A magical adventure than gives the Monkey Island series a whole new face.
User Rating: 9.1 | The Curse of Monkey Island PC
The Curse of Monkey island is the third title in the Monkey Island series, started by LucasFilm Games in 1990, where players take the role of aspiring pirate Guybrush Threepwood. Embarking on a rather comical quest to defeat the feared LeChuck and rescue his beloved Elaine is what the series is built on. The first two games are widely considered masterpieces, so it was only certain that LucasArts would treat fans to another delightful adventure. The Curse of Monkey Island starts off with Guybrush stranded at sea longing to see Elaine again. He gripes and moans about how such a swashbuckling pirate should not die, and finally chances looking up at the sound of a gunshot. The perfectly in tune series theme kicks in, putting Guybrush on yet another humorous quest. It turns out that LeChuck has been reincarnated yet again and is looking to be Elaine's loved one. For whatever reason, he chooses to show this affection by attacking the island Elaine serves as governor at. Guybrush thwarts LeChuck's ploy and attempts to propose to Elaine only to find out that the ring he put on her finger is cursed; turning Elaine into a statue. Though the plot may be predictable to veterans of the series, it is still enjoyable and fun to watch unfold. The gameplay of The Curse of Monkey Island is sound, but nothing innovational or new to the genre. The player controls Guybrush in the classic point and click manner and can talk, eat, and use various objects. As always, there is an inventory screen wherein Guybrush can easily use and combine items he has picked up. The combining action is very important in most puzzles, and provides for some interesting match-up to make things work. Curse of Monkey Island is just about a pure adventure game. Only one small bit at the very beginning and ship battleing in the middle do not use the point and click gameplay. Even sections where one would expect to play with the arrow keys are not so. Yes, insult sword fighting has returned. Insult sword fighting appears about halfway through the game and comes into play when fighting the pirate captain of a ship. The player duels with various pirates by trading off insults. If the insult can be matched be the opponent, then the one who made the insult is fought back. Likewise, if the insult cannot be replied to, the opponent is pushed back. It goes on like this for about 3 insults against one person. Upon winning, Guybrush walks away with plunder and new insults or comebacks, but upon defeat, only the latter. The system works incredibly well and should keep the player laughing throughout. The old point and click system paired with combining items provides for some frustrating yet entertaining puzzles. There are some extremely annoying puzzles that will keep players confused and begging for help. Some combinations of items are overly obscure and are usually found by guess. These gripes don't really detract from the gameplay though. Nothing beats the feeling of success after conquering a puzzle worked on for days. The graphics in Curse of Monkey Island are absolutely amazing. It takes a giant leap away from the first two games' visuals and presents itself in dashing hand-animated colors. All the characters are smoothly animated and shaded by the talented folks at LucasArts. Everything is smooth except for some uncommon anti-aliasing faults that make the outlines of characters more jaggy. Nothing that detracts from the game's eye searing beauty, though. The sound in The Curse of Monkey Island is excellently instrumented. The classic theme returns and is as catchy as ever. Other locations have their own fitting music that add to the general look and feel of each place. Voice acting was a very contemplated aspect prior to the games release. Many thought giving Guybrush a voice was a bad idea because everyone had their own opinion on how he should sound. Upon finally hearing the voice work, it turned out that everyone had the same sounding Guybrush in their head. Everything is pronounced clearly and in a perfect tone. All the supporting characters have their own unique voice that fits their appearance well. The larger, tougher characters have gruff voices while the smaller types have the same type of excellently matched pitch. It is widely known that adventure games do not have the best replay value, and The Curse of Monkey Island would be expected to have the same. This is a misconception though. The game comes with two starting options: Normal play and Mega Monkey mode. The Mega Monkey mode adds a few extra puzzles and makes the roadblocks from Normal mode collapsed bridges. This mode seems to be intended for more for the defiant audience and may steer away newer players. The Curse of Monkey Island is an excellent game on all fronts. Beautiful scenery, flawless sound work, brain straining puzzles, and original character design make it a top tier choice for both Monkey Island fans and anyone who wants to get into the adventure genre. 
