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Fan Reviews...
Back in the dark ages, just after CMI was released, we added a section for fan reviews of the game. Now, just for giggles,
we've put the section back up again. Have a look around, and you might find some familiar names too.
I must admit, I was shocked when I read the reviews on the CMI Fan
Review page. Some of the main gripes seem to be:
1) Not a good story
2) No Herman Toothrot
3) Somehow it isn't worthy
Now allow me to share my take on these arguments:
1) You know, I fail to see anything wrong with the story. It's the
best one so far, with some recurring characters that are actually funny,
an atmosphere-building curse, and no stupid rootbeer. The game also
features several of the funnier characters from the original 2, as well
as several "A man who can hold his breath for 10 minutes" references. I
liked the Goodsoup Resort on Blood Island, and the entire game flowed
smoothly, never a dull moment. Good story. I liked it better than the
first two.
2) Frankly, I've never liked Herman Toothrot. I could care less if that
trash heap made this game or not. To me, he was just an annoying
character in SMI that wouldn't stop popping up and going "Tee hee hee"
every time I came to a new place. That and whining about his banana
picker. There are also complaints floating about that Stan is not
represented properly. I loved him. Who says that annoying salesmen
have to talk fast? I personally loved his deliberate, "I'm your friend"
voice style with its purposely skewed accents and cliche phrases. I
also thought his arm movements were perfect. The game doesn't lack for
good new characters, either. Murray is easily the best secondary
character in any of the series. His witty dialogue, hilarious demeanor,
and ability to blend in with most of the settings make him something to
look forward to. Kenny is also funny, and by himself disproves the
cries that there is no irony in this game (I read that there was "no
irony" in one of the reviews above).
3) This game is, I think, the best of the series yet. It has the best
graphics, sound, atmoshpere (the breathmints and cotton t-shirts
destroyed SMIs atmosphere for me, as well as the staple remover, gopher
repellant, and vending machine), has a decent challenge, and has proven
FAR more likely to be replayed by me, epecially the pirate song and the
smugglers' cave.
My favorite recurring character: Murray. My favorite other character:
King Andre. Favorite scene: Smugglers' Cave. Only gripe: too short of
an ending. I rate it: 9 and a half, just 'cause of the ending.
coombsdm@earthlink.net
 
Well i have a coment about monkey island 3... i didn't like it that mutch... it was a fun game but monkey island 2 was mutch better... the story in 1 and 2 where more fun to play... and i thought that guybrush looked cool in MI2... Why did they have to change it that mutch... allso... i was disapointed at the ending... the rest of the game was ok... but when you get to the carneval it took a turn for the worse... and i never liked the idea (Not in MI2 ether..) with the carneval... Its a little strange with a carneval full with roller coasters in the 18 century.... well thats it... i think lucas arts can do better....
peter.flink@limhamnsgruppen.se
Hello!
I think that CMI is definitely a classic game. The graphics are amazing, especially compared to the first two games! The music is just brilliant, I think the music as you see Monkey Island at the beginning intro was superb, and so was the opening Monkey Island credits.
One bad thing though, was that it seemed to be easier than the first two. I've owned the first two games for a year now and haven't completed them yet! I got CMI for Christmas and finished it within a month, so if you are making Monkey 4, make it harder! But that doesn't mean I think it is rubbish. It is one of my favourite games, and probably will be for the next decade!!!
All in all, I give it 9 out of ten!!!
Sam Milsom The.Milsoms@btinternet.com
The feeling was a bit different from prequels, mainly because of the
voicing (some jokes really do look much funnier in the plain text),
but soon I got used to it, after all the voice acting was awesome.
Stan was one of my favorite characters in MI1 and MI2, and in CMI
I was not dissappointed in him a bit. I think his voice was very
fitting to his theme music... and I like what he did to the office :).
I admit, I was dissappointed in the ending, but the problem of a short
dissappointing ending seems to be a plague of modern gaming industry.
But, I hope, in MI4 (which I will be waiting for) they will explain
more about what happened. Or, for example, Guybrush on his way home
will remember that he forgot to save the monkeys and go back to MI,
where he will be expected by LeChuck's army of undead, now lead by
HERMAN TOOTHROT!!!... Or something like that...
The puzzles were easy, but smart (practically no fetching) and logical.
And besides, I believe it is better to complete a well-done adventure
in 3 days rather than run around and try using every object on every
object for weeks. Besides, even if CMI had taken me much more time,
in the end I would still believe it was to short.
The game has a lot of concepts, taken from MI1 and MI2 (swordsfighting,
finding a crew, using the same recipe twice (voodoo dolls in MI2,
hangover medicine in CMI)), but since the puzzles and the circumstances
were different it felt like playing a new game by the old rules rather
then playing the same game.
The new characters were fun, especially Murray (in fact, his monologue
saves the whole ending). And, of course the singing (Guybrush's
audition and the pirate song) was hillarious!!!
Rating: 10 monkeys out of 10, plus Captain LeChimp!
(11 total)
yral@erols.com
In a time where adventure gaming seems to be on its last legs and puzzles
involve simply clicking on an object ( a la Bladerunner), to play an
adventure game with a flawless puzzle structure, intergrated perfectly into
the game is a relief and a joy. Okay, the Monkey 3 plot is not going to win
any awards and is weak compared to Broken Sword 2, but hey, what do
adventure gamers want? Stories about ancient, mystical ghosts or clever
puzzles, which when solved make you say " wow, that was a jolly clever
puzzle". Monkey 3's plot is enough to keep you interested, but the puzzles
are what make the game fun to play and ultimetely that it was is most
important in an adventure game. The graphics and animation are excellent and
the voice overs are very well acted; the music and sound effects are also
very atmospheric. The game was a pleasure to play and I felt fulfilled by
the end; the ending was not brilliant but the game I had played before the
ending more than made up. An adventure game writer should focus on making
quality puzzles, then build a respectable, fairly interesting story based
around the puzzles, then final he should make sure that the presentation of
the game is top class (for the era it is made of course). I believe this is
the approach that the Monkey Island writers have taken and this is why the
first two Monkey games are still more fun to play than most new adventure
games with fancy graphics e.g. Starship Titanic or Bladerunner.
A brilliant game and easily 10 out of 10.
nicholas@hitchhiker.demon.co.uk
First of all i'd like to say that CMI is a good game in it's own right.
But sadly it misses that certain epic quality and atmosphere of the other
two MI's - all the greatest graphics and most beautiful music in the world
is
not going to make up for an ill-conceived and _shallow_ storyline. Also i
don't
think the dialogue is up the same standard as MI1/2.
Frankly i don't think it deserves to have the "Monkey Island" in it's
title.
The guys at Lucasarts have done a fine job but Ron Gilbert's ending in MI2
obviously had them stumped- the ending was rushed and doesn't even come
close to explaining how Guybrush got out of that mess.
7 monkeys/10
ixvite_1@hotmail.com
First of all, sorry for my bad english but i am french.
Well i must say that i am a big fan of MI. My first version was the Amiga one and it was the first time i play to a game during 24 Hours without stop. I was already a fan of the Lucasfilm games universe (games like Maniac mansion, Indiana jones or Zac McCraken), but MI was really special.
Then came MI 2 and his Amiga version with 11 disks. It was as fun and as good (prehaps even better) .
Finally came CMI and for the first time with MI I was desy. I can t really say why, maybe i was expecting too much, but i ve found it less fun. The end is really botch up and not even fun. ( the two first has really funny end but in CMI...nothing). And the humour in MI is really at the center of each games.
so i hope really better for the next one.
viper@infonie.fr
I think CMI is now the best adventure of LucasArts because a lot of reasons:Better text font, COOL and excellent animation, good music, good intro, a lot of jokes, very original and long. The only thing I didn't like too much was Guybrush, The voice was excellent but, I liked more his look on MI2, he was more piraty.
Edmundo Ruiz-Ghanem
The Netmonkey
ruizghanem@geocities.com
http://welcome.to/pmi
First off, I want to say that I excpected alot from the game, and I must
say that the intro pleased me very much! And I'd like to split the game
into 3 sections:
Beginning: Part 1 & 2...
I think the beginning was VERY good. The the puzzels we're not mind
bending, although at some points of the game, the were some things that
weren't obvious enough. The characters in the beginnig were VERY good.
So I'd give this part: 9 / 10 Monkees
Middle: Part 3 & 4
I liked the sailing alot. And it was very fun with the witfull quote. On
blood Island it was easy at first, until things became very hard and
took a full stop for a day. And then went a little on and then another
stop. But all in all, the puzzels and characters on blood island were
also very good...
