Its Raining Monkeys! (Escape from Monkey Island (PC))

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Product:	Escape from Monkey Island (PC)
Date:	19/05/01 (38 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great adventure game, immersive storyline, v.funny

Disadvantages: none!!!

Hoist the sails! It's time to embark on yet another journey with the mighty Guybrush Threepwood!

How many monkeys is too many monkeys? A question for the ages. Indeed, for centuries now it has remained unanswered. The great game designers of ancient Greece, dressed in their No Fear togas, spent countless hours debating this cruel riddle, but to no avail. Recently, the Monkey Island franchise walked a thin line, offering a decent number of simians, but without truly testing our fragile psyches. The fourth installment changes all that. Some brave, mildly disturbed game developer had the guts to stand up and shout, "We must have more monkeys!" In doing so, the old-as-dirt question was finally given an answer: there's no such thing as too many monkeys.







Escape from Monkey Island launches players back into the role of the ridiculously lovable Guybrush Threepwood. Now married to Elaine, they've just returned from a lengthy honeymoon at sea, where they proved once and for all that it's not the size of the pirate, it's the motion of the ocean. Upon their arrival at Melee Island, they find that many things have gone extremely awry. They have both been pronounced dead, leaving Elaine stripped of her job as Governor and your mansion under threat of demolition. Naturally, it's up to you to set things straight, and it's not going to be easy.







Presentation

Ah, how I missed that funky Monkey Island style. All fans of the series know that this game is all about the humor, and the fun wastes no time in getting started. The box and menu system alone are host to more laughs than the Sunday funnies. I particularly like the exclamation "Now In Scurvy-Inducing 3D!" Eat that, Family Circus!

Graphics

I was so ready to hate this game's visuals. When it was announced that the game would be made in Grim Fandango-style 3D, m
any Monkey Island purists cried foul, myself included. As I started playing, however, I found my steely resolve quickly crumbling. Oh, how I fought it. No...can't give in...must fight the 3rd dimension...losing power...blaaargh. I caved. So, here goes: I really enjoyed the change to fully 3D graphics. There, I said it.







Trust me, fellow fans, you'll be surprised at how well the game retains the unique style of the original titles, especially with the environments. Admittedly, some of the character models are a little rough, but they aren't bad and the animation is solid. Once you learn to get past your anti-change sentiments, you'll come to appreciate exploring the Monkey Island universe in 3D. With its vibrant colors and carefully detailed scenery, it's hard not to appreciate this excellent visual effort.







Sound

The sound of perfection is sweet, my friends. The upbeat musical score is always fun, without feeling tacky, and the sound effects are delightfully silly. The real beauty, however, lies in the voice acting. In a word, it's flawless, and single-handedly keeps the gameplay from ever feeling boring or uninspired. Even dialogue from the most minor of characters is delivered perfectly. Oscars all around!

Gameplay

The first thing returning fans will have to get used to is the new control scheme. Disconnect your mouse and sell it on Ebay, 'cause this game is all about the keyboard. Moving Guybrush and managing your inventory are both done with keystrokes, and it's pretty simple. As you run around, the various actions you can perform, relative to your location, appear at the bottom of the screen. This system works fairly well, though sometimes controlling Guybrush is a little slippery. Angling him to acknowledge whatever item you are interested in is sometimes harder than it should be. Additionally, Guybrush will open and wal
k through doors without having to be told, but ultimately this creates more problems than it can make up for in convenience. Neither of these issues are constant annoyances, but any point 'n click loyalists will occasionally find themselves grumbling about the good ol' days.







Despite the other changes, the actual gameplay remains entirely the same. Puzzles consist mostly of saying the right things to the right people, and combining and using items at the correct places. While all of the puzzles are quite goofy, none of them felt so insane that solving them was too hard. Generally, the difficulty level is pretty well paced, and, especially towards the end, some of the challenges you will face are brilliantly creative.







While much of the dialogue can be skipped, talking to the many NPCs hanging around is the game's most charming aspect. Even as a fan of the previous titles, I was amazed at how often the dialogue had me laughing out loud. As an additional bonus, many old characters from the series will make appearances, such as Murray the "eeevil" talking skull, and Meathook (wait 'till you see what he's been up to). Don't worry, newcomers, you don't have to know these characters to find them totally hilarious once you meet them.







I have just one major complaint about the gameplay: the bugs. The quality of the game is so high that I don't understand how so many errors avoided detection. A recent patch took care of many of the problems, but I suspect all players will experience some sort of flaw, even if it is just a minor dialogue bug that only lasts a second. These little moments of sloppiness caught me completely off guard, but thankfully weren't bad enough to replace my amused smile with a frown.







Depth

I sort of wished EFMI had been a bit longer, tho
ugh I think a large part of that is a testament to my attachment to the characters, rather than it just being too short. The game has four acts, but that is somewhat misleading, because while the fourth act is very cool, it's basically just an interactive ending with very little real gameplay. The third act really shines, sporting some of the games most fascinating and humorous puzzles. I don't want to give anything away, so let's just say my monkey-themed introduction wasn't just for show. Things get pretty zany as the game comes to a close; you certainly won't be disappointed.







Overall

Any adventure fans who pass this swashbuckling title up are either fools or under the influence of way too much grog. An incredibly amusing experience from start to finish, die-hard fans of Monkey Island shouldn't let the game's new look scare them away; when it comes to heart, this is the same old Guybrush.

Rating: 9/10

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