The Curse of Monkey Island

"The FUNNIEST Game Ever Made"

What do you look for in a game? Good gameplay? Sweet graphics? Tight control? A sprawling adventure? Well, Curse of Monkey Island's got it all. And for some reason, it manages to get all these things into it, plus room for hundreds of jokes, one-liners, and over-the-top humor! But no more of the introduction, onto the part you people want the most. So, here we go to the numbers! (Let's start with the graphics)

Graphics: 9
Very good. You'll find yourself amazed at what a game with such low requirements can produce. Amazing detail and fluid animation make up for some blocky character models. Fortunately, there is more than half an hour worth of cutscenes. This game also has excellent backround animation and the voices are always in sync with the mouth movement. Great graphics. Enough said.

Gameplay: 10
The controls are very simple. A mouse is all that is needed and a keyboard to save games. The game is crammed full with puzzles to test your wit, and is accompanied by crazy humor and more characters than you can shake a stick at. You'll interact with these characters and pick up items to use with them in any which way you can. And if something does not work on something else, the main character will make a witty remark on what you are trying to do. Oh, and here's the best part of the game: You can never die. That's right! This means that you can try the most death-defying things that would usually kill you in a normal PC adventure game. But it's still kinda hard, even with the can't-die part.

Story: 8
Um, the story is kinda cheesy, but not enough to bring the score below a ten. But it's very simple: Guybrush Threepwood is looking for a treasure called the Big Whoop and is captured by a zombie pirate, Le Chuck (who he killed twice). He runs into a cursed diamond an gives it to his bride-to-be, Elaine. The ring turns her to stone and she is stolen. Guybrush must find her and turn her back to normal. Although it sounds boring, it incorporates so much humor, you'd be a fool not to laugh. Oh, and in the game, you'll run into Maurry, the talking, demonic skull! Mwahahahaaa! Not only is he not scary, but he's the funniest talking skull you'll ever see. But he doesn't play a big role in the story, but he'll make you laugh whenever you run into him.

Sound: 10
The use of a fully orchestrated soundtrack along with great voice acting makes the game a whole lot greater. With Caribbean music and a whole plethora of jokes, you will find yourself rolling on the floor like I did. (especially when three pirates start singing a song) There are also sometimes where you see a person performing a one-man show and even Guybrush gets to sing a little bit. Too bad he's not very good.

Replayability: 8
You'll find yourself playing this over and over again to explore and talk to everyone to see what joke they have next. This could last you hours, or until you get sick and tired of the jokes (which you won't) and stop playing (which you also won't) But, after one run, it gets pretty easy and you'll probably beat your second game in two days. Oh, well. Time flies when you're having fun...

Overall: 10 (not an average)
Games like these don't come around very often, and when they do, be sure to acknowledge them for what they really can be. Sure, games like Starcraft or The Sims are great, but do they include the crazy humor like Curse of Monkey Island does? I don't think so. This game, and the series, has some originality in it. Funny, intriging, long, mind-bending, it's got it all. Pick this one up if you are a human being with a computer.

The Good
-Insane Humor
-Detailed Graphics
-Maurry!!

The Bad
-Cheesy Story
-A Bit Hard

The Ugly
-Le Chuck's Blocky Beard

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/16/01, Updated 03/16/01