Escape From Monkey Island

[Zachspyfox033]

I know that this isn't available on Telltale, but it's a good adventure game which is similar to Ankh. Like Ankh, the world is very big, the main character walks slow, and its a bit silly. If you liked Ankh you should get Escape From Monkey Island. You can download the demo here (http://www.worldofmi.com/thegames/monkey4/index.php) (The demo is in the middle of the page) Its also available in different languages.

[Kefky]

Heh, I don't think you're gonna have any new people play this game. :)

It's pretty damn infamous. For good or bad, most adventure gamers already got through it and made up their minds what they think about it. I happen to be a fan, but I'm a rare breed.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Heh, I don't think you're gonna have any new people play this game. :)

It's pretty damn infamous. For good or bad, most adventure gamers already got through it and made up their minds what they think about it. I happen to be a fan, but I'm a rare breed.

I like the game too. Some of the controlling is annoying, but it's a good game. :)

[Eater]

shouldn't you suggest getting secret before escape

[Armakuni]

I didn't like this game much.. I would probably have liked it better if it wasn't a Monkey Island game but as a Monkey Island game I thought it was pretty mediocre.

[Zachspyfox033]

Monkey Island one and two are bad because there old, but Monkey Island three and four are newer with better graphics, and you hear the voices of the charactors. Unlink in one and two when they only talked in subtitles. Monkey island 4 is the best of them all. Three in ok, but four is the best.

[MurrayTheSkull]

Since when does old mean bad? Thats the most ridiculous logic ever. Generally speaking, the best known and most beloved games are old. Think Lemmings. Tetris. Worms. Some games are able to stand the tests of time - still being great to play even though technology has passed them by.

The first three games were, and still are, all great. CMI certainly does profit from voiceovers, because lets face it, theyre done brilliantly. Singing pirate barbers - I say no more. But thats not to say voiceovers are necessary. Theyre really, really not. For adventure games its all about great story and characters. Books manage this without audio, so can games.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

A pirate I was meant to be....

I played through the whole game again solely just to get a save game before that song starts. :D

[Zachspyfox033]

I admite, some old games are classics. I love to play Pac-Man and Froger. All I was trying to say, was that old Adventure games were bad because without the graphics adventure games don't seem real. With adventure games you need good graphics. But for arcade games, you don't.

[Haggis]

Yeah, you're right. Same reason classical music is bad. I mean, with music, you need electric guitars. For paintings, you need realistic graphics, so there the older paintings are better. Impressionism is bad because it's newer, but it has less realistic graphics.

[Badwolf]

Monkey Island one and two are bad because there old, but Monkey Island three and four are newer with better graphics, and you hear the voices of the charactors.

I take it you're not old enough to have been around in the 16 bit era, when barely anything was 3D and the most voice acting you heard in a game, for the most part, was the bootup screeching "SEEEEGAAAAA".
When games were good based on how good the game was, and not how many pores you could count on each characters face?

Some games do work better in 3D and with voice acting. Some don't.
Give me Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the one with midi music, no voice acting, and 2D) over any new Sonic game (poor camera and controls because of the move to 3D, kiddy rock music, and 4Kids voice actors smeared all over the disc).

EDIT: "Without graphics adventure games don't seem real"? Have you played Monkey Island 1, 2, or any other 'retro' adventure game for that matter, for any reasonable amount of time. Or at all?

[patters]

these games represent the foundations and inspiration of many modern adventure games
graphics may seem old but they are not all that important in an adventure game the story is however and these games have fantastic stories

[Jake]

I admite, some old games are classics. I love to play Pac-Man and Froger. All I was trying to say, was that old Adventure games were bad because without the graphics adventure games don't seem real. With adventure games you need good graphics. But for arcade games, you don't.

Woof. Do you also not watch black and white movies?

[Zachspyfox033]

Woof. Do you also not watch black and white movies?

I will watch a movie or TV show thats in black and white if the story line is good. Its the same with old adventure games, I will only play them if the story line is good.

[Badwolf]

So you'll watch and play any old new tosh if it has good graphics?

[Zachspyfox033]

So you'll watch and play any old new tosh if it has good graphics?

