The Collector's CD-ROM from 1995 is now an added entry so every version is now available, more importantly the best one is; the higher resolution, the added missions, the new voice acting for all dialogue, and the dynamic iMuse music system is still around (damn it, '98-version). You can also play this with a keyboard and mouse. This is still one of the finest games of all time and easily the best Star Wars game ever made. It's not as complex or dense as you'd perhaps expect from a combat flight sims, but there's still enough of a challenge; energy management between shields, engines and lasers is a genius design choice that keeps the game fresh to this day. So if you played it before or just considered getting it on GOG for the first time, now's definitely the time to do it. Join the Empire! (and secretly serve the Emperor's Inner Circle)
I don't really know what to say about the game that hasn't been said, let's just say that it's my choice for the nicest package of quality I've seen. The art style is great, as is the music, story, puzzles, and characters. Everything is good, great or fantastic. I've perhaps seen better stories (Deus Ex or Planescape: Torment) or graphics in other games but you just can't beat this Dead man's hand (!). You'll be captivated by the zany, Burtonesque, scratch that, Schaferesque world and (Casablanca inspired) story as it's sort of his established trademark by this point. A Día de los Muertos inspired Land of the Dead is one of the most original premises I've seen in fiction, a place filled to the brim with Art Deco, Noir and jazz. Hell, even the brief view of the Land of the Living is memorable and... Honestly more disturbing. The puzzles tend refrain from "put the peanut butter on a fine leather jacket" solutions, as sometimes seen in adventure games, Lucasarts in particular (not that there's anything wrong with them), so they do often feel intuitive, at least to me, but still retain what made their other games so charming. This is a remake that almost does everything right. It takes the game and polishes the rougher edges. The tank controls were the worst part of the original, not that they bothered me (Manny looks at objects by turning his head, then you push a key and he'll interact). There's the option to play with directly mapped keys (is that the name for it?), no turning required, or you can just use a mouse, old school style! Graphics are polished, model textures are redone and there's proper lighting, these can be turned on/off, pre-rendered stuff looks great but perhaps a little low res which is noticeable sometimes. I noticed some reworked tracks that all sound great, and there's commentary available which adds to the longevity. The best game ever made perhaps just got better, and now easier to get access to. I love you, Manny, Glottis and Meche.
