The Secret of Monkey Island…
Posted by nefchast on July 18, 2009
I managed to sneak in a bit of gaming this weekend! The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is on Steam, for those unaware, and I couldn’t resist. This is a classic adventure game filled with humor — an excellent time throughout.
Arr!
Time for a short review! To start off with, you can notice the nice artwork here, but if you prefer the old game… hit F10 and it’ll instantly swap to it — no matter where you are. It’s basically two games in one! (only the two games are the same game, at different times in the same place, yeah? yeah)
If you’ve played the original, you’ll know the game — not too much in the meat of it that’s different (though there is some, explained later here) — but if you’re new: this tale follows Guybrush Threepwood on his adventure to become a pirate.
The game is fairly short (pretty much to the original, as far as I can remember) and I finished it in a few hours. Should you not know what you’re doing, and don’t want to use the hints, then you could get several more hours out of it. Just don’t blame me if they’re somewhat frustrating hours.
As said before, the game is still pretty much the same with the exception of the inventory/interface. It’s pretty minimal, as you can see from the screenshot. Instead of having everything displayed before you, your mouse will do a bit of a ‘smart-ish’ morph around certain things — mostly defaulting to look at, or you can use hotkeys. This is somewhat awkward and something I kinda wish they hadn’t changed. The inventory isn’t too friendly, either, as it closes whenever you select an action on something — even if you want to use it on another item in your inventory. Luckily there are few real needs for it.
Apart from the interface, there’s voice acting! I think it’s well done and adds a good bit to the game and its humor. Sound is pretty good, all around.
I’ve heard of bugs on forums, but didn’t see any during my play through. Be warned that there likely are some.
Okay, now… why should anyone get this? First, you like adventure games. Second, you liked the game when it first came out and want to see an updated version. Third, you’ve got money burning in your pocket and want something humorous. Why shouldn’t you get this? Cost vs. Time. Like I said, it only took me a few hours to really get through it — for 20 bucks. The replay-ability isn’t really there, either. Perhaps in another 20 years or so. If you don’t like puzzles or adventure games — then of course you should stay away…
Overall I’d say the game is a lot of fun, and a great trip down memory lane. The inclusion of the original style with the push of a button really makes it worthwhile. Just wish it were a bit cheaper.