No, if its bad I will stop playing it even if it has good graphics. But an old game with bad graphics would need to be really good for me to keep playing it, while with new games with good graphics, it just needs to be good for me to keep playing it. But I will not play a bad game no mater what the graphics are like. (By bad, I mean the story line.)

[patters]

Unlink in one and two when they only talked in subtitles.

what about films that aren't in english such as crouching tiger, Akira or one of the thousands of others

do you not like these because they are subtitled for english (ok dubbing are available but are awful)

[MurrayTheSkull]

With adventure games you need good graphics.

This I couldnt disagree with more.

Some genres do pretty much rely on graphics, I agree with that. FPS games being the main example. Theres two parts to an FPS game - the graphics and the action. The action tends to be the same from game to game, which is to say you shoot and then you walk, or if you prefer, you do both at the same time (Perhaps Im being a little harsh with them, but they bore me :p). So the only way to differentiate between them is on how good the graphics are. Just look at the hype Halo 3 or Bioshock or The Darkness get. Its all along the lines of "Wow. That looks impressive".

The main component of an adventure game though, as you sort of suggested yourself, are the plot and the characters, which together make up the story of the game. You dont need fancy graphics anywhere for that, and the quality of the graphics isnt going to do that much to help or hinder the game. If you can see what youre doing, all is good. A little bit of artistic style is indeed nice (CMI is absolutely gorgeous), but I dont see it as a make-or-break deal; simply a nice added extra.

[Zachspyfox033]

what about films that aren't in english such as crouching tiger, Akira or one of the thousands of others

do you not like these because they are subtitled for english (ok dubbing are available but are awful)

If its a really good story line I will watch the movie. But if its just good and not great, I will not watch it. Basicaly a movie or game with sibtitles would need to have a really good syory line for me to watch it. But it they talked in voices, it would just need to be good for me to play it.

[Zachspyfox033]

The main component of an adventure game though, as you sort of suggested yourself, are the plot and the characters, which together make up the story of the game. You dont need fancy graphics anywhere for that.

I admit, the graphics don't need to be great, but with the old DOS games, the graphics are so bad that the game doesn't seem real at all.

[Badwolf]

I don't think any of us are really going to get anywhere here, you have your opinion, we have ours.

You just seem a bit closed-minded about graphics and realism. It's only your own loss in the end though.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Adventure games don't need good graphics, but it helps. :)

[Kefky]

I think the ultimate goal of adventure games are to be interactive movies. But ya know, with actual gameplay, unlike those crappy sega CD fmv games. Modern graphics obviously help getting to that goal by building world and putting you in it. There's no reason why we can't appreciate the older games, of course, hell, I was there when they came out too. But the people making those games were always using the best technology they had, so there's no reason why the people currently making them shouldn't do that too.


Eh, that made no sense at all. Never mind. :p

[Guybrush_Threepwood]

Monkey Island one and two are bad because there old, but Monkey Island three and four are newer with better graphics, and you hear the voices of the charactors. Unlink in one and two when they only talked in subtitles. Monkey island 4 is the best of them all. Three in ok, but four is the best.

Boy, no offense or anything, but that's the most superficial comment I've ever heard.
Hope you'll notice that 1 & 2, during the years of their release, had even better quality than 3 & 4, if you consider the big gap of years and the graphical level of 1990, 1991, 1997 and 2000.
Expecially Monkey 4 wasn't anything special graphically, (ok, it's great 'cause it's Monkey Island) when it was released, while 1 & 2 looked awesome back in '90 e '91.
Don't just think of the graphics or the voices dude, I laughed a lot more reading 1 & 2's subtitles than listening to 3 & 4's voices.
I repeat, no offense, but I HAD to say that.

[Kaldire]

I agree guybrush o.O the originals are classics.. modern games dont make that category to often. And with monkey the early ones WAAAY out rank the newer. Go to any poll site or ask in any forum what their favs are HAHA. Anyway you have your right to what you think but just because a game has lesser graphics doesnt mean its lesser in stature. Wow pretty odd comment hehe.

[Guybrush_Threepwood]

Eheh, posting a comment like Zachspyfox033's here in this forum is like being George Bush visiting Afghanistan without a body guard.

[Zachspyfox033]

Eheh, posting a comment like Zachspyfox033's here in this forum is like being George Bush visiting Afghanistan without a body guard.

I don't get it. What does that mean?

