E3 2009: The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
June 2, 2009
What happens when you take one of the greatest franchises of all time, update it, and prepare to release it as a Special Edition? If you are a Monkey Island fan then you are finding out the results make you crazier than a kid on Christmas morning. Yes, Monkey Island is returning and is coming from the team over at LucasArts.
The team at LucasArts decided, around a year go, to do something the hardcore fans would love and it quickly became evident that nothing would please this picky and nerdy fanbase more than an update to the most beloved Adventure game of all time. The Special Edition of The Secret of Monkey Island runs on top of the original version. Players will be able to switch back and forth between the old and new visuals and see exactly what changes were made at any point during the game.
Other changes include a built in hint system that will first point you in the right direction, next get more obvious, and finally draw a map to where and what you are supposed to do. There are no penalties for this other than losing points on the leaderboard and missing out on Achievements. However, when you have a Giant Q-Tip and aren’t sure what to do, it is nice to be told to stick it in a big Monkey’s ear.
Players will find that the verb menu of the original SCUM engine will be missing the list of verbs to click on below. Instead, players will click on the environment and use the A button to Walk, B button to look or open, and the thumb stick to move the cursor. (PC controls will be mouse and click based.)
The game will incllude a modern look with all hand-drawn art, brand new backgrounds, and characters that mostly resemble their later series personas. For example, Guybrush is a skinny punk kid instead of the chubby boy he appeared to be in the original title.
Another big change comes with the music. Because this was such an early title, the technology behind music in games has come a long ways. The remastered tracks will not leave your ears disappointed with live instruments and rewritten portions of the music.
Planned as a release for Xbox Live and the PC, The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition is a fans dream come true. Now can we please have a Special Edition for Monkey Island 2? Pretty please??
CVG Report CardThe Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
Developer: LucasArts
Publisher: LucasArts
1 Player Game
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: TBA
Platform: Xbox 360
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