Still stuck here in my old home town and still not much to do so games it is. Following up on the retread theme from before I've been going through the three first Monkey Island games again (partly, at least). I started out with Curse and am currently working on Secret 1 and 2. This all reminds me of a well-known gaming fact from days of yore: These games are among the finest ever for IBM-based computers and adventure games should be 2-D period (exception: Grim Fandango, but you need only look to Escape from MI for proof of this last statement)!
First off I'll say a word or two about the one I've actually finished, CMI. It still holds up very well, both in terms of gameplay and looks. The sharp clean graphics with large sprites and crisp colours are very easy on the eyes and stand as a good evidence that 2-D was abandoned just when it was getting good. The sound sits well with the whole package, dotting the I with well made tunes and amusing sound effects as well as voice acting ranging from capable to hilarious. Gameplaywise it has more in common with Full Throttle than MI 1 + 2 due to the three-command input rather than the old 3x3 old style SCUMM commands. This makes it less of a chore to play and leaves you to enjoy the batshit insane puzzles and equally weird humour. But let's face it, the two main pulls in this game series are setting and comedy, and the game delivers these in droves. I was almost surprised at how much I still enjoyed this title after all these years, but it seems the great characters and very amusing script make sure this title stands as a pillar in it's genre. I have to admit that with age I've become very impatient so parts of the game were completed using Gamefaqs (Yeah, I know, but considering the many years spent sweating and bleeding trying to solve adventure games way back when I feel somewhat justified in being old and lazy), but the main enjoyment is in the comedy, yeah? Good fun still!
I've only started on SMI 1 + 2, but they still stand out as amusing and engaging titles. What struck me when I started playing the first one was that the designers had gone for more realism than the sequels, especially in regard to close-ups of NPC's. This basicly means that the series got more stylized and cartoony with time, in stark contrast to the parallell trend in many other games of a more photo-realistic approach. Gameplaywise the two games are basicly identical and this is one of two aspects that haven't aged with total dignity. Having to mouse over the bottom of the screen and choose very specific commands for everything you do can be a pain, and whereas I thought the one-click approach of the reborn Sam'n'max game(s) was a little too simple I think the technique used in CMI is optimal. The graphics are of course not top notch any more but they were amazing back then and are clean enough to make the games easily playable. At times the rough pixels make objects hard too spot, much like I remembered it from back then, and this can be annoying but most of the time this isn't a problem. Most importantly the games are still funny and the weird puzzle logic still entertaining. What I would really like to see is remakes of these two adventure gems with improved controls, graphics a la CMI, reconstructed soundtrack and voice acting. That would be a more exciting gaming event than any next-gen game I can think of (excluding Wario Ware Wii).
My advice: take time out to play these gems among games again, or if you haven't already step to! Excellent entertainment and true pillars in gaming history.
PS: SCUMMvm is one of the greatest program inventions ever, viva la retro gaming!
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