[Badwolf]

He means you'd be torn apart in seconds by legions of people who completely disagree with everything you do and say, and there'd be nobody about to stand by you.

[Kaldire]

Dont worry .. I wont eat you Zach... ive already used all my meal points today(jk im not on a meal program im 120lbs)

[backslash]

Monkey Island one and two are bad because there old, but Monkey Island three and four are newer with better graphics, and you hear the voices of the charactors. Unlink in one and two when they only talked in subtitles. Monkey island 4 is the best of them all. Three in ok, but four is the best.
Depends on what year you grew up in. If you were born in the early 1990's then of course you'd say that because everything else around you has the better resolutions/anti-aliasing/3D utilisation. However if you were born in the early 80's you'd have no reason to make this claim unless these games weren't presented to you in its original form and original year. Everything had to start with pixels and text otherwise there wouldn't be any games at all.

The main problem lies in actually trying to run these games on today's PCs without using ScummVM (http://www.scummvm.org/compatibility.php). With this program you can alter the graphics slightly to make them look more presentable. I'm pretty sure there's also a way to run the emulator on a Sony PSP with old firmware. The smaller it is, the better it'll look.

Anyway if you can look past the graphics and into the humour displayed within the text you'll find a great game hidden within. If you're a graphics whore then I guess there's no use in trying to change your mind but as the saying goes "Never judge a book by its cover"

As for me, I prefer MI3, you can't go past zombie pirates! Also it gave way to a hilarious easter egg with the introduction of Grim Fandango which at the time was in the process of being developed

[Kedri]

I only played the demo of MI3, but it seemed nice to me...

[t_a_o]

Just came across this thread...

Just yesterday I finished MI3 - The Curse of monkey Island, and it was just awesome.
I love the two first too - but the fourth!!!

I have to say, the keyboard controlling is just NOT my cup of tea.
Especially not in these games.
I installed it(MI4) a week ago, and couldn't get myself to go on playing more than half an hour :(
Too bad really, since I love the MI series. But lets see.. maybe when christmas comes around, I'll gather up some energi to keep trying... :P
(Maybe I should note, that I've actually already played it, when it first came out - way back then. Had just forgotten about the controls) :D

[briancharliee]

Yes I've played that game, looong time ago. yes it was as good as the curse, more chalenges for Guybrush.

[Filthy Assistant]

Escape was the first MI game I played, and got me into adventure games. Played it when it came out for PS2. Then I got MI3, then a couple years ago I downloaded MI 1 and 2 (c'mon, did anyone actually use the floppies?). Ever since Escape, though, I've loved adventure games, and I've played every LucasArts one and pretty much every non-LucasArts one. At least all the good ones.

Edit: We can all avoid scurvy if we all eat an orange.

[glenfx]

Im a graphic artist, yet i LOVE MI 1 and 2 graphics, they dont need to feel real, they are NOT real and wasnt intended for them to be real.

You dont seem to have played either of those because of the graphics, story wize they are great (for not saying they are the best), yet you say they are bad because of the story? (lol) quite contradictory i must say.

Play them from begining to end and then tell us they sucked.

[xChri5x]

Monkey Island 1 and 2 are bad because they have bad graphics? What!?
This is ridiculous. Escape from Monkey Island was the worst of the series.

[Zachspyfox033]

Escape from Monkey Island was the worst of the series.

I think that Escape from Monkey Island was the best of the series, and not just because of the graphics, the story line was really good too. You found out the secret of monkey island, which is that The Giant Monkey Head is a robot. You found out that Herman Toothrot is really H.T. Marley, Elaine's Grandfather, and you found out about the Ultimate Insult.

[Mysterysheep]

I would have to say with the limitations of the time, Monkey Island 1 & 2 are some of the most beautiful looking games I have ever seen (of the time) and stand up pretty good today. EMI! EMI! I'm disappointed with you Zach! :D

[xChri5x]

The best looking game in the series imo is Curse, thanks to Bill Tiller's beautiful backgrounds.

