The description is very misleading, especially if you've actually watched any of the series on which this game is based. The only "customization" of the character avatar at creation is choosing one of four races. That's it. The game then goes on to "present" all of the customization categories, but the "player" chooses to skip all that and go with the "default" model. I didn't even bother to pick a class before requesting a refund.
Seriously, this game goes beyond cute references to a full-on rip-off. There are apparently other games in the set, but I have no interest in trying them if they aren't even going to TRY to be original. If I hadn't gotten this game in a giveaway, I might actually be mad.
I've seen some reviews here claiming this is the worst of the series. I disagree. I rate the Monkey Island games based on their script, and this one is on par with the ones that came before it (it's certainly better than Monkey Island 2 in that regard). What those other reviewers are forgetting is that this game is a product of its era, back when game developers found themselves with access to new technologies and graphics capabilities. Escape from Monkey Island's only fault is that it was trying some new and different things; it took risks. How many games made today can make the same claim? Over the past ten years or so, it's been established that Triple-Aaaaayyyyy games follow formulae that allow them to sell to the lowest common denominator, and indie games have an annoying tendency to capitalize on nostalgia-blindness (what's your favorite Baldur's Gate throwback?). The point is that Escape from Monkey Island is damn good where it counts: Its script. Everything else is a moot point because they were experimental. The only reason I'm giving it only four stars is because I had to download a third-party program in order to play it in windowed mode.
Don't listen to the nay-sayers, this game is fantastic. The writing is surprisingly good, the lore is well developed, the models and cutscenes are amazing, the humor is delightfully funny, the sex scenes are customizably raunchy without treading into the Uncanny Valley, the combat is fun and challenging, and the protagonist looks and acts like a mix between Starlord and Deadpool. This is the first time that playing an Early Access game hasn't made me think, "I wish it were complete," and has instead made me think, "I'm looking forward to the finished product!"
I loved the first HuniePop. It was cute, dorky, just sexy enough for me to keep my owning it a secret, and involved a variety of decently-rounded characters to pick my favorites from. I like the silly premise to this one, as well as the gameplay changes, but the characters... Abia: While the notion of a woman from an Islamic culture going overboard in her sexual liberation isn't too farfetched to me, this character is ridiculous in a bad way. Still, she's not the worst. Ashley: I found her amusing at first, but it didn't take long for me to get tired of her flippant arrogance. At one point, she even remarks how I'd be hanging from the ceiling fan without her, and my first thought was, "Lady, in the last game, I seduced the Goddess of Love. Who the hell are you?" Brooke: What's better than one MILF? One MILF other than this one. Any sex appeal she had in her introduction quickly diminished in the face of her opulent indifference. Candace: I'm a sapiosexual. That should explain everything I hated about this character. Zoey: I actually liked this character. It was a nice change of pace to encounter someone who I would think was absolutely bonkers if I weren't being followed around and guided by an invisible sex-fairy. I wouldn't bang her, but I'd happily be her friend. Lailani: Basically Beli, but less curvy. Jessie: She wasn't my favorite in the first game, but I didn't dislike her. I still don't, but damn does her current story make me sad. Kyu: Lady Not-Sexable In This Game. Lillian: A goth valley girl. That is NOT a combination I needed or wanted in my life. Lola: She's not all that different from the first game, but I never really liked her. Nora: Hoo boy, so many ethnic stereotypes. Polly: I don't care that I can choose peach instead of eggplant, because those hips don't lie. Sarah: What's worse than a gyaru? A weeb gyaru.
