Adam's Gauntlet: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

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Adam's Gauntlet: The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition; You fight like a cow!
Topic Started: Jul 19 2009, 01:03 AM (66 Views)
Adam Crow	Jul 19 2009, 01:03 AM Post #1
We'll know for the first time, if we're evil or divine. We're the last in line! Posts: 935 Group: Sergeant First Class Member #24 Joined: Dec 12, 2008	Believe it or not, there was actually a time when Lucasarts wasn't milking the hell out of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, since the company was founded in 1982, they hadn't come out with a single Star Wars game until 1993, when they released Star Wars: X-Wing. Instead, for those blissful eleven years, the majority of Lucasarts' games were all adventure titles, each one jam packed with incredible stories from quite a few of the most brilliant scribes in gaming history, including the legendary Tim Schafer. Many are remembered even to this day, such as Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Maniac Mansion, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango.... but hands down, the most famous has to be Ron Gilbert's Monkey Island series. These thrilling tales of piracy, voodoo, and insult sword fighting captured the imaginations of many a gamer in the early 90s, and are revered as legends of their genre. Unfortunately, such a title turned out to be a booby prize, as adventure games became less and less popular over time, prompting Lucasarts to throw the SCUMM engine aside and dust off their lightsabers. But now it seems like the boys at Skywalker Ranch are looking to return to their roots, as Guybrush Threepwood has returned, not only in a new adventure, but in an enhanced version for XBLA as well. Is this game still the fun swashbuckling, grog-swilling tale we remember, or is it now more useless than a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle? Find out as I review The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition for the Xbox Live Arcade! Story Deep in the exotic waters of the Caribbean lies the small island of Melee, home to many a foul mouthed, dirty, grog-swilling pirate. Guybrush Threepwood, a young man who hopes to become one such pirate, travels there to seek his fame and fortune. Soon after he comes to shore, he is directed to the Scumm Bar, where the three pirate leaders dwell. Having a shortage of deckhands due to the recent re-appearance of the ghost pirate LeChuck, the leaders agree to enlist Guybrush into their crew, provided he can complete The Three Trials: The Trial of the Sword, The Trial of Thievery, and The Trial of Treasure Hunting. As the pirate wannabe eagerly sets off to complete these tasks, LeChuck is made aware of Guybrush's presence on the island. Fearing that he could interfere with his plans for the governor of Melee Island, Elaine Marley, the evil spectre sets out to stop him. And so begins a ghost of a tale entailing treachery, romance, and three-headed monkeys! Now, obviously the greatest asset to an adventure game is its story, and boy does Monkey Island excel in that regard. The writing in this game is some of the most clever I have ever heard. It's nearly impossible to play this game and not laugh at at least one quirky line or cutscene. The characters, while I feel they could've been developed a tad more, are all likable and each contribute to the plot in their own unique way. Let me give you some examples: A muscle-bound pirate whose hands have been bitten off by a parrot, and old hermit who breaks the fourth wall, and cannibals who.... well, I don't wanna ruin them for you. Let's just say you're in for a "treat." ...Okay, that was a lame pun. But I digress. Plotwise, this game has not shown it's age one bit. Graphics & Sound This is where the game truly benefits from getting a remake, because obviously by today's standards, the original graphics and sound would hardly be tolerated or appreciated by modern gamers. And let me tell you, they did not slouch when it came to revamping this game. The art in this game is both unique in style absolutely beautiful to look at while still remaining pretty damn faithful to the settings of the original. Another new addition is voice acting, a feature that hadn't originally seen the light of day in the Monkey Island series until its third installment. The cast from said game and its sequel are all present here, and they all give an excellent performance, bringing a degree of life to their characters that just wasn't present before. You'd never have guessed that these were lines that were never intended to be spoken aloud. And if by any chance you happen to be a "purist" who wants to play The Secret of Monkey Island as it was originally made, the programmers have your whiny ass covered. Included in the revamp is a feature that lets you switch to "retro mode." One press of the Back button and the game reverts to its previous incarnation, allowing you to experience the adventure as many gamers did in 1989, and if you get bored of pixelated environments and seemingly mute NPCs, all you need to do is press the Back button again and it'll swap you back to the shiny new version of the game. This can be done at any time, and while I admit I don't use the feature often, it is interesting to compare the sights and sounds in the game to what they once were. So overall, it's a pretty damn good package for veteran pirates and landlubbers just getting their sea legs. Gameplay As this is a point and click adventure, 99% of the gameplay revolves around using your head. You see a problem, you use your noggin to find the best way to fix it using the items you collect throughout the world, the many actions you can take, and the dialogue options that come up during conversations. Now I will admit, like most adventure games, some of the problems can be a bit overwhelming for gamers, especially in this day and age where the community seems to be littered with FPS-crazed meatheads. Once again, fear not all you bitchy cunts out there, for Telltale has provided you with a hint system. If you're stuck on a puzzle, hold the X button and you'll be provided with a vague hint. Do it again, and they'll give you a more clearer tip. And if you're completely clueless, press X one final time and the game will actually TELL you what to do. Convenient, aint it? Though hopefully, if you're the kind of gamer who thinks outside the box and doesn't mind a little challenge, you'll hardly need it. Now despite the game being spectacular, I do have a few problems I'd like to point out. First and foremost, like Idiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, some of the graphics are a bit small sometimes, making it somewhat difficult to navigate at times and view a certain pattern you'll need to memorize to solve a puzzle. Also, there are a few moments in the game that require you to act quickly, and frankly, the joystick and d-pad arent' good for that here. The d-pad is responsible for quickly selecting a specific action, but the problem is that certain actions are accessed by moving the d-pad diagonally, which is moderately clumsy. Also, there is absolutely no way to manually look at things with the d-pad. Luckily, there is an alternative option for all commands, as by pressing the left bumper, a menu pops up, offering the variety of actions which you can select with the joystick and A button. Also, the cursor is a bit slow. While this isn't usually a problem, like I said, some moments in the game require fast reactions, which is hard to pull off when your cursor has the speed of a drunken mule. Now, don't let these difficulties deter you. These moments I'm speaking of are few and far between, and there is one one place and time where Guybrush can actually die, and unless you're a complete fucking numbskull, you should have no problem avoiding it. All in all, this is still a great game! Replay Value I'll have to admit, replay value is a bit low here. It takes about seven hours to beat the game, at least by using hints, and half the achievements you'll unlock merely by progressing. However, the ones that remain are all secret achievements and very difficult to find, so unless you have a guide handy, you'll be looking for those Gamerpoints for a while. There's also a secret ending you can access by taking a certain course of action on Monkey Island. I won't ruin how you get it, but trust me, it's well worth the effort. Overall The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a wonderful way to introduce or re-introduce gamers to the adventure genre! With sleeker audio and visual quality, clever gameplay, a timeless story, and various modifications to make the game accessible to both new and old players, there's really not to this gem to complain about. If you've got 800 MS points lying around, download this. If you've played the original, you'll enjoy rediscovering it in hi-def, and if you haven't then what the fuck are you doing reading this review when you could be enjoying a classic pirate adventure? Go play Monkey Island and leave me to my grog!



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