So I'd give this part: 8 / 10 Monkees
End: Part 5 & 6
I was very dissapointed with this part. The characters were good, but I
didn't enjoy the game play. It was too short. And the worst thing was
probably the ending I think. I had excpected more from the entro... :-/
So I'd give this part: 5 / 10 Monkees
All in All:
I liked the game alot.
So the overall score for me would be: 8 / 10 Monkees
Lasse Laursen
Gazoo@Vossnet.de
I was having a great time playing CMI until I got into the crypt and
realized I had no paste! Unfortunately, there is no way for me to get
it in the regular version of the game. In the voodoo priestess' digs,
the paste just isn't there. In the enhanced (harder, more puzzles)
version, the paste exists, but that doesn't help me to get out of the
crypt in the regular version!! Review score: 5 monkeys (until I get out
of the crypt).
judith11@emirates.net.ae
This game RULED!!!
My only gripe about Monkey Island 3 was that it didn't last long
enough. I wanted it to go on forever! Guybrush's voice was perfect,
although--call me crazy--for some reason, I thought Guybrush should be
the one with the British accent. I LOVED it when Elaine socked Guybrush.
His physical response was PERFECT! I also enjoyed making Guybrush die,
even though I felt bad for doing it. It was just so cool the way he did
it. I didn't like Guybrush as a kid, though. He was too...I don't
know...it was just *wrong*. I don't know how to explain it. And I didn't
find anything wrong with the ending--Guybrush looks great in a suit!
Except--this is the biggest disappointment--he didn't kiss Elaine!!
After 3 years! (In game time.) And the part where you had to peel the
map off Palido's back was priceless. That's gotta be the grossest thing
I've ever done in a computer game. And yes, Murray rocks! I also loved
(boy, I do go on, don't I?) the sword-fighting. Always have, always
will. And the ship battles were a very nice touch.
To sum it all up then:
Good--Guybrush's voice, the cut-scenes, Guybrush's facial expressions
(yes, he has them in this game! ;)), Guybrush's overall character (he
seemed more quick to catch on in this game than in the others and had a
razor-sharp wit to go with that sword of his--that just somehow
materialized out of nowhere...), Murray, the banjo duel. (It took me 18
tries to figure out that that was what I was supposed to do, and my
brother got it the first time he went out there!)
Bad--Nothing more than a hug for Elaine, and the game didn't last for
the rest of my life. And the voodoo lady didn't play as big a part, but
that's not that horrible.
Other stuff--Kenny cracked me up. Stan sounded exactly as I'd
imagined. I loved the "Hellspawn flame-spewing LeChuck". And...what's
the whole deal with Guybrush and porcelain?
Favorite quote: "Hey, this quicksand is sucking all the cool stuff I
found in that snake from my pants! ...Now THERE'S an odd sensation..."
Oh yes, and I loved the two ghosts. :)
Rating: 12/10 monkeys!
Tanaquil Furrfoot
firebolt@cruzio.com
I loved the game because of all the excellent charcters ( my favourite:
Murray) and the GREAT(!!!) humor.But Stan is a bit of a disapointment and i
miss some of the charcters from Monkey Island 1.
Please e-mail me for other oppinons!
Thanks.
eoldeide@hotmail.com
I have just started the game. In fact, I am currently trapped in the snake and don't see any way out.
But first of all I was impressed by the beauty of the game...the opening shot of Monkey Island and the ensuing battle shows great artistry. I've never seen clouds drawn that way, but it really works well. And the stars in the sky.....WOW.
The acting is great and the sound...superb!! Sometimes I just turn on the game and listen to the sounds for a while before choosing which level to play. Reminds me of the beginning of the "Pirates of the Carribbean" ride at Disneyland (before they put the restaurant in, and ruined the atmosphere.)
I think the folks at Lucasarts really appreciate how important the sound and the music are to a game..Full Throttle was a masterpiece of sound, for example. You notice it in the really subtle things, like the dropping of the club after the hero gets knocked out, and click of the pocket watch.
Gotta mention the acting, also. For comparison, try "The Dig" I know it has a lot of fans, but it could have been soooo much better if the actors hadn't simply read their lines without any feeling. "Full Throtle", on the other hand, is extremely well acted, and (getting back to CMI), so is "Curse of Monkey Island"
Anyway, getting back to my current situation, I think I stumbled into a place that is rare in a Lucasarts game...a dead end. I'm in the snake and all that's in my inventory is what was in the snake's stomach. And none of that helps to get me out. Alas!
japetrso@pacbell.net
I thought that the game was rubbish. not for the marveous game play but
to the one thing that just destroyed the game. I mean come on, why oh
why oh why. Yes you have guest it the complete lack of hermantoothrot
the one and only star of monkey one and two. A still picture of him is
blastfar'murry', it's self. the game would be great if hermantoothrot
had been an active part of the game.
story boy
goldk9@hotmail.com
Well not as good as it was expected.... why
not much humor.... and most of all not much originality.....
Guybrusg changes dramatically.... his attitude and behaviour from MI2...
Guybrush was selfish type person in MI2 but now he is too cary.....
ending is not that good.... and Guybrush should'nt have married Elaine
... that does'nt look right....
As a game CMI was fantastic... but as MI part3 not so good
Thanks,
Naveed Ahmed
http://come.to/mi
I must say this game was different from the previouse 2 games.As far as
graphics and sounds go,it was great.But puzzels and plot...blah.Many of
the new characters were great.I loved the banjo scene with Edward Van
Helgan.And I loved it when the pirates were singing on the ship and
Guybrush ended the song by using the word orange as a ryhme and
Cut-throat Bill tried to save it by saying door hinge.I cracked up!
I also loved the part when Guybrush turned into a little boy.He looked
so damn funny!And the snow cone guy at the carnival was one of the
coolest and funniest characters on there.I was however dissapointed
about Stan.That was one of the main reason I bought the game was to see
Stan.I knew it was bad when he didn't say Howdy first.Then he sounded
more like a gameshow host instead of a salesman.(Sigh)
But overall I enjoyed the game.But their's just one thing that bothers
me.WHAT THE HELL IS THE STUMP JOKE IN MONKEY ISLAND 1????????
roryo@ix.netcom.com
After playing and completing CMI, one thing alone ruins the complete
"excellent game" experience: the voices. In past LucasArts 'talkies'
such as Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, and especially Full
Throttle, the dialogue has seemed to go more fluently, no matter which
choice you choose. It seems to me like they just read the opening to the
conversation once, then read all the possible reponses, which left
anything but the first listed response sounding canned and annoying.
Guybrush also only has one or two "i don't want to touch that" lines,
where as in Sam and Max, you could do enough of them that Sam would
burst into tears. This kind of thing is very evident in the pirate song.
It was hilarious, but sometimes they weren't synched up with the music,
or rushed a line like they didn't really know the tempo when they were
recording it.
There is one obvious solution to this: play CMI with the voices OFF. It
makes the game about ten times more enjoyable. I mean, how does one say
"But who eats all the doughmuts and roughs up the transients?" out loud?
Sure, the voices were selected well (espeially Guybrush, Murray, Haggis,
LeChuck, and that bald pirate with the jawbreaker).
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the game, except for the ending
sequence, and the fact that for yet a third time you are doing
something, building some kind of trap for LeChuck while he comes around,
walking onto the room you're in, waving his arms around and eventually
hurting you, forcing you to go into the next room. And it's kind of lame
that he's going from Flame-spewing-hotter-thn-hell-LeChuck to (if a MI4
exists) colder-than-your-mom-LeChuck. It's kind of cliché, you know.
Murray and LeChuck were just about the best characters in the game. I
guess it's just easy to write evil humor (Prepare... the... flaming...
voodoo... cannon ball... - great part, possibly leChuck's best in the
game). And on a final note, just to ruin the entire "review," I was
really hoping for some neat-o-riffic Rivenesque 3D monkey-coaster video.
That was a let down.
Rating? oh... yeah.. 9/10 (as in nine out of ten, not nine tenths).
Sorry for the long review (damn you 'Western Civilization' and your long
papers)
Jake Rodkin - gybrusht@cartsys.com
http://www.cartsys.com/jake/mienter.html
Just completed the game!! Man!!! What an experience...laughing out loud all
the way...I loved it especially when the whole game suddenly turns into a
musical! Amazing scene... it was so funny I even expected some monkeys to
appear in the background and start dancing...hehe...
