There’s nothing quite like an old adventure turned new. LucasArts released Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge on July 6th. In 1991, when it was originally released, it was considered the best of the best. Even after nearly 20 years it still is considered amongst Monkey fans as the best out of all the Monkey Island games. It had action, it had adventure, it spanned three different locations and it featured more puzzles than most games these days. On top of this, it brought back the fierce character LeChuck and with him a more ridiculous storyline; of course, that fit the bill.
So how in the world could LucasArts take a great game and make it better? Well, start with a complete visual and presentation makeover.
The original SCUMM engine allowed for developers to insert scanned drawings that made up most of the backgrounds in the game. The graphics, while cool for the time, certainly were pixelated and less than pretty. So LucasArts jumped in and took the backgrounds to an entirely different level of complexity. Gone are the ugly scans and inserted are high-res environments that have a life of their own. When our faithful hero Guybrush walks in front of an oceanfront you’ll see the water moving. When Guybrush passes in front of a large area of grass or jungle, the environment moves on its own. You’ll see wildlife and active people in an originally dead environment.
That’s not all you get with this, though.
The character models have been updated as well. Guybrush now has ‘actual’ beard stubble to laugh at and his costume looks doubly goofy now that it’s detailed. The comedy in the game is enhanced because of this very detailed upgrade. For example, somewhere along the way Guybrush sports a lovely pink dress and the ridiculousness of the situation is enormously magnified. It looks like an actual dress, and not a pixelated mess.
Another addition to the special edition (ha, enjoy that rhyme) you also get everyone back from the original game to do voice overs. So, you get Dominic Armato back as Guybrush Threepwood, Alexandra Boyd as Elaine (this lady was in From Paris with Love — a big superstar, which says a lot about how she feels about this series) and the other supporting roles to make this game a bit special. Their talents didn’t wean one bit from the last time they took a monkey adventure. They performed beautifully and added even more to the presentation.
Finally, the one big upgrade for the visuals is in the audio. Without the sound effects and the revamped music for the game this would not have worked as well. Of course, there’s something very amazing about the music, more so than the graphics.
Let me backtrack just a smidge.
LucasArts put in an option for hardcore monkey fans to go back and forth between the new and old game. By hitting ‘select’ on the controller you can return to the original game instantly. That’s right, you get the pixilation, the subtitles and the actual, original point and click methods. Getting back to the audio, what’s even more impressive about this option is that the new music will transition perfectly to the old iMUSE made music. What’s tricky about that is that the iMUSE soundtrack was developed to change between scenes and moments. The fact that the iMUSE blends perfectly with the new music is nothing short of miraculous. When we spoke to a couple of designers at E3 this year about this method they told us that it was a chore to achieve, but beautiful once accomplished. I personally can’t disagree with this sentiment. It’s amazing and it had me going back and forth between new and old trying to catch it off guard; of course, it never missed a beat.
Outside of visuals and audio, the biggest change for this edition of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge was the control scheme. Normally, the game worked with crosshairs where you would move them to what you wanted and clicked (thus the name ‘point and click’). You would then tell the game what you wanted to do (I.E. – Pick Up, Push, Use, etc.) and then click it. While this might have worked beautifully in late 80s and early 90s, it probably wouldn’t fly here in this generation of gamers. So, LucasArts took that control scheme they had and combined it into a single clickable motion on the PS3 controller. After navigating the compass (no longer a crosshair) over an object, you press R2 on the controller and bring up a circular menu of options. If you hold R2 and press up and down on the analog stick it moves you through the options pretty quickly. Now, it’s quick and that’s a plus, but I think it takes away just a bit from the strategy of the game. One of the more enjoyable aspects of the ‘point and click’ adventures was how you would have to think about how something works. If you’re given a variety of options (and they all don’t come up all the time) then specific choices are laid out for you. Sure you skip the ‘staring at the screen for 30 minutes thinking’ method, but that’s one thing that made the series so great. I can see how this speeds up the game, though and I think that’s good for gamers today.
I’ll just end up going back and forth with the new and old game.
Anyway, the other improved aspect of the game is that Guybrush is now controlled by the left analog stick. This is the first Monkey Island game that allows you freedom of control for our wannabe pirate. I think this was a huge improvement over the original. Sure you could point and click Guybrush to specific areas, but it’s nice to have the option to move him on your own. They were excited about this at E3 and rightfully so. It just adds another element of freedom to an already great game.
With all of this said, the biggest issue I had with the game is breaking old breaking old habits. I kept trying to ‘point and click’ in the game. I didn’t fully grasp everything naturally until the very end of the game. You’re forced to do things quickly with the final LeChuck battle and the controls just sank in perfectly. For diehard Monkey Island fans this might be a tough transition to make, but it’s worth it. Thank God for the old game option, though.
So is this game worth it? This game is worth $19.99 in my opinion. You get a classic adventure and a new adventure that is spruced out in high-res graphics, great audio and good acting. Thankfully, the game is only $9.99, so you’re getting a steal of a deal anyway. Outside of the new/old games you also get some great commentary from series creators Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. Their banter adds to the humor of the game and their insight on what it took to put things together (including characters) is invaluable. You also get other bonuses like unlockable art and sketches (oh, and tons of trophies!).
For new gamers this will be an experience that’s tough as nails. The game sure doesn’t let up once you get started and by the end you’re ready to finish LeChuck finally. Along the way, during the most frustrating moments (and there are plenty) you’ll be sidetracked with great characters and fantastic humor. For example, towards the end of the game when you’re almost at the treasure of Big Whoop, you’ll fun into a phone on a tree. The phone dials 911 to LucasArts Tip Line. This is one of the funnier moments of the game and one I won’t ruin (find it, though!). You’ll get everything from Star Wars humor to spitting humor. There’s enough adventure and comedy here to last you 8-12 hours (maybe more for you noobs!)
For old gamers, you’ll be happy. I’ll leave it at that.