[AllenB]

I think that Escape from Monkey Island was the best of the series, and not just because of the graphics, the story line was really good too. You found out the secret of monkey island, which is that The Giant Monkey Head is a robot. You found out that Herman Toothrot is really H.T. Marley, Elaine's Grandfather, and you found out about the Ultimate Insult.
Don't forget the plotholes. Herman Toothrot is Elaine's Grandfather? Pish. How could he have crashed on Monkey Island on the Sea Monkey with the hanging man, who calls him Toothrot, if he crashed on it at a different point in time in another part of the world. I disagree with it. Also, Stan knew Guybrush in CMI. Why not in EMI? The giant monkey head is a robot? Too many plot holes, too many mini games. Not to say that there weren't many good things about it, I enjoyed the rehab thoroughly. I also thought that making the perfume was pretty funny too. Monkey Kombat, though, urgh.
No disrespect to Mike Stemmle, but when it comes to Monkey Island give me the dream team of Grossman, Schafer and Gilbert any day. MI4 just doesn't seem canonical.

[evilguy12]

Depends on what year you grew up in. If you were born in the early 1990's then of course you'd say that because everything else around you has the better resolutions/anti-aliasing/3D utilisation. However if you were born in the early 80's you'd have no reason to make this claim unless these games weren't presented to you in its original form and original year.

I was born in the early 90s and I still think M1 and 2 rock. I managed to get The Monkey Island Bounty Pack off my friend for ridiculously cheap price (20 pounds and on Amazon it is 200 pounds!) and I am having great fun playing them . Only thing that bothers me is getting the music in MI 1 working because it is the CD version. I really enjoyed CMI also but I cannot play through EMI. I found it really boring (probably one of the first adventure games I have ever found boring), not nearly as funny as the first 3, annoying controls (PC version) and I twice encountered bugs in the game which meant I couldn't continue (the inventory items stay on the screen and will not dissappear and for some reason I still have the pistol which crashes the game ever time I try to look at my inventory).

[esteban]

Don't forget the plotholes. Herman Toothrot is Elaine's Grandfather? Pish. How could he have crashed on Monkey Island on the Sea Monkey with the hanging man, who calls him Toothrot, if he crashed on it at a different point in time in another part of the world. I disagree with it. Also, Stan knew Guybrush in CMI. Why not in EMI? The giant monkey head is a robot? Too many plot holes, too many mini games. Not to say that there weren't many good things about it, I enjoyed the rehab thoroughly. I also thought that making the perfume was pretty funny too. Monkey Kombat, though, urgh.
No disrespect to Mike Stemmle, but when it comes to Monkey Island give me the dream team of Grossman, Schafer and Gilbert any day. MI4 just doesn't seem canonical.

Yep, I agree with you. MI1 and 2 are the oldest games but the greatest, funniest and weirdest plots of the series. For me, CMI is the most beautiful (it looks like a cartoon!). And I found the team of CMI has written a script in the continuity of the end of MI2, which was not easy to do... Of course, I know that Ron Gilbert said it would like to do his own MI3 if he can, but CMI was a really great ending for the series. EMI was disappointed because of the 3D (the cartoon aspect from CMI was much greater), the keyboard control (how many time I missed my target location on Monkey Island because of it !) and the plot (too many contradictions in this game in the story continuity and the giant head a robot ??? Too weird, even for a Monkey Island). But I can't say I don't like this game. It was just a little deception (I have the same opinion with Grim Fandango because of the 3D and keyboard control but I found the script very good). A new Monkey Island was a great event for me... I hope someday a new one will come...

[bangskij]

I think the first two Monkey Island games look beautiful. No. 3 and 4 were so-so, plotwise as well as the gfx. But the Sam and Max reference in 3 is fun though :-)

I also think S&M hit the road looks good. I think Half Life 1 is far better than Crysis... I think the longest journey is epic in scope and expression.

In general I think the quest for ever more realistic gfx is flawed and pointless. New games look anonymous and generic, they lack strong art direction. There are plenty of levels on CS made by amateurs that simply look cool, and are fun to be in. Unlike F.E.A.R.

I wish they would make another Noone Lives Forever.

b

[Lars]

Count me to the vast demographic that thought "Escape" was only a big, fat "meh."

Basically, the graphics just didn't fit the style, and I don't even blame the engine's for it... I honestly felt that everyone involved in the game did a lackluster job. It's like they didn't even polish it, or in many cases, gave up halfway through it. There's a bunch of clues for my theory...