That one monkey pirate guy was freaky!!! But hilarious!
I've been playing LucasArts games since Maniac Mansion on my Apple IIe, which
to this day remains my favorite LucasArts game--for its originality, multiple
use of characters (Day of the Tentacle does this too), and really odd humor...
The first Monkey Island was great and so was the second. This third is a very
nice addition, and not to be missed.
Hmmm...I heard Gary Coleman was in here...who did he play?
Anyways, even though the salesman Stan didn't really do that crazy pointing
thing and fast-talk as one may expect, but it didn't slow down the game...he
sounded like a car salesman, which was passable. It wouldve' been great if
that fast-talking guy in Micro-Machines commercial had played him--that
would've been great!
I'm probably one of the few who actually LIKED the ending cut scene...
Yeah, LeChuck went down rather quickly and that sudden "happily ever after"
type scene at the end may seem abrupt..and simple...but then.....
we have the credits...with the music....the ending credits finally all roll up
and all that then...there's the FINAL cutscene (LucasArts do this in many of
their games--e.g. the flag scene after the end credits of Day of the
Tentacle, the "wine" dialogue at the end of Monkey 2, the yellow bunnies on
the road at the end of Full Throttle) with the whole scene taking place at the
modern time..where you hear a little girl's voice and her dad telling him
about a legend
that happened long time ago... which wrapped up the game as one would do on a
storybook...sort of like The Princess Bride with the storyteller telling his
kid this is the way it ended.... Thus, I thought the corny "pasted-on" wedding
happy-ending (shown previously) fit just right..it's as "storybookish" (or
fairy-talish) as you can get...sort of a *wink wink*... Yeah, it's not like
"haw haw" kind of finish but one that left me a nice smile in the end.
Anyways.... I give the game:
9 out of 10!!! Almost a 10...almost....but I don't usually give out 10's that
much. :)
daartist1@cyberkorea.com
I'd have to say. The game is incredible, well anticipated, and at the same
time unexpected. People B**** and moan about non-recurring characters and such
rot, but is it not true that Herman was just a piece of irritating scenery
anyway. In CMI he just didn't get a speaking role. You don't have to have a
character in a game for the sake of the character. What I missed though....
and I'll probably get hit... was talking to the Men of Low Moral
Fiber(Pirates). Those guys were great. But otherwise, half the fun of a new
game is out with the old and in with the new. I was dreadfully disappointed
that it took me less than a week to beat the normal version of CMI, but I
expected as much. One thing about graphic adventures is that they have to end,
but thats why they have sequels. So don't get so caught up in the hub-bub,
bub. Just enjoy the game for what it was intended. It was meant to stand apart
from the rest of the series as a whole new game, as every game should. But
there were great refrences that only us Monkey Freaks would notice. I give
this game a 15 out of 10 monkeys because the graphics, technology and time
that LucasArts spent on it was insurmountable. You guys are just ingrates.
PS. I love LeChuckie!!!!!!!(the little doll that Andre gives you)
JediSRD@aol.com
CURSE RULED!
I bought my first monkey island game the day it came out (MI1) and I
loved it. I got the second one for christmas and loved it. The third one
came too late, but it was worth the wait. I beat it in 3 days, but I
still play it, trying to find unsolved easter eggs and other things,
too. I love it that they finally pieced together the whole story of the
trilogy. If any game could have been explained better, I want to hear
it. Sure, we've go our shoot-em ups like Quake or Postal, and we have
command & conquer reigning over strategy, but we should be proud that we
have Monkey Island reigning over adventure, unlike that game
Phantasmagoria 1. If you ask me, graphics are nothing. playability is
everything, and if you put them both together and make them both look
good, you're sure to get rave reviews. Let's hope Grim Fandango will be
just as good!
Everyone should vote for a monkey Island 4!
Brother HABIB
doctord@compuserve.com
Even though I've already done one review I feel inclined to point
out that many fans of the series seemed misguided on what was to be
expected from the sequel.
Some people out there were going to say that it was a good game no
matter what was churned out. There ARE people like that. Others
satisfied themselves with a few decent puzzles and nice presentation.
But that's NOT what was promised.
By definition Monkey Island is a GRAPHIC ADVENTURE. That means it is
in essence an interactive story. It's not supposed to be a nicely
decorated puzzle game. If it was, I would have expected it to be up on
the shelf with the latest Lemmings game or Tetris. Those of you who
enjoyed the game may have expected nothing more, but I paid my £35 for a
graphic adventure. That's why I didn't enjoy the game.
Like a good film, the only thing that keeps me coming back to a
graphic adventure is the story line. After you complete it once the
puzzles no longer pose any challenge but the story can still have an
emotional effect.
Those of you who've seen Escape from L.A., tell me you weren't
grossly dissapointed when you discovered it was just a spiced up version
of the original. That you were basically watching the same film. That's
how it felt when I played CMI. It was more like a Monkey Island data
disk or Monkey Island-Enhanced.
A good story needs drama and CMI was lacking. It felt like it had
been written by the programmers. Surely the most successful games
company in the world can afford decent script writers. No wonder
Spielberg had to step in on The Dig to help with character development.
If he hadn't we would've seen this failure two years ago.
Granted, there were some redeeming scenes, such as the escape from
the crypt with Murray, and the catapulting of the dead hotel patron, but
these were just isolated events and didn't effect the overall drama of
the story. The amusing characters were just sub-plots and were not
enough reason to make the game worthwhile.
The third game bore the Monkey Island label but it didn't continue
what was started with the first two, and as such I don't consider it a
part of the original story. I don't intend to buy any sequel that may
surface in the future, and it'll take some convincing to change my mind.
everliving@hotmail.com
When I first played Monkey 1, I thought it was a stupid game. That was
because it was the first adventure game I played on Amiga. But as I
understood the game type (and more English!), I learned to love it! That
was back in '92.
When I went of to junior high (it's not called that in Sweden, but I
don't know what to translate "högstadiet" to) I met my dear friend
Daniel Strandberg. He was a Monkey Island fan too. And he helped me a
bit with Monkey 2.
After playing Monkey 2 I… I… well there's no words! I was stunned,
amazed, I was…(there's still no words). Swinging reggae music, GREAT
graphic, even greater story, and wonderful humor.
I thought Ron Gilbert was God!
But then there was a hole in my soul. I had all ready played the best
game ever…and I was just 13 (or 14 don't remember) years old! What was I
going to do?! I tried everything! I even played SIERRA GAMES!!!! How low
can a boy sink?! Then a boy called Simon the Sorcerer entered the scene,
and my needs were satisfied…but still…I needed Guybrush! I needed the
Caribbean wind in my face! I needed the glory, the FAME, THE THRILL!
But, no…I didn't get it. Not even with Discworld and Simon the Sorcerer.
But then…a bird whispered in my ere to go to the scummbar, and what did
I read…THERE WAS GOING TO BEE ANOTHER SEQUEL!!! YES YES YES!!!
HAPPY HAPPY, JOY JOY!!! But…wait a minute…isn't Ron going to make the
game? Oh God! I was struck by lightning. Without him the game wouldn't
be Monkey Island! This troubled me a bit…that and the new type of
graphic. It had gone too much LucasArts. It wasn't Monkey Island.
Guybrush is not tall and thin. He's small, normally big, and have a bad
grown beard! Not this! This is not Guybrush! LeChuck looked kinda' like
he used to, Elain too, and Wally…but…but…Guybrush?
Anyway, I decided to give it the chance it deserved, and I'm glad I did!
It wasn't the old Monkey Island, but it was still Monkey Island…sort of
like "Monkey Island 2000". I missed some of the old "friends" from the
previous games. Herman the most. But, it was a cool game. Too short, but
good. (That's a little problem with LucasArts games. Now a days they
are too short. Just take Full Throttle as an example. Ok, The Dig was
quite "long". But…argh! Forget it!) But think of the ending…it's made so
that there can be a new sequel…
Monkey Island is not a game. It's a phenomenon. There for I can't give
it a score…(sorry, Skyfox) Either you love it or you hate it…and I LOVE
IT!!!
Marcus Nilsson, or MrMakke if you see me on IRC
(If you are interested in the Unofficial sequel to Zak MacKracken and
the Alien Mindebenders, check this out!
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/4912/ )
The dreaded pirate LeCh---!
The game is EXCELLENT!
