This game is a revision of an instant classic and nobody has an excuse not to play it now!
Ahh i remember the days of my youth coming home from School and trying to find out what stuff I needed to put in that damn pot to make the soup to Monkey Island!
The 1990 point and click classic has been given a major overhaul. The graphics have been wonderfully hand painted, the music and sound effects and been redone (beautifully i might add) and the game now includes the one thing that definitely lacked in the old game... voices.
Yes each character is now wonderfully voiced and our familiar voice of Guybrush returns with Dominic Armato taking the helm.
I think the only disappointing thing about this remake is that I managed to finish this in under 5 hours. Now yes I know I've played through it so many times in my youth that i know every puzzle like the back of my hand, but I remember playing through this game for months as a child... ahhh how the world changes eh?
One other very cool aspect about this game is the fact that you can change back to the original game with a single click of a button. Upon clicking this button all the graphics will transform back to the original 1990 and the sound will be a simple midi again. It would have been nice if they transformed the voices back to the original as well but unfortunately this isn't an option. Either way this isn't something that will be a major issue for you.
Anyway enough of my reminiscing. The Secret of Monkey Island puts you in the position of a young man named Guybrush Threepwood who wants to be a Pirate.
Guybrush must endure 3 trials to become a pirate and achieve his dream. However as we know things don't always turn out the way we plan and Guybrush ends up on a epic quest to claim the love of his life and defeat and evil ghost pirate named LeChuck.
All the elements for a successful point and click adventure are here... this is no surprise seeing as this is one of the first games to bring humour to the forefront. Many times throughout the game will you be giggling to yourself and wondering why games are not like this more often.
The statement of 'They don't make them like they used too' are all too evident here. Monkey Island is a pure classic in every respect and if you have been living under a rock and never got the chance to play the original then this is your perfect opportunity!
Now all we have to hope is that Lucasarts will give the same treatment to Monkey Island 2! (Which is a much longer game and in some people's opinion a superior game)
- Martyn Nolan