Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition [Review]

I can’t help but sigh every time I think of the Golden Age of PC Adventure Gaming. There’s isn’t a Wikipedia page or an encyclopedia entry anywhere that describes this era, but if there was, LucasArts would take up a huge hunk of text. The Dig, LOOM, Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle… the list goes on. These games were a huge part of my life growing up, and created some of the most iconic characters in the history of adventure gaming. And while point and click adventures have long since gone by the wayside (Broken Sword and the Telltale Games’ ventures excluded, of course), I still yearn for these simple days of simple gaming, brilliant writing, and mind boggling puzzles.

So when The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition released onto Xbox Live, you best believe I downloaded it faster than you could shout “look out, a three headed monkey!”

While I’m sure there are a wealth of fanboys out there who shouted foul at the idea of a revamped classic, the team at LucasArts certainly knew what they were doing. Rather than remake the original with ugly 3D sprites or a different story, they catered to the fans, using hand drawn art, the principle voice artists from the Curse of Monkey Island, and even kept the old school version of the game as a special feature. Spoiler alert, switching between the two versions gives you some achievement points. Do it.

With updated graphics and widescreen presentation, does this touched up remake live up to the legendary status of the old classic?

An extremely biased review, after the jump!

The answer? Yes.

Now, for those of you who have never played Secret of Monkey Island (what’s wrong with you?!) this is a great opportunity to get into the series. The writing is hilarious, which should come as no surprise, as SoMM was one of Tim Schafer’s (the guy behind Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, and the upcoming Brütal Legend) first games. And with the added voice acting, which is top notch, the lines are delivered beautifully, packing a hilarious punch. You’re guaranteed to laugh quite a bit, I promise you that.

For a downloadable game, Secret of Monkey Island serves up some of the best content on Xbox Live. Voice acting, a superb musical score, and high replay potential. Yes, I know, it’s an adventure game and once it’s over, it’s over. But with writing this good and a narrative this wonderful, it’s the sort of game you can play through again and again. The fact that it’s nearly two decades old and people are still playing it, definitely speaks to that.

So yes, go download this immediately. Right now.

Other Stuff You Might Wanna Know:
Available for: Xbox 360 / PC (Steam)
Price: 800 MS Points ($15)
Rating (Buy It, Don’t Buy It, Rent It): Buy It