The stump joke has been returned,We learn the tunnels under Dinky lead
into Monkey,and we learn the fates of the Dinky crew!
The game is not cool because of that...but because of the jokes!
I'm not the pirate you're looking for.
Nah,I don't want people following me around asking me about Grim
Fandango.
Say,that looks like the huge diamond ring in LeChuck's treasure hold.You
know,the one with that ghastly,disfiguring vodoo curse on it.Surely
Guybrush wouldn't give you THAT one.
10 out of 10 monkeys...
"Shut up, or I'll eat you."
MechaSonic
bookout@qnet.com
Ok, everyone says that CMI stinks cause of a couple flaws: 1)When
someone interupted someone else, there was a pause. 2)Herman Toothrot
wasn't in it. 3)The ending was too short. 4)The LeChuck sequence was
boring. 5)It was waaayyy to easy. 6)Stan wasn't a fast talker and as
annoying as we all thought. 7)Elaine wasn't really in it at all. 8)The
last scene was too easy (not as hard as the end of MI2). 9)Some
character were just plain annoying. 10)The "LeChuck being Guybrush's
brother" thing wasn't explained.
But it also had some good parts: 1)Murry was WAY cool. 2)Most
voices were amazing. 3)The music was better than anything I've ever
heard on a game (except X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter). 4)The islands were
cool. 5)The rhymes were great. 6)The pirate song was out of sight!
7)El Pollo Diablo RULED!!! 8)The cutscenes (except for the end) were
great. 9)Wally was funny. 10)There were good jokes.
There was much conflict in my head on a rating, so I give it a 9 out
of 10. If the end was better, and Herman Toothrot was in it, I would
have given it a 10. Great game.
P.S - can someone PLEASE tell me why the "LeChuck is Guybrush's
Brother" thing wasn't explained!!! Was he just dreaming it? Please
mail me at jalahouzos@bonzai.net Thanks!
-MikeBIG
jalahouzos@bonzai.net
Yeah. Well, I think the people who didn't like it are all frankly
mental....
For one thing, of COURSE Elaine Marley was British. The voice was
perfect. All of them were (something strange. Kenny the lemonade kid's
voice changes drastically when he says "Just because you're a grownup,
doesn't mean you can waste my time.). The music was amazing. There will
be a soundtrack. It would be stupid not to release one.
Um. I'm probably going to get garotted in a dark alley for this, but
I thought Herman Toothrot just wasn't much good. I like Mort the
gravedigger better.
However, there was one character I missed. You know, the guy who was
LeChuck's left-hand man in Secret of Monkey Island? I thought he was
cool. Oh well.
Secret of Monkey Island: 9/10
LeChuck's Revenge: 9.5/10
Curse: 9.5/10
dtaylor@sympac.com.au
Awesome--
What in the Good Lord's name are you people talking about. This is the greatest game ever created!! It is true that the ending pretty much sucked and Elaine being gold also sucked. I thought I would hate the animated format but turned out I LOVED IT!! Especially those wispy clouds. Unfortunately I am one of the poor hermits that have never played MI2. The game was pretty much easy. Dominic Armato is the Perfect Guybrush Threepwood! LeChuck is also very nasty. (notice the sound when he moves) I also noticed something very strange is that part of the game GB has 4 fingers and then he has 5.....?!?!? When he is in gameplay and waving at the end he has only 4 fingers. When Elaine slugs him and when he is babbling he has 5!! The music is totally awesome. I signed the petition at http://wwnet.fi/users/linkola/petition.html because I want the music!! I give the game an 11 out of 10 monkeys. Adding one point for the awesome music. I especially love the music of Guybrush walking through the wonderful but strangely empty city of Puerto Pollo.
PS - KENNY IS A PRICK!!!
ladue@heart1.heartga.tec.ga.us
Overall, I found The Curse of Monkey Island to be a fairly decent game but not
a very worthy sequel. Anyhow, the time has come for the reasoning behind my
thoughts.
1) The usual reasons: Too short, too easy (10 hours of gameplay is not between
40 and 60), idiotic ending, never get to talk to Elaine, etc. But, no, I will
not gripe about the absence of past characters. To me, Herman Toothrot was
not that great a character. One other thing that hasn't shown up *quite* as
often is Guybrush's appearance. I thought it also was fine except for two
details (about which I am not overly emotional): (a) His hair changed color,
(b) it would have been nice if he had his beard just for old times' sake.
2) Not very much of it was original. Most of it was redoing (and not very
well) the other Monkey Islands. To name a few things: swordfighting, the task
of gaining three crew members, the whole last part is LeChuck chasing you,
etc. Another large chunk of the "humor" was "parodying" stuff such as Star
Wars. While there were a couple instances where this succeeded (cabana boy
part), the majority of the Star Wars references were lame! Then there's the
pirate-song scene that everyone loves (myself not included). After thinking
about it for a while, I realized that this part was awfully similar to a scene
in The Princess Bride. While it may not have been intentional, I thought The
Princess Bride's scene was much better. I'm sure there's more that belongs in
this section, but I can't remember it now.
I have more to say, but I just noticed how long this is getting so I'll wrap
up. The game has great graphics, great voices, and wonderful music, but I
don't think it's very good for a Monkey Island game. Rarely did I laugh.
There were but two instances that I got stuck. One of which was on getting
the jaw breaker, a pretty lame puzzle. (Push him. Push him again!) The
other time was getting the cap off the shaving soap. Where I come from,
puzzles shouldn't rely on finding the right spot to move your pointer or
remembering that an icon can stand for talk AND bite.
Look at me. Going on again. I'll be generous and give this one a 6 out of
10.
CHICKENO@aol.com
I think the game is the funniest in the series, especially with all the
Star Wars lines. The voices are perfect. It is quite a difficult game
and I had to use a solution a few times. The only thing that I couldn't
understand is why there was no reference to Guybrush being Lechuck's
brother.
9/10
gatekeeper@tinet.ie
The Wait Wasn't Long Enough
For Christmas of 1990, my dad bought me one of my first computer games-for my
386 30mhz. It was a copy with EGA graphics, and that old copy-protection
wheel. It wasn't much, but the things that made MI so great were: the
atmosphere, the story, the humor, and the characters, supplied by the creative
mind of Ron Gilbert. When I heard of a sequel that would use hand-painted art
and updated technology, I just had to get it. When I did, it became my
favorite computer game of all time and I liked it for the same reasons as MI.
Later, the wait for MI3 was long, but not long enough.
MI3 (or CMI) was just a stab at continuing the MI tradition, but without Ron
Gilbert, they should've taken more consideration in meddling with something so
sacred as the MI name.
-My first gripe was that it just didn't seem like MI. The graphics were hi-
res, the characters actually talked, and the game was in Win95 (which I
despise).
-My second gripe is Guybrush, who I wish would have looked more like the box
art for MI2. The second game had him seem more like a pirate, but the third
game makes him look like a whimp!
-Third, the story sucked. I'm sorry, as I know it must have been difficult to
follow the carnival ending of MI2, but just getting away and being stranded at
sea was the easy way out. And the end was lousy. They get married and LeChuck
dies. Oh, how inventive! (He says with the sarcastic voice of Smirk from MI).
And for the end, wasn't the carnival at Dinky Island? And how was the Big
Whoop the Gates of Hell when it was just a treasure chest in MI2, that gets
smashed I might add--? Actually, the main story about having to get Elaine
back was cool even though she didn't do crap when she was freed.
-Fourth, it was too easy.
-Fifth, the humor was not fully there. Sure, you had some good jokes and
insults, but the first 2 games were busting with laughter. Maybe it was having
the joke spoken out loud instead of having to reading it. (Enough with the
stump joke, too!)
-Sixth, I missed some little stuff from the previous games: the LucasArts
intro, Herman Toothrot, the Three Men of Moral Fiber, Dinky Island, treasure
hunting, and the funny credits in the end. In MI we had the flashing "Shut off
your computer and go to sleep!" In MI2 we had that huge list of things we
could be doing. I know it's a nag but it really affects it's Monkey-ness (tm).
-Seventh, what was with Stan? Having him come out of the coffin was pretty
funny, but he should've been a fast-talking redneck type. And he should've had
a "previously used" store. Even though the previous ones didn't make too much
of a difference in the game, they smacked of the sarcasticness that's missing
in CMI.
Overall, MI2 is still my favorite and I hope they don't make a sequel to CMI
(unless Ron comes back). They should've spent more time on it, because I
gladly would've waited. I sure hope Lucas doesn't tarnish the Star Wars name
with the new movies like they did with MI.
