Monkey Island SE

[texta]

Anyone not picked this up yet?

I have, but haven't really had a chance to get into it. For those people who live under rocks, it's an updated version of the original Monkey Island.

Graphically, they've updated all the images to HD, though the animation is still fairly simple. And correct me if I'm wrong but the puzzles have been redone so if you recently played the game you'll still get some replayability.

[Lazlow]

Can't say I'm a fan of some of the redrawn art. Haven't played it though, just seen screenies.

[Hyperblau]

Anyone not picked this up yet?

I have, but haven't really had a chance to get into it. For those people who live under rocks, it's an updated version of the original Monkey Island.

Graphically, they've updated all the images to HD, though the animation is still fairly simple. And correct me if I'm wrong but the puzzles have been redone so if you recently played the game you'll still get some replayability.

Puzzles are exactly the same. Everything is the same really, they just added voice and updated art.

I'm up to the second chapter, loving it so far.

[Watchers]

I did, but I haven't had a chance to play it yet. I've never played the original, so I'm looking forward to it.

[Jickle]

The '10 Minutes Later' achievement (on 360) is hilarious.

I just finished the game a moment ago. Awesome stuff, although I would have loved an option to mix the new interface and sound with the old graphics.

[tau]

The PC Controls are shitting me. I've always liked playing these types of games sitting back with one hand on the mouse (and the other hand not fapping... maybe). It just seems stupid that I can't make something like middle mouse button bring up both inventory and action menus. It'd just make so much sense :/

[Manny M]

General Gaming topic, seeing as how it's on PSN and XBL Arcade?

In any case, I wasn't looking forward to this at all when I first saw the trailers... it just looked stiff and I didn't think guybrush looked all that great.

Thank god for XBL Arcade trials, because while those problems exist, the character remains and is incredibly enhanced through brilliant voice acting.

I also find myself mesmerized by the ability to swap between old and new versions on the fly at any time.

Brilliant!

[/backslash]

The PC Controls are shitting me.
Same here, that's why although I bought it and loving it thus far I just hate the amount of time it takes to get to the right option for the action I want to do like 'use this with this'. Its even more annoying that there's no support for standard USB controllers, only if you have an X360 controller

Still, its easily well worth the $12 though especially since I never played the original and its a great game to approach if you recently finished the first chapter of 'Tales of Money' and were craving more

seeing as how it's on PSN
Its not on the PSN :p Only 360 & PC which counts as general

[Dust]

Some of the puzzles have been, um, I don't like saying dumbed down, but definitely toned a bit...

The PC controls wouldn't be so bad if the inventory/verb screens didn't obscure the view, I sort of liked the original's idea of sticking them at the bottom, but I guess that they wanted to convey a more cinematic feel to the scenes so I can understand.

The new Guybrush, dunno, the animation feels a bit floaty when he moves, but overall [and mostly due to the brilliant voice acting] it sort of grew on me. Bring on Monkey Island 2...!

Now all we need is a remake of:
The Dig,
Loom,
and Hillsfar!!! [I know it isn't Lucasarts but hey, it was a good game]

[big_b]

Id like a remake of DOTT.

[Xanafalgue]

Its great.

[JC Henderson]

Just completed all achievement points. Finished it in under 2 hours.

[Manny M]

Its not on the PSN :p Only 360 & PC which counts as general

I just assumed it was.


Just about to jump in my ship... and absolutely loving it! Still wish Guybrush looked different (Curse of Monkey Island did him well), but everything else looks great and sounds great... and funnily enough logic is winning the day. It's all too easy to get stuck in these games because of illogical item use.

[AyatollaofRocknRolla]

I tried to play the original years ago, having loved Curse of Monkey Island. I found going back really jarring though so I couldn't get into it. I'm gald they remade the game though. It's a good chance to play through it. I've just about passed the first chapter and its been great so far.

I'm looking foward to the Tales series hitting XBLA now.

[banjoeskimo]

So I'm totally new to the series, and didn't realise you need to press L trigger to bring up the action menu. I thought everything was context sensitive (since opening doors and talking is), and subsequently got stuck for ages before I realised you had to go into the kitchen and mess with the food. God I'm a n00b...

Still, fun game. It's a little hard to get into if you're new to it, but it's worth it just for the writing.

[Watchers]

So I'm totally new to the series, and didn't realise you need to press L trigger to bring up the action menu. I thought everything was context sensitive (since opening doors and talking is), and subsequently got stuck for ages before I realised you had to go into the kitchen and mess with the food. God I'm a n00b...