1) Stock music. Up to EMI, every instalment had its own instrumentalization of the main theme, and a neat little intro that set the tone. EMI simply takes the sample from the previous game and uses it to score a flip chart of still photographs. A FLIP CHART! You know... the kind of move you see in really bland PowerPoint presentations.

2) Most of the jokes where duds. When your most edgy pop culture reference revolves around a fake wannabe singer called Brittany, you should just stick tooth picks in the eyes of your writers until they beg for mercy.

3) The story just didn't flow as well, just wasn't as thrilling as the other three games. So, what did they decide to fill the blanks in with? Minigames. I could have forgiven them for inserting the "insult-game for dummies" right at EMI's start if it had'nt kicked my in the balls later on with that irritating Monkey Combat THAT JUST WOULDN'T END. Gee, thanks, writer's department! I think I'll switch the tooth picks for hot pokers.

4) Guybrush wasn't even likeable, which is the most offending thing to ever happen to the MI franchise. Yes, Guybrush was always a little bumbly, but in EMO he isn't just downright retarded. Which could, you know, be fun if his demeanor wasn't so off-putting. I think I have to blame both the writers and the graphic designers for this. If Guybrush isn't well written, you should *really* do some damage control with the graphics. You know... make him act more likeable, more realistic (well, as realistic as MI gets). I think CMI did the best job in that area. Something about the vague "art noveau"-stylings in "Curse" made our protagonists more accessible for the viewer. I think EMI would have profited from a similar design.

Oh gee... I've ranted quite a lot, haven't I? No more coffee for me today...

[Kefky]

Oy, why does every discussion about this game have to turn into nasty mud-slinging? And I feel kinda guilty for starting this one too...


For what it's worth, I love both old graphics and new graphics. :p

[V_Ben]

Yeah... can telltale get the lisence for monkey island too? we need a 4th one done right :P

[Zachspyfox033]

You mean a 5th one. The 4th one is out already.

[sam&maxfan]

The plotholes were because of what happened between MI2 and CMI. Guybrush escaped from the carnival to somehow have blond hair and lose a beard. He probably went to another dimension or something. How else could you explain the transition between the second game's ending and the third game's beginning?

[tabacco]

The sun exposure bleached his hair, and... the dehydration caused his beard to fall out?

[AllenB]

It's because when LeChuck's hex turned him back into a child the hair follicles on his face retracted. Guybrush then had to go through puberty again in a matter of seconds. It takes a while to grow a beard and considering Dinky Island is only a short distance from the rest of the Tri-Island area the bumper car didn't have long to travel. Therefore - no beard.

As for the blonde hair... I dunno, peroxide?

[All-thumbs]

Escape was alright, but the first two will always occupy more space in my heart. The dialogue was fantastic. I even got my sister to love them and she usually hates all my games.

[goatman_74]

A pirate I was meant to be....

I played through the whole game again solely just to get a save game before that song starts. :D

Quite a song wasn't it? One of the highlights of the series for me. Fortunately it's available to download (legally) on the Monkey Island site!

[All-thumbs]

Quite a song wasn't it? One of the highlights of the series for me. Fortunately it's available to download (legally) on the Monkey Island site!
Or you can always watch this version. :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG7WYCt4SRo

[Zachspyfox033]

You mean this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawQvD8L_h4&feature=related

[All-thumbs]

You mean this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AawQvD8L_h4&feature=related
Nope, I meant the link I posted. I was a parody of the song, but done by gamers. :D

[Tandy 400]

All I was trying to say, was that old Adventure games were bad because without the graphics adventure games don't seem real. With adventure games you need good graphics. But for arcade games, you don't.

I'm quite happy with text adventure games. Sometimes, leaving things to the imagination is best. :D

[Molokov]

I'm quite happy with text adventure games. Sometimes, leaving things to the imagination is best. :D

After all... if we all needed pictures to tell stories, noone would be reading novels anymore, we'd all just read comics or watch tv/movies.

[ladognome]

I've played all 4 games, but I'd have to say that Escape from Monkey Island is my least favorite. It's not a bad game, but it doesn't have that witty humor that the first 3 had. :/

[greenskittles]

I haven't played 1 or 2. I got CMI when it came out and it's one of my all time favorite games. The art style has always stuck with me. Not to mention the music.