6/10-I would rather have a 256-color, 486-playable, disk-based game with Ron
Gilbert and an awesome story rather than a 2-CD, cut-scene-full, hi-resolution
game with a crappy story.
Mr. Kite
mrkite6777@aol.com
Technically, CMI is brilliant.
The animation, sound, graphics and game control were well programmed/created, and fluid.
The story, on the other hand, was lacking. As a matter of fact, there really was NO new story at all.
The creaters of CMI were too worried/scared to create their own story (game) and instead rode the coat-tails of Monkey Island I and II, while STILL not really explaining anything from the ending of MI2 other than it was a spell cast upon Guybrush and he was put into a 'Carnival of the Damned'... Big deal. There was nothing new here. Old jokes, old characters (excluding Murry, which in my opinion in the only thing that really made the game funny), old everything with a new interface. Murry (the character in CMI) showed that the creaters of CMI have the creative ability to create good [new and funny] characters. Instead, they were too worried about using old characters they forgot about creating a real story.
Face the facts, back in the day of MI1 and MI2 the graphics were HOT, but by today's standards, MI1 and MI2 were terrible games (graphically). The story is what made MI1 and MI2 so good, not the graphics and sub-standard sound. MI1 was graphically/technically better on the Amiga than on the PC, but the STORY is what made the game so funny/fun to play.
One thing that 'really' bothered me about CMI was that in every interview and review the game makers wrote is that there would be multiple islands (such as in MI2) where if you got stuck on one part of the game you could travel to another island and play there until you can figure something out...well, this didn't happen, I was stuck on the same islands all the time (except for one small part of the game with Skull island). All in all, Murry saved this game (comically), because most other jokes were ripped off from MI1 or MI2... :(
MI1 started the series with a more serious (back in that time) setting to the game. MI2 started to introduce a little too much [technology] into the game itself, such as the sewers (with overhead lights/and lightswitches).
CMI on the other hand was crazy with modern technology mixed into the game, it seems the story was switched from something of the past to something more of the present...it lost the [feel] of the time the game was supposed to take place in.
In a all out serious rating, I have to break the rating into two scales, then I will give an overall rating.
Technical/Graphical - 10 out of 10 Monkeys.
Story/Scripting - 3 out of 10 Monkeys.
Harlan Heubaum
Desktop System Administrator
American Information Systems, Inc. http://www.ais.net
To all you CMI complainers out there....HELLO! Let me tell you WHY I love CMI so much.
1. We FINALLY have a THIRD Monkey Island game. It has been a LONG time since one came out and I was wondering if we were ever going to see Guybrush again.
2. The ENDING of MONKEY 2 should make you guys more angry than THIS one! I mean, suddenly Guybrush is in this amusement park and I guess we all assumed it was part of LeChuck's curse. Which is fine. So we wait for the sequel. It never comes. WHY? I'm just glad that SOMEONE decided to pick up the pieces and explain WHAT the HECK THAT ending was...in fact, I felt that Monkey 2 was sloppily thrown together with a bunch of rediculous things in it. At least in Monkey 3 they don't take the easy way out by completely throwing out Ron Gilbert's stuff, NO! They go into great detail, explaining all of the "slop" we thought we were getting in Monkey 2 (Big Whoop, Carnival of the Damned) and make the Monkey series COMPLETELY connected! Hey, the Monkey Island trilogy has an actual CONNECTED PROGRESSING STORYLINE!!! Thank you, CMI! My only hope is that Ron Gilbert WAS planning on doing a sequel to Monkey 2 because Monkey 2 was such a disappointment to me. When the seqel never came I felt rather betrayed. Now it's here and I'm not complaining.
3. Sure, the ending of CMI reminded me slightly of the HORRIBLE ending to "Torin's Passage" but at least we get some REAL CLOSURE in the game. Now if we NEVER return to a Monkey Island sequel, at least we can rest assured that Elaine and Guybrush are happily married and there IS a chance that LeChuck COULD one day return.
4. Let's remember the past. Monkey Island one was a piece of cake. Monkey 2 was a LITTLE harder. Monkey 3 is about the same difficulty level as the others. Does anyone remember the endings of both 1 & 2 before condemning 3?
5. It's ANIMATED! That should blow the idea that they just slopped it together out of the water. Cartoon animation is NOT a quick process, especially as the LEVEL OF QUALITY in CMI suggests. Lots of OBVIOUS time taken on this game.
6. Herman Toothrot had a cameo in the roller coaster. With the way everyone was so disappointed with Stan I bet if Herman had any bigger part in the game like Stan, they'd probably complain more!
7. It's just a FUN game. Play it. Laugh at it. Hope for a sequel as the ending suggests. Remember, the Monkey Island graphic adventures are a bit of a step backwards in the video game entertainment industry since they don't involve 3-D graphics and deep moving storylines. Let yourself be taken back to Monkey Island...to a time when games were simpler and free of technological hocus-pocus. THAT'S how you can enjoy this game. Thanks Jonathan Ackley and Larry Ahern for a fun and wild romp back to Monkey Island.
Curse of Monkey Island: 10 out of 10 monkeys
John Forkner
forkner@gvtc.com
The first time I heard about CMI was for about one year ago, I think. Some
computer magazine had the AVI in their CD. I thought it was great and just
wanted the game to get out as quickly as possible. And the talk about CMI
on the posting boards (with that guy who said that CMI was going to be
released in June and that Stan would sell condogs :) and in #monkey-island.
Oh, I remember...
Then in November when it finally came I bought it started my computer,
installed it and played it. My first thought was that you could run the two
other Monkey Island games on a 486-66 MHz without getting them slow. But on
my dad´s 133 MHz and a 8x CD it still was slow! I don´t really care about
the graphics (ok not as the oldest kings quest games then ;), I really
looking for a good story, fun jokes, memoriable characters and rocking
music. LucasArts have sucseed with almost all of them. LucasArts said that
they´ve failed with the graphics if the players said that the graphics
looked like disney. It doesen´t look like disney, it´s almost better!
The story is kind of good, but the end could have been longer.
There are lots of fun jokes and stuff in the game, like the stump joke, the
pirates song, when Guybrush sings for Snugglecakes and when Guybrush became
a kid :)
Well, some of the old characters were some dissapointments, like Stan (I
wonder how many on this page have mentioned it? :) that have the wrong
voice and moves. Herman was only a doll (but there was no Island to be
deserted on. Ok, maybe Skull Island then :) and Elaine were so helpless,
compared to the two prevoius games. But then there were some new great
characters, like Murray and Mr Fossey! They were the coolest characters in
CMI!
And at last...the music. Nothing to complain on here! It´s the best I´ve
ever heard in a computer game (If I compare with other games that don´t use
midi music)! Every song in the game rocks! I hope LucasArts will do a CMI
soundtrack (that even reach sweden then).
Even if this game is really good, it isn´t as good as the two first Monkey
games, even if the graphics and music rocks. And with this game I´ve
realized how slow a 4x CD is :)
I give the game a...7.5
SnesGirl
I introduced my 7-year-old son to Monkey Island a few years ago, and it's
become his favorite series, even beating out Star Wars. The absence of
voices actually made the games more interactive, as first I read the parts,
then slowly he began to learn to read them back for himself. What set MI
apart from the competition (particularly Sierra's tedious King's Quest)
were the hilarious script and characterizations and the wonderful Caribbean
music. (Gratuitous orchestration, aural sweetening, and 32-bit AWE
marketing cannot match the funky style of that original Sound Blaster
score.)
So I'm a fan, right? And I say that Curse of Monkey Island is little more
than an entertaining hi-res remake, reworking the original series into a
gloriously boring imitation of itself. CMI ranks among many recent
adventures whose introductory video segments are more engaging than the
rest of the game. After a sizzling reprisal of the Guybrush, Marley, and
LeChuck circus, the plot immediately disposes of 2/3rd's of the triangle,
leaving us once again to wander around cluelessly with Guybrush. We find
the real curse to be an overpowering sense of deja vu, an abundance of
unintelligent cardboard characters, and an unimaginative rehashing of
situations that were much funnier the first time.
Yes, my son does enjoy the game, but last night he fired up his Game Boy to
provide some excitement during the slow parts. Midway through, I forgot why
we were trying to see the volcano, or get into the locked room in the
hotel, and why we should want to go to Skull Island in the first place.
Fortunately, the single-minded bit players filled in the mundane details on
cue, having little more to offer in the way of conversation.
