- Joined
- Jul 23, 2008
- Messages
- 329
http://gryphonosiris.blogspot.com/2010/08/secret-of-monkey-island-special-edition.html?spref=fb
So, we are on a Ron Gilbert trend here, as the next reviews will be for Monkey Island 1, Monkey Island 2, and Tales of Monkey Island. I?m just getting through my back log of Xbox 360 titles, as well as episodic titles I?ve been playing in my free time. I do go into this review stating that I have been a long time fan of the Monkey Island series since I was in the 8th grade and got a bundle of free software from a friend of my parents. In retrospect I blame them for my particular love of videogames, particularly for the nearly forgotten Graphic Adventure genre. Time to settle down for some nostalgia, open up a root beer, and find out the Secret of Monkey Island me hearties, argh...
SYNOPSIS
You are Guybrush Threepwood: Mighty Pirate? well, actually wanna-be Mighty Pirate, but nothing will stop you in your quest to become the Mightiest Pirate in the Caribbean. Whether it be the three trials of pirate hood, a Ghost pirate wanting your death, the beautiful Governor Elaine Marley, or the ever enigmatic 3-Headed Monkey this is a quest for a brave soul with nerves of steel and whose wits are sharper than their sword. Since they weren?t available it?s time for Guybrush to step up and become the Mighty Pirate that he thinks he is.
THE GOOD
So, being that this is actually game from the Golden age of PC gaming (see Amiga) that has been recreated for the Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and the PC as well the only change that has been done from the classic game is a graphical and audio update, as well as a new interface as well. The new changes bring the old pixilated graphics to a easier to view (and better resolution) art style influenced heavily by the original concept art as well as the in game art from the original game. There is also an option for you to switch back to the classic mode if you are feeling nostalgic or if you were born before 1990 and never saw what the original game looked like? and yes, we really did play games that looked like this, and we thought it was awesome looking.
On the audio front all the original in game music was re-mastered with live instruments and the voice actors from the curse of Monkey Island returned to reprise their roles for their characters. While the game is a faithful recreation of the Secret of Monkey Island, the developers also decided to clean up some of the rougher elements from the original; such as the docks area which was rather bland in the first game, as well as the inventory interface being more controller friendly than original one.
The game is all about using your head and a cartoon sense of logic in order to figure out the puzzles you come across. The insult sword fighting was also faithful recreated with all the jabs, taunts, and insults acted out faithfully and with the right level of ridiculous bravado that the series demands. For those who didn?t play the original; line up to be beaten here? no, I mean for those who never played the original game it is divided into four parts: your Quest for the Three Trials, your attempt to get to Monkey Island, Monkey Island itself, and the ending finale (a.k.a Guybrush Kicks Butt).
THE BAD
OK, if you are a twitch gamer who believe that Halo, abusive trash talking and excessive amount of Mountain Dew are required in order be called a gamer then don?t bother playing this; in fact I?d prefer if you drowned in a puddle of Mountain Dew , but that?s another matter. Puzzles in the game require you to use the correct item in the correct way in order to proceed, which sometimes when you get stuck my end up with you trying to use everything in your inventory until you figure out how the developers wanted you to do in order to proceed. The Insult Sword fighting can also be tedious to go through and collect all the correct taunts and come-backs in order to be able to defeat the Swordmaster, but far less than, say, grinding for 3 hours in WoW in order to level.
THE UGLY
Considering that this is a direct remake of a game from 1990 there isn?t much to talk about here. No foul language, no sexual content, semi-fictional alcohol (grog, it eats through metal), and the only people that die in it are already dead.
CONCLUSION
It?s a funny game of the golden age of computer gaming where humor, plot, and puzzles were king, before the twitch gaming of Doom took over the market place. I am admittedly biased on this as it was a pivotal point of turning me into a gamer, and holds a special place in my heart next to Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Quest for Glory, Kings Quest.
