Escape from Monkey Island

Escape from Monkey Island, the fourth game in the Monkey Island tetralogy, is a mixed bag. One thing is for certain, the ending of the game is so ridiculously over the top that I'm pretty sure the game-series has reached some kind of conclusion (though CMI is still the pinnacle).

On elements that were done well, I must agree that the voice cast of the game was simply professional. Even though I miss Alexandra Boyd's lovely British accent, her replacement Charity James does a good job with Elaine, though truth be told I liked her performance as Grace Nakimura in Gabriel Knight 3 better. Stan is also a bit of a heckler, but decent. Musically the game does not quite deliver as all music is either similar to or borrowed from Curse. That is not to say that the soundtrack isn't high-quality, it just doesn't offer as many memorable moments as the past games.

Graphics wise the game is rather uneven. Certain animations are very fluid and lighting in the game is quite brilliant. However, over-all physics are somewhat lacking. On a positive note, the cut-scenes a really well executed. The interface has seen only minor improvements from Grim Fandango, but if you ask me LucasArts made a wise decision in adding action-lines into the game.

A few points of criticism are in order though. Jambalaya island in Act II came as a rather big shock for long time fans and still one of my least favorite sections in the game. Monkey Kombat in Act III, though fun may seem rather tedious to some gamers. Additionally, I was rather disappointed at the blatant fan-service quality of sticking Murray into the game. He is fun to talk to, but ultimately serves no purpose to the over-all plot.

However, one thing is still in the right place, that one thing that Monkey Island is really about, humour. The humour of the game is a shade different from that of previous games, but just as witty and fresh.

Escape from Monkey Island may not be a shiny package, but it is a funny game and definitely a fine ending for a classic series.

Honestly, the most fun I've ever had on a PC. Other games I've got-Max Payne, Quake 3, Carmageddon TDR. I don't really have the patience for 'quick-reflex' games, but EMI really entetains me. I play it every Christmas since the day I got it (X-Mas) and it never seases to make you laugh out loud.

The only gripe is the 3d. Remember 1997-CMI? Still looks great, huh?

Three years later and this has aged-I dis-like 3D 'cos it goes obsolete so soon. Why, oh, why, not a CMI engine game.

DO yourself a favour, open a new window, go to lucasarts.com and buy MM2: Day of the tentacle, Sam and Max, Full throttle and the monkey island bounty pack and EMI. You'll then be ready to live, my son.

There are several factors I like in adventure games. I like it when you can't die too easily, and I like it when you can't ruin the game by forgetting something or doing something wrong the first time. LucasArts' "Monkey Island" series has these, and more. They're funny, they're challenging, and, for the most part, they're CLEAN. They are suitable for most ages, though I wouldn't advise letting kids who are too young play them, and you can get a good laugh without too many inappropriate or suggestive comments. I was really looking forward to playing the fourth installment of the "Monkey Island" series. I'd played all three before and thought they were all great. They were easily the most fun and interesting games I'd ever played, especially since I was used to the whole "Sierra" theme and didn't really know what to expect. There are a lot of great things about these games, namely, you can't die all too easily (although there may be some spots you might be able to) and you can't ruin the whole entire game by forgetting one thing or not following explicit directions. There's always a second chance in Monkey Island (and in most LucasArts games!) Unfortunately, I really didn't like EMI as much as I did the others. The main difference was the absence of the "point-and-click" interface. I didn't mind it too much for using inventory, but simple commands became a bit difficult since you couldn't directly click on something - you might have to turn several times to get it right - and the walking style took a lot of getting used to! Also absent was the choice of "light" and "mega" that was present in other games, because playing on lite first for a little while might have been helpful for "getting used" to the game before really going for it. Don't get me wrong - EMI is a great game and should be enjoyed by everyone. I was disappointed to hear that the creators of the game didn't include little Wally because they didn't like his character, because I (and many others, I'm sure) thought he added a nice touch to the whole game, along with helping move the plot along. (Play the second and third one to see who he is!) And it was too bad that Murray, the talking skull, was only present for a little while and didn't have as big a part as in the third one. Either way, the game was really great, and I would certainly advise it to anyone looking for a fresh new type of adventure game.

Ahhh the Monkey Island series, easily definable from other adventure series in the genre by it's witty sardonic humour, flavourful Caribbean back drop and... well... the monkeys.

Escape follows the same tried and true Monkey Island design that we've all come to know and love, albeit utilising 3d graphics and a new inventory and command system.

Gone are the days of point and click mouskateering, command and inventory panels. Escape uses the Grim Fandango GRIME graphics engine which is an improvement over the high res SVGA "pencil drawing" graphics of Curse, and continues the trend of past Monkey Island teams to utilise the latest technological advances in each new instalment of the series.

So how does it compare to past Monkey Island titles? Well, the humour is still there, Dominic Armato returns to lend his voice talents to the main role of Guybrush, and he lends the perfect bumbling and slightly naive touch to the well written script. Similarly, the scores of other characters are well represented and Lucasarts should be commended on the high level of authentic acting talent recruited.

The game play is typical wacky fair. The difficulty level is kept down due to the somewhat linear fashion that the game unfolds in. None the less, one is presented with suitably complex challenges and plenty of in-depth exploring will be required in order to complete the game. Lucasarts have also expanded upon the action sub-games within Escape. In MI 1 we were introduced to insult sword fighting and Curse continued this and added a kind of pirate ship shoot em up for good measure. Escape goes further and you'll find yourself engaging in monkey martial arts and cliff top diving.

The graphics are well rendered and I'm pleased to report that the blockiness and jagged edges some of us associate with low res 3d animations are not present in Escape from Monkey Island. The characters are cartoony cute, but not so ridiculous that you would mistake Escape for a Nintendo 64 game.

All in all Escape is a well made game, perhaps a bit short, but never the less a lot of fun, it will be interesting to see where they go after this, it's hard to imagine that the designers of the next sequel will be able to change much when it comes to the graphics or inventory systems, but if history is anything to go by, major changes are install. I for one can't wait!

For the last game in the Monkey Island series to date, it is a very fair game. It is not short of its confusing puzzles (which tend to make me nostalgic), and has a lot of imagination put into it. I don't really like the 3D aspect of the game, I must admit I did prefer the "click 2 go" engine, but still, advantages bring disadvantages.

Good game. 8/10