Pardon my harsh tone, but in case you haven't noticed, large numbers of
adventure games have been falling off the shelves into unsorted remainder
bins. CMI and Riven were frankly the last great hopes to revive the
category before the coming onslaught of 3D-accelerator based Doom-clones.
At least we can thank LucasArts for reissuing MI1 and MI2 on CD (too bad
the demo of CMI doesn't include the video sequences...)
One more thing, in answer to Larry Ahern's concern that his artistic
direction not be confused with Disney's - only to the degree that it
adheres to the contrived style of a children's edutainment CD-ROM. It would
be perfect for that Monkey Island Activity Center tie-in product.
lpowell@machinecode.com
SUUPER GAME!!
Well I disagree with the second review!
1) I did miss Herman Toothroot and the tree Pirates in MI 1and 2
2) I Think the difficult grade whas good
3) Make MORE Monkey Island. Nobody can stop a sucsess like this!
4) The ending was short But!! it ended like the next MI can start with
LeChuck did't die...enough to make a new game!
5) When I manage to runn trough MI2 i was kind of dissapointed but in CMI
u understand what the ending whas about!! I give 10 og 10 points to
CMI,they couldn't make it better,well we miist some people...
Alexander Fredriksen (also known as Alex)
willymf@online.no
God I love singing barber pirates!
From the opening bars of the theme music, I had a grin on my face
worthy of Captan Smirk. The voices were great, especially Guybrush and
Haggis. Many people complained about Elaine's british accent. Why? It's
actually NOT anachronistic! I loved the cutscenes, but I wish the last
ones were longer, especially the finale. It was horribly short for such an
awesome game. It should have been at least as long as the intro cutscene.
I miss Herman Toothrot too, but I love Murray! He almost makes up for the
loss of Herman in a way. I wish I could have taken him instead of the
anchor, I really like the little demonic terror. :) I'm not sure about the
obvious opening for a sequel with the whole LeChuck in ice thing. On one
hand, I'm dying for a sequel, (I LOVE these games!) on the other hand
(unfortunately I only have two, even after that last alien abduction) I
think the whole LeChuck/Elaine/Guybrush thing is getting old. With them
married, I think a new villian should be created or something. I'm also
torn on the use of cartoon graphics. I'm glad that the didn't go to FMV,
that would have utterly destroyed the series. However, I liked the
realistic painting look of the "cutscenes" (I'm not sure you could really
call them that) in the first two games, and I think the game would have
looked cooler if it had stayed with that style. Finally, my favorite part
of the game. Although I loved using the ventriliquism book on Murray at
the swamp, (try it, it's hilarious!) the single best part of the game is
the pirates' singing. That caught me totally off guard and I was bursting
out laughing. To sum it up, this game has an astounding soundtrack, great
voiceovers, hilarious dialogue, and that familiar monkey odor; I just wish
the ending was longer. I give it nine and a half monkey-bladders. (Or
whole monkeys, if you prefer)
Lord Frazier
lordfrazier@hotmail.com
I think we all agree MI2 was better, although that may only be in our memories (you know, "back in the old days, ..."). Technically, the game is almost perfect : music, animation, speech, ... And yes, I think Ackley and Ahern have heard enough times that the ending cutscene should have been longer. I really think they will listen to our remarks for the next sequel.
I have to admit I didn't find it very easy ... I had to use a solution several times. Maybe I'm getting too old to play games ... (I'm 23).
Tentacle, Sam & Max and The Dig didn't give me too many problems, but then again : "when I was your age, I solved ..."
Yes, Herman should have been there and yes, the link between MI2 and CMI is not ok; I liked the MI2 ending, I think it should have been solved with Guybrush "waking up" from LeChucks "spell" (Elaine refers to this, standing next to the hole in the ground), but since they choose to make the Carnival a real thing, I like what they did with it. And yes, you should have able to talk to Elaine.
There were some very good jokes : - the pirate saying "I really am big-boned" (in this cutscene the sound drops for a moment, is
this with all copies of the game ?)
- when the undertaker says "I thought you couldn't die in Lucasarts adventure games"
- the link to The Dig when Guybrush (in the crypt) puts his hand in the crack
Not enough good jokes, though.
The biggest problem is with the story design : it is much too linear. It is really a story being told, while in the previous games (and like in Tentacle or Sam & Max) there was much more to do; here there were not nearly enough puzzles. The part that took the most time was the swordfighting.
Also, there isn't enough difference between Normal and Mega Monkey; compare this with MI2 (or with Indy & Atlantis) !
I feel it isn't worth the 49 bucks (1750 Belgian Francs) I paid for it. And why do only Americans get a free copy of the first two games ?
I had a good time but they should make a bigger effort on the design (and take more time towards the end, now it looks they had to meet a dead-line) for the next game. I give it a 7 out of 10.
jan.vanpuyvelde@village.uunet.be
The general feeling seems to be that the game was good, but people
missed certain charcters and didn't like the ending. But I think we're
missing the real point which is: COMI rocks!
It's a shame that we have to judge COMI by its prequels because it is
such a fantastic game in itself. There were loads of great new charcters
but we overlooked them because we missed old ones. I thought they did a
good job in explaining Big Whoop and (more importantly) keeping the true
secret of Monkey Island a secret. But I agree there were big gaps left
at the end (what happened to Wally? Why did Elaine suddenly change from
being independant to a wife figure? How come LeChuck gets killed under
ice when he is undead?) Maybe thsi was to make way for fan fiction (God
help us) or some novels or soemthing. But I think the possiblity of
another sequel is non-existent, COMI has pushed this genre to the limits
and rightly so.
I personally loved the new charcters more than most of the old ones.
King Andre, Kenny and Haggis had me in stiches. OK, so Stan was a little
dissapointing compared to what we imagined. But I was too engrossed in
the actual puzzles to be really worried.
The final point is how easy the game was. Yes, to all us Monkey Island
devotees it was very, veyr easy. But we've seen it all before, we know
what to expect. New players surely found it a lot tougher. I never found
the originals difficult, but now in COMI I felt far more rewarded to
have finsihed the puzzles. Each second was like watching a quality film.
And I think that's what mattered. Nobody really cares what charters were
in it and whcih weren't, nobody really cares about plot holes and silly
technical glitches (like the choice to change the savegame button from
F5 to F1, rant rant). We all wanted a game to end the series which would
make us laugh like we all did seven years ago. Quite frnakly, if you
didn't laugh then there is something wrong with you.
10 out of 10: There's more to life than Herman Toothrot.
Phil
Well, up until the part on monkey island, CMI was a 10/10.
I wasn't just dissapointed with the ending, but the whole final sequence.
The chat with Lechuck was forced and uninteresting.
Elane did nothing and seemingly dissapeared, LeChuck just wandered around
aimlessly, and nothing happened. Guybrush didn't free Wally or save the
monkeys. Big Whoop wasn't destroyed or shut.
The game needed Monkey Island to be a reasonably long section with both
Guybrush and Elaine running around interfereing with LeChuck's evil plans.
It needed action. It needed adventure. It needed more humor. It needed a
better animated sequence at the end. It needed to suck less.
It's such a shame, because it was near-perfect until then!
The singing pirates is a true classic, and there are many other great
moments.
I love the game, but due to the ending I can't give it more than 7/10. Even
if it had just stopped when the skeletons surrounded Guybrush with a 'to be
continued' it would have been better.
robsol@orion.tower.net.au
First I want to say that I love the Monkey Island games, especially
Monkey Island 2. I thought it was better than the original because of
the style, and part II of the game was SO huge, it took me like almost a
year to finish the entire game in hard mode. And I loved the humor as
well, and the voodoo doll element. I also thought LeChuck looked much
more cool than in Secret of Monkey Island. But I do also agree that the
ending was weird. But the scene before the carnival was awesome, with
LeChuck chasing you through those dark, underground corridoors and all.
And now I could finally enjoy the same brilliance once more, but with
maybe even funnier humor (though it's toned down a bit on Blood Island)
and much better graphics and animation (and music).
What the hell is wrong with all those guys saying CMI is a BAD game, and
that it should have been made by Ron Gilbert?!? The humor came from Dave
Grossman and Tim Schafer anyway, and they created CMI. It's very hard to
follow up two classic games, and I think LucasArts succeeded pretty well
at that. You ungrateful scum should be glad there even IS a new Monkey
Island game.