I Highly Recommend this if you like a good laugh, a good puzzle, or can?t get your old floppies of the game to work on your Windows 7 machine.
So, we are on a Ron Gilbert trend here, as the next reviews will be for Monkey Island 1, Monkey Island 2, and Tales of Monkey Island. I?m just getting through my back log of Xbox 360 titles, as well as episodic titles I?ve been playing in my free time. I do go into this review stating that I have been a long time fan of the Monkey Island series since I was in the 8th grade and got a bundle of free software from a friend of my parents. In retrospect I blame them for my particular love of videogames, particularly for the nearly forgotten Graphic Adventure genre. Time to settle down for some nostalgia, open up a root beer, and find out the Secret of Monkey Island me hearties, argh...
SYNOPSIS
You are Guybrush Threepwood: Mighty Pirate? well, actually wanna-be Mighty Pirate, but nothing will stop you in your quest to become the Mightiest Pirate in the Caribbean. Whether it be the three trials of pirate hood, a Ghost pirate wanting your death, the beautiful Governor Elaine Marley, or the ever enigmatic 3-Headed Monkey this is a quest for a brave soul with nerves of steel and whose wits are sharper than their sword. Since they weren?t available it?s time for Guybrush to step up and become the Mighty Pirate that he thinks he is.
THE GOOD
So, being that this is actually game from the Golden age of PC gaming (see Amiga) that has been recreated for the Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and the PC as well the only change that has been done from the classic game is a graphical and audio update, as well as a new interface as well. The new changes bring the old pixilated graphics to a easier to view (and better resolution) art style influenced heavily by the original concept art as well as the in game art from the original game. There is also an option for you to switch back to the classic mode if you are feeling nostalgic or if you were born before 1990 and never saw what the original game looked like? and yes, we really did play games that looked like this, and we thought it was awesome looking.
On the audio front all the original in game music was re-mastered with live instruments and the voice actors from the curse of Monkey Island returned to reprise their roles for their characters. While the game is a faithful recreation of the Secret of Monkey Island, the developers also decided to clean up some of the rougher elements from the original; such as the docks area which was rather bland in the first game, as well as the inventory interface being more controller friendly than original one.
The game is all about using your head and a cartoon sense of logic in order to figure out the puzzles you come across. The insult sword fighting was also faithful recreated with all the jabs, taunts, and insults acted out faithfully and with the right level of ridiculous bravado that the series demands. For those who didn?t play the original; line up to be beaten here? no, I mean for those who never played the original game it is divided into four parts: your Quest for the Three Trials, your attempt to get to Monkey Island, Monkey Island itself, and the ending finale (a.k.a Guybrush Kicks Butt).
THE BAD
OK, if you are a twitch gamer who believe that Halo, abusive trash talking and excessive amount of Mountain Dew are required in order be called a gamer then don?t bother playing this; in fact I?d prefer if you drowned in a puddle of Mountain Dew , but that?s another matter. Puzzles in the game require you to use the correct item in the correct way in order to proceed, which sometimes when you get stuck my end up with you trying to use everything in your inventory until you figure out how the developers wanted you to do in order to proceed. The Insult Sword fighting can also be tedious to go through and collect all the correct taunts and come-backs in order to be able to defeat the Swordmaster, but far less than, say, grinding for 3 hours in WoW in order to level.
THE UGLY
Considering that this is a direct remake of a game from 1990 there isn?t much to talk about here. No foul language, no sexual content, semi-fictional alcohol (grog, it eats through metal), and the only people that die in it are already dead.
CONCLUSION
It?s a funny game of the golden age of computer gaming where humor, plot, and puzzles were king, before the twitch gaming of Doom took over the market place. I am admittedly biased on this as it was a pivotal point of turning me into a gamer, and holds a special place in my heart next to Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Quest for Glory, Kings Quest.
I Highly Recommend this if you like a good laugh, a good puzzle, or can?t get your old floppies of the game to work on your Windows 7 machine.
