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Escape from Monkey Island

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You really, really have to hand it to LucasArts. The company that brought us some cool adventure games in the past is still going strong, regardless of all of the adventure game companies that have gone under in past years: Trilobyte (7th Guest), Sierra Online (King's Quest, Space Quest, et al), and even briefly-seen companies like Tsunami (Man Enough) and Cyberdreams (Darkseed). With the release of Escape from Monkey Island --the fourth of the series-- LucasArts has not only shown that the adventure game genre is far from dead; they may very well have released one of the best adventure games in the series.

The story begins soon after the prior game (Curse of Monkey Island, which was coincidentally the Bargain B.B. selection for the month this game was released). Elaine and Guybrush are coming home from a long, 3 month honeymoon, only to find Melee island strangely dark and quiet. It turns out there are two forces at work against both them and their home. First, a shifty politician named Charles L. Charles has declared Elaine "lost at sea," and is running for Governor during her absence. Second, a pirate-hating land developer is buying all the land and running the poor pirate folk out of town. It's up to Elaine to run for Governor against Charles L. Charles, while Guybrush helps to defeat the land baron. As you might expect, soon enough, it turns out these are the least of their problems.

The real calling card of any adventure is its puzzles, and EFMI is filled with them. One of the best traits of these brain teasers is the fact that many of them are totally randomized, enhancing the replay value of this adventure severely. You can re-play the game over and over, and the majority of the puzzles will have totally different solutions. This also applies to the last puzzle of the game, which is a brilliantly interwoven arcade game spoof. There are even a few amusing spins on the classic conversation puzzles; in an "insult arm-wrestle," for example, you are given a whole scrolling list of around 20 possible retorts! As you might expect, the retorts you may need in the 3-round insult competition are totally random, leading to even more challenge when re-playing the game. With the absence of text interfaces, this is a wise attempt to bring new life to the art of game "conversations."

There's also the classic Monkey Island penchant for humor and puns. For one thing, you must borrow Elaine's Governor ship, which has been painted a very un-pirate color of pink. Murray the Skull makes a comeback appearance...as a bodyguard! I will also tell you that upon disc 2, the one, true Secret of Monkey Island is finally (finally!) revealed, and it's a real hoot. The majority of banter between Elaine and Guybrush is equally amusing, including one moment when she leaves in a huff after being declared "dead at sea," only to have Guybrush muse, "She was a lot nicer before she died..."

The game uses the totally revamped, 3D-accelerated iMuse game engine, as seen in Grim Fandango. The method of 3D uses static CGI backgrounds, which allows the foreground characters exclusive use of the power of your 3D card. This means that fans of the game series get to see all their favorite characters for the first time, in highly detailed 3D that in most cases rivals even modern CGI films like Toy Story. Characters have perfectly animated expressions and gestures, as well as lips in sync with superior voice acting. Elaine Marley-Threepwood has never looked better, as well as some of your favorite past characters; from the first game's Herman Toothrott, to the prior game's Murray the Talking Skull. Fans of the series should be very pleased! The keyboard or joystick (sorry, no mouse) interface may not be as rudimentary as other 3D games, though it's acceptable, and didn't detract from the great fun I had when playing.

While the introduction was well done --much like Indiana Jones...Atlantis, it is even slightly interactive-- some might not like the very very last joke of the game, although (thank heaven) the ending is not open, and resolves all plot branches nicely. However, even the relatively silly final conversation joke (which is equally interactive) doesn't detract from the numerous hilarious jokes seen along the way. With random puzzles, excellent artwork, superior voice acting, and intriguing story arcs, this might very well be the adventure game to revitalize the genre. While it's probably the only major adventure game offering this year (unless you count the action/adventure hybrid games), this game would be a must-buy even if it was on the shelf with dozens of adventure games. It might be too much to hope that this sequel revitalizes the adventure game genre, though it would be an honor well deserved.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. Even if there weren't so appallingly few adventure game releases lately, it would still be one of the best adventure games on the shelf today.
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