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The Bargain Bin Binge! |
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On occasion, bargain shelves at your local video/electronics store contain
a semi-old title worth more than just a look. This page reviews such
titles...
The latest entry : Curse of Monkey Island!
Click box art above, to order this item... A Review By Techtite
Monday, November 6th, 2000 Many were shocked, when the highly successful Monkey Island game series ending with only its second installment, "Lechuck's Revenge." What happened? In theory, I sense that people were unhappy with the ridiculously wide-open game finale, and wished to wait to buy the game until the ending was resolved in a sequel. If that's the case, I hope they packed a big lunch, because they had to wait no less than five years! In fact, LucasArts only finally decided to make a sequel, after thousands of fans pleaded for them to do it. The result was one of the best adventure games in 1997, and it's my choice for this month's Bargain Bin Binge selection, with a current very affordable price of $9.99! The story wisely picks up just after Guybrush escaped the evil LeChuck's demonic carnival; it's never shown exactly how he escaped, and quite frankly, I doubt anyone asked. After an amusing interactive prologue, Guybrush proposes to the lovely Elaine Marley, though does so with a wedding ring he found in LeChuck's cargo hold. As it turns out, the ring is cursed, and Elaine is turned into solid gold! It is up to Guybrush to break the curse, and later to vanquish the evil LeChuck once and for all (well, at least until the sequel, Escape from Monkey Island)... The game uses amusing animation, which may often be a bit too jovially drawn for some fans of the series (LeChuck in particular looks far less sinister than he did in the earlier games), yet the game was still very professionally handled. The storyline in particular is filled with far more puns that any earlier game of the series (no surprise there; the game fills TWO CDs!). On occasion, such jokes use the animation to enhance the punchline, with several amusing expressions and mannerisms of the characters (catch the open-eyed shock in Guybrush's face, when some of the more peculiar ways to solve a puzzle actually work!). The best part of the game, however, is the voice talent behind the characters. From Guybrush himself to BlondBeard the pirate (who owns a greasy spoon type of chicken restaurant), the voiceovers are perfect. With such excellent talent, even some of the more so-so jokes are enhanced, like when Guybrush pretends to be a giant chicken threatening BlondBeard to release his "fellow chicken comrades." Of course, the best and most brilliant addition in the game has to be the newest character added to the series, Murray the talking skull. Once one of LeChuck's evil pirate henchmen, he now has to endure countless moments of being taken here and there by voodoo priestesses, haunted carnivals, and so on. You'll see him no less than four times throughout the game, and it's a hilarious moment, every single time (no surprise, then, that this is the sole "new" character to return in the Escape... sequel). With so many games taking themselves way too seriously lately, it's always refreshing to see a release that is just plain fun, yet not condescending at the same time. In other words, this is indeed a PG rated game (after all, the villain is an undead zombie from "heck"), and yet it is hardly just for the kiddies. Fans of all ages of a great adventure game should add this title to their collection...presuming they haven't already.
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