The Secret of Monkey Island

The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic point and click adventure from LucasArts that is funny, entertaining and challenging all at the same time. You play as Guybrush Threepwood, a wannabe pirate who has come to Melee Island to join the crew of a pirate ship. Whilst on the island Guybrush soon uncovers a plot, by the sinister ghost pirate Le Chuck, to kidnap the governor of the island and force her to marry him. And so, far from becoming a pirate, he begins a quest against the ghost pirates to save the governor and uncover The Secret of Monkey Island.

Graphically the game looks quite aged now. Characters are very pixellated and blocky, although animations are prety smooth for the time. There is no audible speech in the game, instead what the characters are saying appears above their heads in different colours. This is all easily overcome once you start to get involved in the game.

The one thing that will keep you playing the game is the sense of humour put into it. Obviously throughout the course of the game everyone makes fun of Guybrush's name, but the humour doesn't end there. The pirates on the island are witty and Guybrush retorts as good as he gets. About halfway through the game you are introduced to the relatively limited swordfighting moments, however these are as unconventional as they could be; Battles in the game are not based on how quickly you can press a key, or press a button combination. Battles are based upon how witty your put-downs and comebacks are. For example, you are taunted with "People run from me" and you can retort with "Even before they smell your bad breath?".

The other characters in the game are also a hilariously random bunch of folks. The pirates are typically guzzling grog in the local tavern, with a few dastardly dealers hanging arouknd on street corners trying to sell you dodgy goods. The local islanders on Monkey Island wear giant fruits on their head and speak backwards. And a few lost, crazy mariners run around the islands talking to themselves. All in all the game keeps the comedy level high throughout and constantly gives you laugh out loud moments to maintain the lighthearted mood.

In amongst all of this random comedy there is still a serious story going on and some really challenging puzzles. There's plenty of obvious solutions to find but at the same time there are also some really unusual solutions to keep you scratching your head. And there are some hilarious moments to be had solving some of the puzzles. Without giving too much away I challenge you not to laugh when you find the key to the giant monkey head!

When I started playing The Secret of Monkey Island I knew all about the humour of the series and I've always enjoyed a good point and click adventure, but I was hesitant at first. However, once I started playing I was captivated by the humour, the gameplay and the brilliantly well written and hilarious story of pirate to be Guybrush Threepwood.

My name is Guybrush Threepwood and I am a fearsome pirate!

You can download The Secret of Monkey Island for free from Abandon Online