I'm a huge Monkey Island series fan, and I think Monkey Island 2 is good as an adventure game, but it's nowhere near as good as the original Monkey Island game, both in terms of the plot as well as the humor. It was nice to see some familiar faces in the game as Guybrush searches for Big Whoop, which after playing this game I would say is pretty aptly-named. I did not care for the ending of this game at all. Perhaps the ending was written as such so as to allude that another Monkey Island sequel would be coming in the future to continue the story, but I think that could have been achieved without such an inexplicably twisted and weird ending, and rather than leaving me on the edge of my seat, it left me scratching my head, devoid of the satisfaction that would typically come from completing a such game. All that being said, the verb menu was greatly improved since the previous remake, and the way Guybrush was drawn was much closer to what original Monkey Island 2 fans would have expected. The audio commentary and bonuses were a real treat, and in my opinion, they are what makes the special edition a definite must-have for Monkey Island fans.
A very witty and creative game, full of entertaining banter and character interactions, as well as some pretty ridiculous sequences (it's pretty obvious it must have been a lot of fun designing this game). If you're looking for a silly, pirate-themed, adventure game, this should be right up your alley. Part of the key to success in this game is an open mind and a curious spirit — no idea should be considered too crazy or foolish for a game where you play a character named Guybrush Threepwood. You don't need to be a brainiac to solve the puzzles; they really aren't that cryptic, but you do have to pay attention. Like others, I kind of favor the original artwork over the cartoon-y remake, and as I play games on my computer rather than on a gaming console, it does feel a bit clunky having to open the verb menu and inventory instead keeping them at the bottom of the screen, but I think it's probably tricky trying to find alternatives ways of supporting so many verbs without taking away the user's ability to solve the problems on their own due to being fed the solutions by a cursor which automatically reflects the necessary action that should be used, and I think the solution used here was due in part from trying to keep multiple platforms in mind.
The game draws on both the movie and the book — though moreso from the movie — which the movie was based on, pleasing fans of both, though I was a little let down by the voice-casting of Gaff. I wish the game had a subtitle, making it more distinguishable from the movie itself, but no matter. It plays out like a good detective game but doesn't seem to have some of the usual trimmings of an adventure game, such as choosing pieces of dialogue and using objects on one another, so there isn't so much puzzle-solving as there is just inspecting and exploring. With multiple possible endings, writing and referencing walkthroughs for this one can be a bit of a challenge, but it is no doubt a great game for those wanting to further immerse themselves in the fictional world of 'Blade Runner'!
This game is certainly a treat for the little gray cells, as Poirot himself would put it. It guides you through the initial gameplay using a great unfolding tutorial. The fun trophies and ego point concept (which feels like a special treat just for being a Poirot fan) are entertaining and speak to the creative approach taken in designing the game. Automatic game saves allow the user to focus on the progression of the game without distraction or worry, and the progress percentage is useful for those unfamiliar with the novel on which it is based. The puzzles require thinking yet are not discouragingly complex.
I'm a big time adventure game fan, and I love film noir and detective fiction, but this game missed the mark for me. It was fine as a film noir game; it was fine as detective fiction; but it was not a great adventure game, mostly for the following reasons: - it has a very strict timeline that sometimes doesn't become apparent until the end of the game when it's too late - the game play is occasionally tedious and at times too repetitive - certain controls, especially accessing the game menu, are cumbersome - the player ends up with useless inventory items taking up slots in the character's limited inventory space - for a full motion video game, I would have preferred more recorded video character dialogue instead of an uneven-feeling mix of video dialogue and audio-only dialogue - there are character profile details that add no depth That being said, it is not a bad game, it just had some rather poor flaws in game play and design. I loved the game title, the opening story wasn't bad, and it does have some nice old-school detective elements.
