It adds an unwelcome twitch-based element to a genre that has traditionally been popular for not requiring FPS like speed and timing in order to succeed. Strangely, some of the puzzles in the game are actually more difficult now than in the original version as the timing opportunities for performing certain actions have been drastically reduced. It’s not all wine and roses for the game, however. In other words, this is an adventure game that has finally been tweaked for use with a controller. Inventory access and commands also use only the shoulder buttons and sticks. The controls have also got a new addition, with a classic point n’ click mode still available, as well as a new “direct control” mode that lets players steer Guybrush around with analogue sticks. There is now also a highlight system that lets players push a shoulder button on their controller to have every object that can be interacted with pointed out, thus saving less patient players the trouble of the traditional adventure game “pixel hunt” of moving the cursor over every speck of screen real estate to find out which objects can be added to inventory and which can be manipulated for puzzles. Unfortunately it seems to be more location than actually tracking your progress, so it can often provide hints for puzzles you’ve already completed, and some of the “final” hints might still leave adventure game newbies scratching their heads and retreating to the internet anyway for more comprehensive solutions. In addition to a slowly escalating system of hints that go from gently pushing players in the right direction to flat out explaining solutions. Speaking of which, hints are just one of numerous additions made to make the game less aneurysm-inducing for today’s gamer. It’s funny, insightful and an entertaining all by itself. The best new audio addition, and potentially the biggest draw for older fans, is a new commentary provided by Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, the original creators. The music has also been re-done to give it more of a Caribbean flavour with recognizable instruments over the older bit-based tunes fans of the game played along to. The sharp writing now has some great delivery going for it, enhancing the genuinely funny dialog and dynamic between characters. If nothing else, Monkey Island 2 now sports well-delivered voice acting, whereas the original was a completely text-based affair. Where the game really begins to show dramatic improvement is in the sound department.
Cheerful, cartoony characters and backgrounds have a lush, hand-drawn look and feel to them, giving gamers the sense that they are playing through a well presented comic book. As with The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition all the blocky pixel art has been retained in a “classic mode” for those preferring a purist experience, but the default mode of the game is new, colourful artwork that more closely resembles the ideas and concept art the creators of the game doubtless had in mind that needed to be reduced significantly to run on the computers of the day. One of the big upgrades in this new version has to be the visuals. As the title implies, it’s actually a lot harder to kill a ghost than one might think, and LeChuck manages to return as a threat, forcing Guybrush to adventure across a few new islands in the search of an elusive treasure known only as “The Big Whoop.” It continues the story of the bumbling, lovable Guybrush Threepwood, now a boisterous pirate who bends any and all ears about his tales of defeating the dreaded ghost pirate LeChuck. Monkey Island 2 Special Edition is, like its predecessor, a high-definition remake of the original sequel updated for gamers of today.
But thanks to downloadable content and mobile platforms, the adventure game has gotten a new lease on life for people willing to forgo triple AAA, blockbuster visuals in favour of a rollicking yarn, and Monkey Island 2 was-and still is-one of the very best.
It’s a marginal niche now, having fallen from its lofty, well-loved heights back in the 80s and 90s when people thought of them as the closest analogue gamers had to interacting with a good book. It’s one of those little things, but I always get a slight tingle of pleasure whenever I get to write the words “adventure” as a genre to describe a game.
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