Avast, Ye Swabbies..., Uh, Please?
A Review of The Curse of Monkey Island
Rich Cunningham
Orphaned computers have a way of hanging on. There are still users groups for the Coleco Adam, the TI-99/A, and the Atari ST, among others. Competition has winnowed out these older machines, and left users today with very few options other than a Windows/DOS or Macintosh variant as computers of choice. But the orphans still remain. And there was some very good software written for them. I used the Atari ST line, and remember that mainstream programs written for DOS and Apple computers were being "ported over" to the Atari line (among others). One of the most popular ones, and one of my favorites, was a swashbuckling pirate adventure featuring an unassuming hero called Guybrush Threepwood. The name of the program was called The Secret of Monkey Island, and it established new benchmarks for the role-playing genre of computer games.
But that was all in the past. The Atari ST has gone away to the orphanage for old computers. The sequel to Monkey Island was never "ported over" to it, as a lot of programs weren't. So when I switched to the Windows/DOS world, one of the first games I acquired was Monkey Island 2: LeChucks's Revenge. It was great entertainment, much better than the first. For those who haven't experienced these two games, a brief description may be in order. They are a tongue-in-cheek type of game, very reminiscent of the Space Quest series from Sierra Online. Gameplay is mouse driven, icon-oriented in nature, and relatively easy to master. Needless to say, a third installment has been an anxiously anticipated event for many years.
And the years of waiting are finally being rewarded. The third installment, called The Curse of Monkey Island, has finally made a debut in computer stores across the country. The wait has been well worth it. Taking advantage of multimedia hardware and software advances, LucasArts has succeeded in creating a program that is entertaining, funny, exciting, and enjoyable. For a sequel, that is a rare accomplishment. For the sequel of a sequel, it is totally unheard of.
The plot for this episode has the hero, Guybrush, is once again trying to rescue his finance Elaine from the clutches of the evil pirate spirit, LeChuck. From the opening bombardment of Elaine's fort, to the final scene in which... wait, I can't give away the ending, that wouldn't be right. Let's just say that the game meets and exceeds the standards set by the predecessors. In other words, it is just as wacky and funny.
What is it that sets this program apart from the others? The philosophy of LucasArts is one item. They believe that games should be entertaining, and not thrown away because of the frustration associated with making mistakes in game play. In their own words, they "...don't run you up on the beach and bring the game to a screeching halt" when you boo-boo (my words, not theirs). Any messes or situations that Guy gets himself into are messes that you can get him out of. But as in any game of this sort, "save early, save often" should be your motto. The LucasArts people say this because it is a long game, you may want to eat, and it gives you the advantage of going back and trying another way of performing an action makes a difference.
An example of this philosophy is in the duels that Guy finds himself in. Not being too sharp with a sword, he must find another way to get past his enemies that are better with them than he is. So he does what he does best: toss out insults. By using his sharp wit (at least it is sharper than his sword) he can avoid any fight by just doing his Don Rickels-impersonation and cut the other guy down to size. This feature is one that clearly shows their philosophy, as well as the concept of this game. It is a challenge to find just the right verbiage to get past some of them, but that is part of the fun.
The scenery of the program is staggering. The game takes on an animated film quality, with character movement being very smooth, and back ground action (birds flying, waves breaking on the beach, etc.) flawlessly integrated into the scenery. It is almost like watching a cartoon. Heck, it is like watching a cartoon, but here you control the action of the figures. You can decide who picks up what, or looks where, and what is to happen next. It is actually better than a cartoon in most respects.
Installation was flawless, and the program ran with no glitches or system or video lockups. There are 2 levels of play, regular (for the novice) and the Mega-Monkey (for advanced users). The system requirements, however, show that the ante for hardware required for game playing is moving up. The 4X CD-ROM, 16bit sound card, and PCI video card requirements are going to make users that haven't upgraded system components recently seriously consider maybe purchasing a new system. It will most likely be more cost effective than piece-mealing it one part at a time.
This is a product that lives up to all the pre-release hoopla, and then some. One can purchase it with the knowledge that they will be buying a quality product that will give them hours of entertainment. What more can one ask from a game or a game company?
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: | The Curse of Monkey Island |
| Company: | LucasArts Entertainment Company |
| Cost: | $44.99 |
System Requirements:
IBM:
Windows 95, Pentium 90 or greater, 16 MB RAM,
PCI graphics card, 4x CD ROM or greater,
100% Windows-compatible 16 bit sound card required,
DirectX 5 required (included on CD),
1.2 MB hard drive space (20 MB for multiple save games).
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 5
Graphics 4.5
Sound 3.5
Interface 3.5
Replayability 3
Overall Score:
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