As a huge fan of LucasArts’ point-and-click adventures like Day of the Tentacle and Sam and Max, I’m surprised that I had never checked out The Secret of Monkey Island. The game is a cult classic and one of the paragon titles in the point-and-click genre. Originally released in 1990 for desktops ranging from Amiga to DOS, the title was designed by LucasArts giants Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer, and Dave Grossman. Now, nearly 20 years later, a Special Edition remake has been granted by the powers that be for the XBLA and iPhone/iPod Touch. Has time been kind to this title?
As one who has never played the original, I went in to the experience expecting little. What I came out with was even more appreciation for the geniuses that created these early adventure masterpieces. The comedic moments in The Secret of Monkey Island are easily comparable to any well-crafted joke from the golden days of SNL. From a shameless sales pitch for another SCUMM-based LucasArts adventure, to a close encounter with a rubber tree, there are plenty of funny moments to punctuate the gameplay.
Graphically, the game has received a hefty overhaul. The character artwork has been updated to reflect the more modern stylings for Guybrush and Governor Marley. All of the backdrops have been given the HD treatment, lending a great deal more style to the experience. The Back button allows players to seamlessly switch between the original 8-bit graphics from 2 decades ago and the much sharper modern illustrations.
For 800 MS Points, or 10 US Dollars in layman’s terms, this is a real steal. It also falls under Guybrush’s old adage “Never spend more than $20 on a computer game”, which I suppose translated 20 years into the future should probably be a much higher figure. There are enough alternate routes to take in the dialog options and gameplay choices to merit at least 2 or 3 playthroughs if you want to hear all of the jokes. If you’re a fan of point and click adventures, I would definitely recommend making this purchase as soon as you can, this is genius that should not be passed up by anyone.
Final Verdict – 9.5/10
