If you love adventures with both humor and smarts in bucketloads, you can't go wrong with Secret of Monkey Island: SE.
Pros:
+Incredibly funny story
+Clever puzzles
+Beautiful visuals and great soundtrack
+Stellar voice acting
Cons:
-Awkward gameplay mechanics
-Sometimes confusing goals
Review:
When it comes to the point and click genre, few series are as funny, clever, charming or entertaining as the Monkey Island series. The series' debut title sprang to the scene in 1990, and after all these years, there's finally been a re-release of the cIassic title on a number of systems. Revamped visuals, additional voice acting and a new hint system are among the great renditions the game has gone through. Though the controls are too clunky at certain moments and finding out what to do next can be deviously confusing, SoMI will make you laugh, think and hunger for bananas in all the right ways. Any adventure fan will find something to love about Monkey Island.
You step into the shoes of the fantastically named Guybrush Threepwood who wants nothing more than to be a dastardly pirate. This won't be easy, however. He will meet cheating salesmen, ghost pirates, cocky rogues, cannibals and three-headed monkeys. When you enter a conversation with a character, you are presented with a number of dialogue options, ranging from the normal to the absolutely insane. I am rubber, you are glue, for example. It's the story where the humor shines true, and it never stops. The game's writers are relentless in their pokes at pop culture, quips, gags and overall exuberance, making SoMI a game that will tickle your funny bone all the time. The characters are also incredibly likable, especially Guybrush and his dashing head of fluff. The story starts off strong and fortunately retains entertainment value throughout.
What takes a bit more getting used to is the gameplay and its mechanics. SoMI is a point and click adventure with puzzle elements, where you move by pointing to where you wish to go and then clicking it, making the character go there. You must also point at any item you wish to interact with, so it goes without saying that playing with a mouse is the easiest way to play. Still, it's not that much of a difference and it works fine with any controller. Some of the changes between the original and the remake are quite puzzling, however. In the original, you were given the chance to choose from a variety of actions, for instance "talk to", "open", "give" and "look at". These were presented to you from the bottom of the screen, and by pointing on one button, you could then just press the thing you wish to interact with and voila, it's finished. In the same way, your inventory was to the right of the options, so if you needed to use items it was only a matter of pressing an action and then an item. This time around, everything is more or less operated from a wheel and a separate item menu. You press one trigger to open up the action wheel, while you press a respective trigger for items. Let's simulate a typical situation: you wish to combine two items. First you must open the action menu, press "use", then close that menu. Next, you open up the item menu and choose one of the items. You are then pushed out of the menu and you must open the item menu again and then select the item you wish to combine with. Quite a hassle indeed.
There are shortcuts to be used, but in the case of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, you use the D-pad, which is not comfortable at all. This really isn't a big hindrance in normal situations, but there are instances where you have to be fast and you can run into a lot of trouble by pressing one wrong button. Expect to press a lot of buttons for a variety of actions, since you can basically try anything out in the game. The puzzles are incredibly complex but incredibly entertaining, and you will need lateral thinking at times to get yourself out of trouble. The downside to the clever puzzles is that what exactly you need to do is not always clear. In fact, in some situations, what you need to do is so random that you wonder how anyone could ever have figured out the solution. The new hint system is a boon at times, but even that can be obscure. Luckily, if you stay calm, arduous testing should help you persevere in even the most confusing situations.
One of the most noticeable changes between original and remake is the visuals. It's got a beautiful 2D styIe that looks like an oil painting. It's absolutely mesmerizing and compliments the gameplay very well. What really makes the difference that obvious, though, is a trigger you can activate that switches between the new Monkey Island and the old one. This is activated with only one button, and happens on the spot with little to no lag. This is a superb feature and one that should be in more remakes. You'll genuinely want to check out each and every area of the game in both new and original styIes, and it's a joy to play both versions. You'll also have the overall chance to play the original game, if the changes aren't to your liking. This shows true dedication to the product, and it's a truly commendable feature.
The Monkey Island series is known for many things, one of which being the great music. It's got that "piratey" feel with accordions, flutes and percussion. It's wonderfully written and some of the tunes will stick to your brain like glue. This is paired with the new vocals, which are a great addition. The roles are portrayed with conviction and passion, and unlike most remakes that botch up this category, this is an absolutely vital part of what makes the remake so fantastic.
The game will most likely last you up to ten hours the first time through, if you take some time on the puzzles. As with all puzzle games, the game gets simpler each time you play through it. However, even though the objectives stay the same, what you experience can change with each playthrough thanks to the sharp dialogue and entertaining presentation. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is a great downloadable title filled with charm, wit and monkeys which harks back to the good ol' days of point and click gold. Any fan of the series owes him- or herself to get this game, and those that haven't become acquainted with it should do so post-haste. After all, who doesn't want to know the secret of Monkey Island?
Story: 9.3/10.0
Gameplay: 8.1/10.0
Graphics: 9.2/10.0
Sound: 9.2/10.0
Replayability: 8.3/10.0
Final score: 8.3/10.0