Still, fun game. It's a little hard to get into if you're new to it, but it's worth it just for the writing.

Did the same thing. The gameplay absolutely blows for the most part (too much trial and error, or just stupid illogical solutions, or me coming back to a puzzle/character later and forgetting what they had said previously but having no option to replay dialogue and no record of it anywhere), but I'm really digging the writing. And I guess GFaqs can help me when I get stuck, or if I've forgotten who wanted what item.

[/backslash]

And I guess GFaqs can help me when I get stuck, or if I've forgotten who wanted what item.
If you press 'H', you get hints :p And the more times you press it, the better the hint system is for the people who don't want to think

[banjoeskimo]

Did the same thing. The gameplay absolutely blows for the most part (too much trial and error, or just stupid illogical solutions, or me coming back to a puzzle/character later and forgetting what they had said previously but having no option to replay dialogue and no record of it anywhere), but I'm really digging the writing. And I guess GFaqs can help me when I get stuck, or if I've forgotten who wanted what item.

Yeah, it's really starting to grate on me. I finally got up to part 3, and I can't count the amount of times I've gotten stuck despite having a decent idea of what I want to do (oh noes, I pressed "Use" on the cereal box instead of "Open," or I got stuck not knowing what to do with the cannon because I was mouse-overing the cannon and not the cannon muzzle). I get that it was cute and hilarious back in the day, and probably should have expected this, but yeah, gameplay mechanics have definitely dated themselves in a way that isn't really much fun anymore.

[Citizen Erased]

I wish they put in some additional sound fx with this game, charactors walking without making any sounds is just lazy imo.

But not having played the original game, I am enjoying it.

[Dust]

Wow, trying not to be too cynical here and I definitely don't want to insult anyone but...

Did the same thing. The gameplay absolutely blows for the most part (too much trial and error, or just stupid illogical solutions, or me coming back to a puzzle/character later and forgetting what they had said previously but having no option to replay dialogue and no record of it anywhere), but I'm really digging the writing. And I guess GFaqs can help me when I get stuck, or if I've forgotten who wanted what item.

I've got pen and paper on my computer desk for writing things I think are important [be them in game, or just in general life] I still have my old hand-drawn maps of the Eye of the Beholder series :P

Yeah, it's really starting to grate on me. I finally got up to part 3, and I can't count the amount of times I've gotten stuck despite having a decent idea of what I want to do (oh noes, I pressed "Use" on the cereal box instead of "Open," or I got stuck not knowing what to do with the cannon because I was mouse-overing the cannon and not the cannon muzzle). I get that it was cute and hilarious back in the day, and probably should have expected this, but yeah, gameplay mechanics have definitely dated themselves in a way that isn't really much fun anymore.

In regards to my previous remark to the_watchers_eye, let's try a quick exercise, which of these would work:

- OPEN pen with paper
- USE pen with paper
?

I loved and still love playing these games because [but only for the good ones] they teach thinking outside the box for puzzle solving. So sure, some logic is moon logic, but it's still rewarding to figure it out.

[banjoeskimo]

Your example makes sense, but you're over simplifying. Technically speaking, it's entirely possible for a box of cereal to be "used," and one would assume that "using" a box of cereal would entail opening, and then eating the contents. Since I wanted to get to the bottom of a box of cereal, I clicked "use." Shoot me. Given that 90% of the time when the game wants you to do something with an item you use the "use" command, and when the "open" command gets used it's on a door, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that combining the two could cause confusion. Furthermore, what the game classifies as "use" is pretty wide. Sometimes it means combining items, sometimes it means eating them, sometimes it means blowing them up. If the game's spent 3 hours telling me that "use" is synonymous with "whatever the game wants me to do with that particular item," of course I'm going to assume that I'm meant to press "use."

In any case, my point is this: the game frequently lays down puzzles for the player in which the difficulty isn't figuring out what you want your character to do, but which chain of commands you need to use in order to get your character to do what it is you're thinking. That's not "puzzle solving" in my book, that's putting up an arbitrary wall between the player and their actions that destroys any notion of interactivity and regresses into trial and error gameplay.

Still, I managed to finish it last night, and it was pretty funny. I haven't played the rest of the games in the series, but I'm hopeful that when I do the puzzles won't feel quite so arbitrary.

As an aside, worst puzzle in the game was definitely going all the way to the underground lava section to see LeChuck, reaching an impasse, going through my entire f---ing inventory with no success, only to find out I had to trek all the way back to the Cannibals in order to proceed. Most blatant fetch quest ever.

