"The golden game which started, the greatest series of all time!"

Ron Gilbert made The Secret of Monkey Island many years ago, and that game started the greatest seris of all time going. Not Final Fantasy or Zelda, but Monkey Island. The Monkey Island seris has took big heights, and just recently had its fourth game in the shops, but how does the very first gem compete to the latest games?

Storyline - 10 : Guybrush Threepwood, washed ashore on Mélée island had a goal, and would do anything to archive it. Guybrush wanted to be a pirate! Guybrush went down to town to boast about his dream, and gets told that he can be a pirate if he completes ''The Three small Trials''. Guybrush meets Govener Elaine Marle, who he instantly falls in love with, and so does a suitor, who has been dead for many years...

That story is ideal for a graphic adventure. It has many plot twists, and you'll really want to carry on playing, just to see what happens to Guybrush.

Graphics - 8 : Dispite its age, the Secret of Monkey Island has good graphics, for its time anyway, thats why its got an 8. The landscapes are just wonderful to look at, but are not as artistic as the Curse of Monkey Island. In some ''rare'' occasions, the camera switches to the face of the character Guybrush is speaking to, but only on a few important characters.

The Secret of Monkey Island has been on a few systems now, like the Amiga, PC and Sega C.D, all versions look a bit diffrent, for example the amiga version is a dit dark, the Sega C.D version is far too bright, and the P.C version is just right (hmmm it seems I am writing a summery of Goldelocks and the three bears here).

Sound and Music - 8 : Unlike The Curse of Monkey Island, and Escape from Monkey Island, this game does not has voice acting, it is old, and I don't think Lucasarts would ever have voices for the game now, which is a shame. anyway, the music is very good, and some of the music is repeated in one, if not two, but sometimes the three other Monkey Island games.

As for the music, Sometimes, there isn't any music, you just hear sound effects, but when there is music, you'll must proberly stay in the same location so you can listen to that music to your hearts content.

The sound effects, however, aren't just your avarage sound effects for an old game, instead it has some good, piraty sound effects, like strong beer dripping, pirate doors, genius!

Gameplay - 10 : This is a point and click, one of my favourite genres. You simply choose a command at the control panal at the bottem of the screen, like pick up, use , open , Talk to, look at etc and select the item either on the screen, or Guybrush's inventory. The game might get the un-avarage player frustrated by having to open and close doors, turn on lights and look at everything you see or collect.

The Secret of Monkey Island also combines puzzles (You already knew that, right?) and most times prove difficult. What I like about this game, that it has puzzles connected, so you have to get and use items before you can move onto the next quest / Island / act.

Replaybility - 10 : This is a very fun game, and difficult, and without a walkthrought, it would take the avarage player about 30 or even more hours to complete, and even on your second time through, you'll most proberly forgotten about one puzzles and are completly stuck on it. Once you have completed it, you should play it through again and again, to see the diffrent scenes if you choose a different option. Also, what I might add, if your first Monkey Island game was The Curse of Monkey Island or Escape from Monkey Island, you might be put off, but please get used to it, this is one of the games in the best seris of all time.

Overall - 9 : A classic, all adventure fans need this game, and encourage others to buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/01, Updated 07/15/01