked Girl, who have escaped the carnival.

A journey through middle America's strangest tourist attractions awaits, including a visit to the world's largest ball of twine, as you navigate through the odd world and puzzles of the game. This game is laugh-out-loud funny and brilliantly odd. A modern episodic sequel from Telltale Games has been released, but you should play the original first. 

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 

Before this classic series was ruined with Indiana tones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, fans wanted the fourth film to be based on the Fate of Atlantis game - with good reason. This point-and-click adventure game captured everything that was brilliant about Indy: Nazis, a mysterious and long-gone ancient civilisation, and an adventure that spans the world. 

With cinematic storytelling, difficult puzzles and hours of gameplay, this is a genuine classic.

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II 

If you ever wanted to be aJedi, Dark Forces II is as close as you'll get. As well as using all the classic weapons from the films, including the lightsaber, Dark Forces II gives you Jedi powers. 

As you progress in the game, you can choose which force powers you wish to improve. Powers are split into three categories: light, dark and neutral. Light powers give you benevolent abilities such as healing, while dark powers are violent, enabling you to choke opponents, and neutral powers let you enhance abilities. Choosing your powers pushes you closer to the light or dark, with two endings depending on how good or evil your character is. 

Even better, you can play the game multiplayer, using the force to grab power and steal your opponent's weapon, then gun them down with it.  

Knights of the Old Republic 

Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is a stunning Star Wars game. This epic adventure really makes you feel you're part of a galaxy-wide conflict. In this RPG, you and your team of Jedi Knights, Wookies, space buccaneers and sarcastic droids travel from planet to planet, meeting an endless variety of characters. 

In many ways, the game is properly old school. Combat looks real-time but is turn-based behind the scenes, with the computer rolling for each attack and defence, and adding modifiers for weapons and armour. You must balance your skills with those of your companions to prevail, and make good use of items, drugs and, later on, Jedi powers. 

The game has it all: stunning locations, piles of weapons and armour, an Intricate plot and superb characterisation and voice acting. It's £7 on Steam, and you need to play it.

Grim Fandango 

While most adventure games have a light-hearted tone to them, Grim Fandango is different. Set in the Land of the Dead, it's a film-noir take on the point-and-click adventure game. In the game world, new souls all make their way to the Ninth Underworld, but good souls are given a fast ticket, while bad souls have to take a four-year journey. You play Manny Calavera, a soul ‘travel agent', who must investigate why certain good souls are having their express tickets stolen. 

This was the first LucasArts game to use 3D graphics and the only game to have a truly adult plot. A triumph of plot, style and storytelling, Grim Fandango should be played by everyone.

X-Wing vs Tie Fighter

Who didn't watch Star Wars and want to fly the ships for real? The original X-Wing game allowed you to get in  the cockpit of the Rebel Alliance's iconic fighter, but X-Wing vs Tie Fighter was a vast improvement.

For starters, you could fly all the missions from both perspectives, as a rebel or as part of the empire. 

However, the fun really started if you had friends you could get together, as you could fly in a squadron. This was a truly exhilarating experience and, given today's internet connections, we just wish someone would make a follow-up.

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders 

This is another classic point-and-click adventure game. This time, you play Zak McKracken, a writer who must get to Mars and defeat the Caponians, who are trying to reduce the intelligence of everybody On Earth. It’s a complicated game; not only do you control Zak, but you can also switch and play Annie Larris, a scientist, and Melissa China and Leslie Bennett, who are currently on Mars. 

Puzzles often require a collaborative effort, by making each character perform a task. It's breathtakingly brilliant, and marks the start of complicated, in-depth and thoughtful point-and-click adventure games. 

Day of the Tentacle 

Day of the Tentacle, the sequel to Maniac Mansion, was one of the first adventure games to use voice actors, adding to  the richness of  the experience. In the game, your job is to play Bernard Benoulli, Hoagie and Laverne, and stop the evil Purple Tentacle from taking over the world. 

Time travel plays a key role, with the three main characters sent to different time periods. This makes for interesting gameplay, as performing an action in the past with one character affects the future of another. It's this level of complexity that makes solving the puzzles a real challenge. 

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge 

LucasArts popularised the point-and-click adventure, and there's no greater game than this. The follow-up to The Secret of Monkey island, LeChuck's Revenge sees our hero, Guybrush Threepwood, face off against the dreaded ghost pirate once more.

It's bigger and better than its predecessor in every way, with a huge game world, devious puzzles, laugh-out-loud puzzles and a killer plot. The 2010 special edition, which updated  the sound and graphics, is now available on Steam, so this is the perfect time to give this classic game a revisit.