Speculation: on Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

Before LucasArts started a franchise with George Lucas to milk the Star Wars films for as many games as possible (many of which are complete shit), they were one of the pioneers in creating a series of adventure games that didn't follow completely ridiculous logic and featured witty, clever dialogue that approached the genre with a sense of humour. Grim Fandango is one adventure game that received high aclaim when it was released created by LucasArts; the Monkey Island series, which follows the swashbuckling adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, is another.

The Monkey Island series is old, with the first game in the series, The Secret of Monkey Island, being released in 1990 on the PC MS-DOS, Atari ST and Macintosh platforms. While the formula for each game is essentially the same (point-and-click puzzle-solving with your standard inventory screen of miscellaneous items), the colourful characters and whimsical approach is what made the series such a shining example of what the genre was capable of.

LucasArts released a remake of The Secret of Monkey Island for the PC, Xbox Live Arcade and the iPhone/iPod Touch on July 15th, featuring the exact same plot, characters and challenges as the original. The graphics have seen have a massive overhaul from the pixely art of the MS-DOS era and the game now features full voice acting, which breathes a whole new layer of immersion into the story. However, with that being said, I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed with the game. In 1990, the developers made a bold effort to produce a game that challenged the media, taking the adventure gaming platform to new heights and standards of achievment. The Secret of Monkey Island was, and still is today, witty and charming, yet the remake does not push any boundaries whatsoever; it is just a refurbishing of what was once fresh and invigorating.

The media today does not push many envelopes; with the release of an endless stream of comicbook hero films, for one example, Hollywood seems to be shamelessly backpacking off of old franchises to sustain the film industry. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is just as charming today as it was ever but it's an example of development teams scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with project ideas. From a simple review standpoint, though, if you haven't played the original game before, it's worth picking up. If you've played the original before, I'd recommend waiting until you can buy it cheaply.