Zugdar

User Score
9.2

Presentation - 8.5
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 9.0

Once every so often a game is released that turns around the entire industry. Monkey Island is one of the first games to master character development and writing, something that is severally crippled in most games today. Lucasarts have updated and perfected a classic for a whole new generation.

Updates

To start off, lets look at the extra work they put into this release. One of the coolest features in this game is that you have the option on switching from the special edition to the classic edition on the fly. For players who have already played the first game, like myself, I found this to be interesting to compare the original version to a revamped version.

This edition is also loaded with a total voice over track. They even pulled the talented original actors from the 3rd and 4th titles bringing in a total fan service for the dedicated fans today. (I swear one of them is Yakko from Animaniacs)

Graphics 

Backgrounds, characters and music is all updated for this release. While the art style looks cool, I was hoping for a more cartoony look like The Curse Of Monkey Island. Some of the close up artwork of characters seems a little too abstract for my taste but thats just me. Other graphical updates such as animations are acceptable but are a little too choppy for me. While this may be a nod to the original version, the classic edition is already included why not go all out and make animations more smoother?

Controls

Controls have translated well for the SE. Xbox owners my chill at the crappy d-pad that will be used often to solve puzzles as opposed to PS3 owners.

Overall

I would highly suggest this game to anybody who doubts that video games can't be funny. The story is fun and original. Included in SOMI:SE is a hint system for people who may not like going through trees of dialog to discover the next step.

Monkey Island is on the move with a new adventure game just released and with this title. Any gamer owes it to themselves to catch up on what has become a fading genre well worth your time.