I give the Curse of Monkey Island a 9.5 out of 10
ron.van.nijkerk@pi.net
My heart leaped for joy on that day of September 9, 1996. I think that was
the date! :) It was very exciting seeing the fun-filled loving pirate once
again! I waited a LONG time for the WHOLE download of the CMI avi! The
premiere announcement of "The Curse Of Monkey Island tm" gave a boost to my
Monkey Island Pride! Now, about one year later, it's finally out! I saved up
my CMI money in a little envelope labeled " The Curse Of Monkey Island Money".
I sold a lot of my cards to get the money! The music is great! The storyline
is wonderful! The sounds are awesome! The puzzles are cool! The animations
are.....WOW! The characters are great! And Guybrush is THE COOLEST PIRATE
AROUND! But there was one bug that I found, I'm sorry to say. When I put the
glue I think, on the skeleton hand, and moved it to top left hand corner in
the quick sand screen, and clicked on it, Guybrush just walked out of the sand
pit! hehe :)
Oh well! Overall, this Monkey Island Game was SO COOL! :)
AJPLUS
Hi, here it goes:
The graphics and music/sound effects are the best I've seen to date. They
are really awsome. It's a really fun game, with some hillarious moments. But
I still don't know how Guybrush ended up (started up :) on the bumper car.
The explanation of LeChuck didn't convince me, it was like some patch to a
very strange ending of Monkey2.
The ending was very dissapointing: either they were tired of making the game
(2 years always looking at the same pictures and earing the same voices must
be a drag) or the CDROM space wasn't enough for a loger ending (there is
still 100Mb of free space...).
Being a great fan of Monkey Island I must give 9 monkeys to this game: I
would give 9.5 monkeys if the story didn't seem like a patch, and 10 if the
ending wasn't so dissapointing.
PS. sorry about my english
Miguel Carlos Canha Cabeça - IST - l39911@alfa.ist.utl.pt
What the hell is everyone on about?
Of course we were going to be dissappointed if we got our hopes up!
Everyone was waiting for the perfect game instead of getting ready for an
excellent, funny, enjoyable adventure game. I wish that everyone would stop
complaining about various aspects of the game and think about how it
compares to the adventure games out there today.
And how does it compare? It's bloody brilliant! The guys at
Lucasarts had all you people peering over their shoulders - imagine the
pressure - but they still came up with a light hearted, great Monkey Island
romp! At the end (which admittably is REALLY bad) you can sit back and
realise that you've made it through yet another great Lucasarts adventure
and ENJOYED it. Perhaps we should rate games on how much fun we had with
them instead of little nit-picking details.
I give it 9/10 for a job well done.
Oh, and it wasn't that easy, it's just that having played MI 1&2
you're probably heaps hot at adventure gaming anyway - most adventure games
are easy. At least in CMI you don't get stuck at a point and bored.
Rancid Boy - pwade@auslink.net
This is the best game ever!
The Curse of Monkey Island is by far better than any game I have ever played before and to all of you whiners out there, I say STOP COMPLAINING!!!! Enjoy the GAME!!! I give it 10 monkeys!! What do you
want??? a game on 5 CD's which takes a Pentium 300 and 1.5 gigs of space,
just so you can not find anything wrong??? I can find stuff wrong with
anything!!!
PCM
Purple_ChaMan@yahoo.com
The game was fun. It had some interesting puzzles. Yet the parts where I
got stuck, wasn’t
because I missed a neat idea on how to solve the problem, I just missed
an item that was
lying somewhere in a scene. Like the part where I needed ingredients for
the bartender, I
could'nt find pepper.It got me thinking, could nacho cheese be it?it's
spicy isnt it? no. There
was a pepper plant next to the mill on blood island. The game was too
easy. The intro of the
game was marvelous, it had so much life to it.I barely felt that life
throughout the whole
game.One of the main reasons is because there was never a scene with
lots of characters
interacing, like in The Secret of Monkey Isle scumm bar.There was one
or two characters
together most of the time three once.The ending was very disapointing.
definitely to
short.And they brought you back to monkey Island to explore 3 settings
only.
Honestly I think it was our fault that they hurried the game at the
end, we would'nt stop
bugging them on the release date. The most important thing in a game is
it's magic, most of
lucas arts games have magic this one didn’t. I give it a 6-10.Just
because it had beautiful
drawings ,animation and music, lacked in story though.
jacea@netrox.net
It was nice, but not good enough.
1. Too short, probably due to size restirctions, they can't make it
infinitely large. Using DVD would have helped though.
2. Too easy, probably also due to the size restrictions. I would have loved
to see more people (all the towns are just dead cities), more objects to
use/pickup/lookat etc, but this would also make the size of the data much
larger.
3. The ending scene, well, too small. Why? Uhm, did I tell you CDroms are
really small if you start using high-quality animations, sound and music?
Well, leaves me with one point of critic.
4. No story. No really, there is no story at all, I played the game in a day
or 2, then sit down after you have been baffled by the unimpressive end
scene, think, and yeah, what happened anyway? What was the purpose of all
that I did? I couldn't find any story in the game whatsoever. Most of the
time I just picked up some objects, combined some objects talked to some
people, asked the correct question and hey, whaddayaknow, I already have all
the objects this person is requesting! Another example is when you get to
Blood Island. Ok, what next? Just exploring I guess, but this is not how
life works. Why am studying? Well to get a decent job later on. Why am I
going to the shop? Because I need something. This why do I do that is often
missing in the game, it just some subplots mixed together with no real
mainstory.
Thomas
http://utumno.student.utwente.nl/
melkor@utumno.student.utwente.nl
UIN: 1195266
As an adventure-game aficionado I loved CMI. It had a good story, well-developed characters, and great jokes. As a Monkey Island Fan, I loved CMI too, but I was let down by three things. First, I missed seeing (and wanted to hear) Herman Toothroot. Second, what is the secret of monkey island? Third, I felt that the ending cutscene was too fast and not developed enough to be the conclusion of a great trilogy. Overall I would give the game a 9.5 out of 10.
turambar@earthlink.net
Another unsatisfieing ending
I know you just want a few lines, but I got so much to say!
I loved the characters, voices & the graphics. I love the little things like the clock on Plunder Island and all the things you can touch and examine.
But....
1 I missed Herman and the 3 Men of Low Moral Fiber.
2 Wally was there, but not for long. I would have liked if he
played a bigger part in the game.
3 I would have liked to talk to elaine some more. You dont get one
single chance to say anything to her. I all happeneds in cutscenes.
4 And the cutscenes. In the beginning they are long and funny, but as the
game progresses they become shorter and shorter.
5 I wery disapointed over the ending. Is so short! LeChuck is dead, they are married & credits!
It takes about 15 seconds. I love that they were married, but I would have
liked to see the ceremony. Herman could have married them for instance.
6 Its like they were tired of making it in the end. The cutscenes got shorter,
the parts got shorter, the problems got easier, and the humour slowly dies.
7 I think they destroyed the Monkey Island myth a bit by building a carnival on Monkey Island.
I didn´t feel it was the Monkey Island I remember. And the rollercoaster goes into the mouth of The Giant Monkey Head, I don´t like that.
8 I only played it on Mega Monkey and there is was too easy.
9 I thought that LeChuck would be finally dead and Guybrush and Elaine was going to be married. They do get married and LeChuck dies, but they leave the ending open...again!
The can´t keep on making games. It would be like Sierras Quest series that just goes on and on and on and on. I think the should have closed this game with a long ending sequence with the marrich and a final dead to LeChuck!
10 I would like to hear what story Ron Gilbert had planned for Monkey 3.
11 For 5 years people have complained (including me) about the ending in Monkey 2 and I thought that we would finally get a good ending, but no. The ending is almost as bad as the one in MI2.
We know what happended, but its so short (unlike this review)
12 I enjoyed playing the game, but as a fan of the two first games, I expected
more.
I give it 7 monkeys.
Beacuse its so fun to play. I just miss the things above, but that dosn´t make the game bad. I still love CMI. I just expected more.
Ken Christensen (Also known as Dalixam)
monkey.island@heaven.dk
http://users.cybercity.dk/~bcr5079/monkey/monkey.html
Well, I have to say, CMI was a pretty damn good game. I mean, there are some things I didn't like about it, but it's still better by far than any other game you'll find out there.
My praises,
Excellent puzzles. Some were rather difficult, just wish there were more of them. I loved the concept of the Rollercoaster of Death, and LeChuck's flaming beard was very cool. And, most of all, Michael Land's music was excellent! That man is a god! A god I tell you! I wish I could meet him... As for the voices, all of them were great, except for Stan. For some reason, I always imagined him sounding something like Ross Perot.
