How about a game of insult arm wrestling (Escape from Monkey Island (PC))

Member Name: sweetlady

Product:	Escape from Monkey Island (PC)
Date:	05/12/01 (313 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fantastic graphics

Disadvantages: a bit too difficult at times

“Escape From Monkey Island” is the fourth in the Monkey Island series and the first to use 3D modelling. It has a rating of “T” for Teen and above and is designed to be played by one person but you can still have fun by teaming up with friends or family.

The story takes place in the 1700's in a fabricated group of pirate-infested islands in the Carribean). Guybrush Threepwood (a young wannabe buccaneer) has just returned from his 3 month honeymoon to find his Caribbean island (Meleé) almost deserted, a pirate with a Brooklyn accent lobbing boulders at his home, his wife (Elaine) ejected from her job as governor and a crooked Australian real estate developer (the ruthless Ozzie Mandrill) threatening to turn the place into a tourist trap.

Your challenge is to guide the charming Guybrush though a number of islands until he solves enough puzzles to uncover the meaning of The Ultimate Insult, which is the key to defeating Ozzie. Ozzie has snatched most of the island properties from their owners by beating them in insult competitions (eg. Insult Arm Wrestling, Insult Sword Fighting and Insult Gin Rummy). Guybrush discovers that delivering The Ultimate Insult to Ozzie is the only way to defeat him and return the islands to a state of normality.

The puzzles are fantastic - mostly quite difficult, but usually logical – however, there a few puzzles that defy all logic and can only be solved by pure guesswork – I had to resort to using a walkthrough a few times but whenever I did the puzzle ended up being impossible to solve by pure logic, so I didn't feel like too much of a cheat. All in all you'll have a great time racking your brains trying to piece together solutions to some pretty strange problems.

It has fantastic quality graphics, with superb visual and sound effects - when Guybrush walks on a wooden floor, his footfalls echo or when he crosses a rickety bridge, it creaks just as
a real one would. The realistic lighting is especially good, with flickering candle flames and torches, and characters that can move in and out of shadows. The background music ranges from orchestral arrangements to tinkling Caribbean steel drums. Most scenes also include subtle atmospheric sounds – if the background music becomes irritating simply select F1, options and change the level of the sound.

I bought this game for my little brother and I think I’ve had as much enjoyment from it as he has had!

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