If at any point you’ve been bored enough to read my FIRST post about The Secret Of Monkey Island (Link here: http://www.nerdnexus.com/monkey-island-awesome-edition/), you would know that this game has been making me cream myself for a good many years. From learning the theme song on my synthesizer to making articles about islands of Monkey, I love this series. What I didn’t tell you… is my inexperience with the rest of the series.
I had played through MAYBE half of Monkey Island 2. An old girlfriend introduced me to Monkey 3 and it wasn’t to my taste after mostly skipping the second one. The fourth title in the series was in bad 3D, and I only barely found what I did play of it to be funny. Needless to say, I loved the first game. The rest of the series, however, I never gave too much of a chance. That changed when I heard that The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, was going to get the same HD treatment as the first game. I decided that it had earned a fresh perspective from me and pre-ordered right away.
If the first enhanced remake had any shortfalls, it’s that is was not accessible to new players. The inventory system was confusing to anyone who didn’t realize that you had an inventory and you had to cycle through controls. To put it simply: unless you played the original game, 20 years ago, you had no idea what to do. This makes it great fun for old players, but the lack of support for new players was panned across the board, with the only viable method to get around it, being to switch to the “classic” view.
This has been thrown out the window, as a new command system and inventory take to the center stage. The animation has been even more beautifully rendered and the voice-acting is absolutely engaging. This doesn’t feel like an old adventure game that’s been given some HD treatment… this feels like a NEW game, a game that’s open and clear to all, while still being absolutely hard as HELL.
With a bit of help from a friend, I cracked my way through it in a few days, and while I was frustrated and confused numerous times, it was never because of the game design. No, I just wasn’t thinking hard enough. Spoiler, a rope and a crowbar can help you swing across a gorge. A CROWBAR! Hahaha, man do I feel stupid.
Enclosed below are some hilarious screenshots that I took while beating the last half of the game.
Monkey Island 2: http://store.steampowered.com/app/32460/
Also, I have an extra copy of the original HD Monkey Island. Contest coming soon.
–Jeff “DanyLektro”
I'll be BACK!
Not if your pun is as bad as your buns.
That's what she said.
Did you, Obi-Wan?
Jeez, what a tagline.
That's a lot of locks.
Yes, all of the options are 'spit'.
Stupid stump joke..
OMG! Nostalgia for Nostalgia!
…so I can see you with my OWN eyes.
Chuckie is pretty metal.