Monkey Island 1, a game I have very good memories of. I never really enjoyed playing adventure games like this, but my brother advised me to download it so I did. I downloaded the full version (which can still be bought from LucasArts' website) and I became addicted to it. Why? Well, because of a lot of reasons.
The first thing that is absolute brilliant about Monkey Island 1 is the story.
The game is set in the 17th century. You are Guybrush Threepwood and you want to be a pirate. You can talk to people who are walking on the streets. When you talk to them, there are a couple of phrases on the bottom of your screen. You can click on one of them and Guybrush will say this to the person. Because of this you can make so much funny conversations.
Unfortunately this is the demo version and you can only walk around and do some crazy things in the town of Mêlée Island. You can pick up mints in the Scumm Bar and you can give them to Otis, a prisoner. You can talk to the guy on the corner of the street before the prison. He's trying to sell maps, but if you ask him to help you with the demo version, he will give you a copy of Game Players Magazine. In the full version you have to do much more things to come at Monkey Island. The whole game goes about nothing, but all this nothing is told so funny and the things you will see in the game are made very funny too.
To play the whole version of Monkey Island 1, you might like to use a walkthrough. I first tried to finish Monkey Island without a walkthrough, but it takes very long to find out all kind of things. Playing this game with a walkthrough is very still very fun and addicting. I recommend MonkeyNET. They have pretty good walkthroughs for the first three Monkey Island games, information about all characters, downloads and they tell a lot of "funnies", where to find funny things in the game if you don't see them (which is almost impossible).
Slowly I start to talk about other things related to Monkey Island. The graphics of this demo version are EGA, which means there are only a couple of colours. The full version has been made with different colours options, but LucasArts only made a demo version with EGA graphics. Though the colours aren't the best, the environment has been created very well. The buildings and the characters made me think of the 17th century, and that's the intention!
After Monkey Island 1 (the full name is The Secret of Monkey Island), LucasArts released more Monkey Island games. They are Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, The Curse of Monkey Island and Escape from Monkey Island. Nobidy knows if LucasArts will release Monkey Island 5. I hope they will since I played all episodes and still like to play them sometimes.
Maybe you now think this game is very serious, but as I said (can't say it enough), this is a game full of jokes, funny things and crazy characters. If you like adventure games or even if you don't like them, you should try this game! It shows that games don't always have to be very serious. Monkey Island 1 is the game you just have to try. A lot of people tried it and most of them think this is just a great game.
Reviewer: Dos-Games-Online Have you ever dreamed of searching for buried treasure? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sail the open seas in search of uncharted islands, to lock blades with grog smelling ruffians? Have you ever wanted your very own rubber chicken with a pulley? Have you ever said to yourself "I wanna be a pirate!"? Well in the Lucasarts adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island that’s exactly what you get to do!
Monkey Island is in the classic form of point and click games that were popular in the late '80's and early '90's. You play the role of pirate wannabe Guybrush Threepwood, whose talents vary from not being able to speak to women to being able to hold his breath for ten minutes. Aside from almost every character in the game gets your name wrong, you are tasked in solving clever puzzles using items you find throughout the game and the environment around you. You must also interact with many colorful characters while on your way to becoming the greatest pirate in all the Caribbean. These characters range from the dreaded ghost pirate LeChuck, to the strong but beautiful Elane Marley.
The world of Monkey Island is beautifully painted with great music to boot. These factors really bring this world to life. You begin your adventure on Melee Island where you learn of a mystical and mysterious island named Monkey Island. Most other pirates dare not even speak of this place for it is believed to be a place of voodoo and curses alike. But being headstrong like you are, you ignore all warnings and amass a ship and crew. But that is just the beginning of your adventure. You must face the challenges of crew morale on board of your ship the Sea Monkey. And upon discovering Monkey Island the challenges just seem to multiply as you soon discover that you are not the only one searching for this island.
If you are like me and love the classic point and click adventure games of old then this is a must play title. Even in this age of rendered graphics and orchestrated music; Monkey Island, its sequels and other games like it, still hold a special place in my heart. In fact Monkey Island was the first game I ever owned and to this day I still enjoy it from time to time, as it is and was for many. What is the Secret of Monkey Island? Well that’s for you to discover!
