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 Home -> Reviews -> Escape from Monkey Island
Escape from Monkey Island By John "Award" Del Percio, December 18, 2000
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Developer :LucasArts
Publisher :LucasArts
Release Date :Q4, 2000
Demo Available : Yes - Download
Table of Contents

· Introduction
· Closer Look
· Facts
· Final

Adventure on the High Rating Seas

When it comes to adventure games, this one's got it all. While I'm still particularly partial to the Myst series when it comes to adventure, I must admit, I'm addicted to the Monkey Island series as well. Good graphics, excellent voice-overs, a great (yet totally insane) storyline, and the best grog swillin' humor this side of Humor Island(TM). If you're an adventure fan, or just a fan of a game with a good punch line, Escape from Monkey Island for you. If you're not, then you probably haven't lasted through this entire review anyway.

Rating

Personal Note

Graphics - Sound - Gameplay - Depth - Multiplayer  Reviewed by John Del Percio
GRAPHICS
93 %

The graphics, while not exactly Halo, fit the roll. Silly looking backdrops that look like a high-detail version of an elementary school play, and a 3D engine that looks good. The artwork really gives you a nice cartoon feeling, and brings the fake world to life. Character animations and models are pretty sharp, too.

SOUND
95 %

If I've said it twice, I'll say it again, the voice-overs are some of the best I've seen in a game. You can tell Lucas Arts has enough contacts out there to really put together a top quality title. The simple island music and exaggerated sounds make the perfect cartoon environment.

GAMEPLAY
98 %

The puzzles are ok, but can be over-complicated, or can depend on a silly item you never saw in a remote area you visited hours ago. LucasArts had some good heads around when they designed these, for the most part. Most of them are fairly straight forward, aside from the trick, and are well integrated into the story. The movement and controls are well done, as is the camera. The game is fairly non-linear, other than the fact that you are restricted to the island you are on, and by what puzzles must be completed before you gain access to something.

DEPTH
95 %

It's a cartoon, not a drama. The story is very good, and the humor keeps you coming back, but to call that "depth" is really a mis-categorization. Depth is usually how involved the story is, how much it drags you into the characters life, and how intricate the game is in terms of detail, complexity etc. This is the best place to put it, though.

MULTIPLAYER
0 %

There is no multiplayer, although there is a multiplayer item in the options setting (click it, I dare ya'.)



For anyone who has never played a Monkey Island game before, it's never too late to start. Escape from Monkey Island certainly lives up to the name of the series, and it's new 3D engine, makes it the best one yet. It certainly was a nice break from the usual "You must blow it up or slash it to bits to save the world" games, and from having to think of complex battle strategies. It was a vacation from gaming, in a way, if that makes any sense at all. It is most definitely a unique game that defines its own genre of adventure: the HAG (Humorous Adventure Game). For all these reasons and more, I am proud to nominate Escape from Monkey Island for our Top Pupil Award for the Adventure Game of the Year category.

Overall Rating

 



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