[concrete donkey]

Your example makes sense, but you're over simplifying. Technically speaking, it's entirely possible for a box of cereal to be "used," and one would assume that "using" a box of cereal would entail opening, and then eating the contents. Since I wanted to get to the bottom of a box of cereal, I clicked "use." Shoot me. Given that 90% of the time when the game wants you to do something with an item you use the "use" command, and when the "open" command gets used it's on a door, I don't think it's unreasonable to say that combining the two could cause confusion. Furthermore, what the game classifies as "use" is pretty wide. Sometimes it means combining items, sometimes it means eating them, sometimes it means blowing them up. If the game's spent 3 hours telling me that "use" is synonymous with "whatever the game wants me to do with that particular item," of course I'm going to assume that I'm meant to press "use."

In any case, my point is this: the game frequently lays down puzzles for the player in which the difficulty isn't figuring out what you want your character to do, but which chain of commands you need to use in order to get your character to do what it is you're thinking. That's not "puzzle solving" in my book, that's putting up an arbitrary wall between the player and their actions that destroys any notion of interactivity and regresses into trial and error gameplay.

Still, I managed to finish it last night, and it was pretty funny. I haven't played the rest of the games in the series, but I'm hopeful that when I do the puzzles won't feel quite so arbitrary.

As an aside, worst puzzle in the game was definitely going all the way to the underground lava section to see LeChuck, reaching an impasse, going through my entire f---ing inventory with no success, only to find out I had to trek all the way back to the Cannibals in order to proceed. Most blatant fetch quest ever.

i have to agree with everything you've said.

[Watchers]

As an aside, worst puzzle in the game was definitely going all the way to the underground lava section to see LeChuck, reaching an impasse, going through my entire f---ing inventory with no success, only to find out I had to trek all the way back to the Cannibals in order to proceed. Most blatant fetch quest ever.

I hated that point too. I actually yelled 'mother****er' at my PC. >_> Absolutely no indication that you needed to see the cannibals again.

[Xanafalgue]

I still have my old hand-drawn maps of the Eye of the Beholder series :P

Jesus! Haven't heard that name for a while :D

I kind of agree with what some have said in this thread though, some of the puzzles (I use the term lightly) were just illogical and/or stupid. I don't think it takes anything away from the package as a whole as these moments aren't that common, but its a point worth making.

[Citizen Erased]

From the pervious posts, its easy to see how point and click games died out on the pc in the 90's. But I do hope that more classic lucas arts P&C games get re-released but with upgraded gameplay rather than just a HD face lift.

[Chrispy]

Just completed all achievement points. Finished it in under 2 hours.

you serious dude? pretty sure i spent 2hrs on the demo?

[tau]

I just bought it for my mother****ing iphone. Awesome.

[Manny M]

Yeah, I just noticed it's on the iPhone. How's it look/play?

[tau]

I shall tell you in a few minutes after the 351mb download finishes! Yeah... biggest iphone app ever.

[tau]

Meh, 1.4gb to 350mb, you really can see the lack of detail, graphically. Still looks good, but the other versions are much better looking. Lechuck looked great on the pc, where I remember actualy going holy crap he looks awesome but the lack of visual effects on the iPhone version just makes it look like a higher res version than the visual orgasm it is otherwise.

[banjoeskimo]

Just completed all achievement points. Finished it in under 2 hours.

Impossible. "Marooned Everyone" requires finishing the game a second time (even if it's from an older save.) :p

[JC Henderson]

Impossible. "Marooned Everyone" requires finishing the game a second time (even if it's from an older save.) :p

I should have made it clear this was the second run through. But once you have a solution and skip conversations 2 hours is easy. The longest part is getting the insults needed.

[Creedy]

Just finished this twice and since I had never played it before I used the original graphics for my first playthough. I don't like the art style of the updated graphics at all.
Good game I must say and it made me laugh quite a few times. Not as much as other Lucasarts classics though.

[Manny M]

The voice acting alone warrants playing the updated version, imo.

[Creedy]

Being able to have the voices with the original graphics would be really nice.

[/backslash]

Being able to have the voices with the original graphics would be really nice.
But they didn't have voice acting back then! It wouldn't be the original game otherwise :p

[Jickle]

Being able to have the voices with the original graphics would be really nice.

I agree, I hope if/when they do the sequel you can mix 'n match sound/graphics/interface.