My complaints,
It seems to me that the people at LucasArts just got tired at the end of the game. I mean, the ending was short, and there are no crazy credits like the last two games! As the game goes on, the levels just get shorter. Just look at the Carnival of the Damned! As games progress into sequels, there suppose to get bigger, not smaller. I mean, after the big ending of MI and the even BIGGER ending of MI2, it only seems logical that a HUGE ending would be at the end of CMI. If I were designing the game, I would have had Guybrush realize that he can't defeat LeChuck in his physical form, so he passes through the gates of Big Whoop to become a spirit form. Then, LeChuck would've chased him into the gates of Big Whoop, and they would have had some huge fight in a strange dimension... now THAT would have been long.
My rating, 8 out of 10. I can't help but wonder what Ron Gilbert's plans were about MI3... or, what did he think of the game? Maybe he would've made it longer.
Andrew Langley - alangley@flash.net
September 9th, 1996 was a very exciting day for me. I was innocently
browsing the internet when suddenly I stumbled upon the LucasArts
announcement: Monkey Island 3 was in development. Of course between 1992
and this time, I was thinking, "Gee how is Guybrush ever going to get out
of this one? I can't wait for the sequal!" and this said "yep here comes
the sequel!" Well another year of waiting, and I got a release date. Then
on November 16th of this year, I went out with the money I got when I sold
some of my CDs to buy this coveted game. One week later, I was through the
game. And now is my opinion of it.
GAMEPLAY
The graphics were in a word, the most awesome graphics I have ever seen in
my life. The animation was the greatest I had ever seen.
SOUND
I need to get that soundtrack! It had the most inventive percussion
instrumentals I had heard in a long time and the voices (with the exception
of Elaine Marley, British accent? I don't think so. They should have
gotten Julia Louis-Dreyfuss from Seinfeld) were dead on perfect. I was a
little disappointed with Stan though, he didn't seem to talk fast enough.
STORY AND WRITING
Overall, the plot for the game was very weak. It never actually came out
and explained why Guybrush was a child at the end of Monkey Island 2 and
the ending, as you may have already seen, was the most disappointing gift
for winning a game I have ever seen. All we know is that Guybrush was
married (which takes all of the funny romance element out of it unless they
have marital troubles), Murray is still trying to scare people and LeChuck
is buried in ice. Somehow, I have a feeling that they will find a way to
get him out of the ice! There were not too many new memorable charachters
in this one either, and the thing that urked me the most was there was no
Herman Toothrot, my absolute hero from MI1 and MI2. He was the funniest
guy in all of the games.
Overall, I would have been happier if Ron Gilbert did the game and it
still had the 256 graphics from the first two than have all of these fancy
little things and have the story suck. I am afraid LucasArts has sold out
its greatest achievement into a moneymaking scam. Hey, at least they
didn't tell us the Secret of Monkey Island.
-4 (out of 10)
wallers@theonramp.net
It was really easy! Even in MEGA-MONKEY! In two days I finished it! Looks like they were SO busy with voices and graphics that they forgot about the REAL game. The end was so short! I was expecting something as good as the intro, but nothing. I'm sorry for CMI, but I still prefer Monkey Island I and II.
Volcano
volcano@writeme.com
Interactive Adventure's Home Page
www.civila.com/brasil/interadv
Well ... I really reaLLY REALLY like it. The sounds and graphics are
great. And Guybrush Threepwood, My number one idol. He's voice is very
VEry VERY ... ummm... "COOL" and ... God I love his sense of humour. The
dialogue are perfect.
But I can feel that there's something not good in CMI. Something that
makes CMI less than perfect. And I think that's because of the plot. A
straightforward plot. Just an easy story. And that lessened the fun a
little. But anyway, CMI is still a game that worth buying.
I love it as I always love Monkey Island 1 & 2.
So.....
GO GUYBRUSH THREEPWOOD !!!!!!!!
GO LUCAS ARTS !!!!!!!!
AND
BYE BYE LeCHUCK !!!!!!!!
puncoro@sby.Dnet.net.id
I liked the game and look foward to playing all three in sequnce. The Stan
screen jumping out of the coffin was scarey (epecially with the "The Taletale
Heart" lead up).
Graphics and sound were excellant, The Islands were fun to explore, and
the ship combat and sword fighting were great.
My Grips:
1. Some of the characters were missing, or had very limited roles. I wanted
to talk to elaine and wally more, but they were rarely in the game. I also
really missed the three men of low moral fiber(pirates) from 1 and 2.
2. The last two levels of the game were too short(the roller coaster
dosen't compare to the fight of one and the underground of two) and the
ending was disapointing. I wanted to see lechuck gotten rid of forever, or
at least look like it. It was nice to see guybrush and elaine get married,
but lechuck is a loose thread that needs to be tied up forever.
3. At pointed it didn't seem like this was part of the Monkey Island series
at some points, as it was so different. Monkey Island didn't look or feel
like the monkey island I knew.
crhyne@email.msn.com
I was a bit unsure how will LucasArts take up the story after Ron left
with all his ideas and the weird ending of MI2 was so... weird. The game
was a positive surprise: a real Monkey game with all the side-splitters
you can shake an iguana at. A worthy sequel to the classic series, but
the ending was a bit letdown. Superb audio-visual presentation. My
rating: 9 out of 10
Joonas Linkola
http://wwnet.fi/users/linkola/
Contributing reviewer for Games Domain Review
In My Opinion CMI Had Good Points and Bad Points, If I were to rank it from 1
to 10 Id give it a 6. Great Story, Lovley Animation and great sound. I only
had a few problembs.
1. Hard Mode ?- CMI on hard mode was as Easy as MI2 on easy mode, no puzzly goodness fom CMI
2. Ending- The Ending didnt leave the series open fo a sequle
3. Not Long Enough- If anyone has ever played Full Throttle, they will understand
Cavefish
The Curse of Monkey Island is honestly the best video game I have ever
played. It is NOT like other games, and that's why I like it so much. It
has puzzles that are both easy and challenging at the same time. Most games
by other companies like Sierra have puzzles that are so, well, difficult.
They have no logic, like in this.
The graphics are beautiful, and the story is at it's best. The music and
voices are incredible, except Stan's. I sort of imagined him having a
quick, high, whinny, annoying salesman type voice. Many people are upset
that we really don't know what happened at the end of MI2. I just imagine
that Guybrush escaped while riding a bumper car, and stole a hangover
remedy that LeChuck just drank, turning him back into an adult. Sigh, could
be.
My only complaint? Well, the ending was short, but that's not it. The three
pirates weren't there! Those were my favorite characters.
Out of 10: 10
Visit My Site: http://www.inch.com/~zebracow/monkey.html
zebracow@inch.com
Man, that game sucked! It's starting was so simple for a MI game, then
it's so extremely easy, and the ending was awful, and short. AND
unrewarding. Sorry, but LucasArts could do much better. I'll give it a
reasonably high rating because it was fun to play. (Until you see the
ending, a wedding, and a cheap voice saying LeChuck is buried beneath Big
Whoop.)
Rating: 6.5
~Mithrandir~
Hard-core gamer and fantasy book obsessor
CMI could have been better. First, the fact that Ron Gilbert wasn't
there got me annoyed.Being a MI fan since Secret of Monkey Island, I was
hoping for more. But the voice and graphics were great. The story was a little
weak, but it was okay.
Cutscenes were like a candle. First they were long and good, but as
they went on they got short and horrible. I mean, it was nice to see some
cutscenes, but I expected more. The ending was possibly the most horrible
thing off all. No voices at all, except after the credits.
Even though all those things were bad, the charecters were funny. I
was dissapointed there was no three-headed monkey, Herman (animontronics were
not funny), and the Men of Low Moral Fiber (pirates).
In conclusion, if you just started to play Monkey Island games
starting with CMI, you'll like it. But for those fans out there, it will leave
wanting more.
7 1/2 Stars
StanK1158@aol.com
I really liked it very very very pretty pretty pretty
much. It continued the legend. Dialogues are incredible. But for
understanding them ,people must
choose all the alternatives. Graphics and sounds are on his top. And the
spirit that Ron Gilbert created is still present.
There's some goood formuls from previous games. Like
crew, ship,
swordfighting but that not annoys player. But if R.G would be there, the
pruduct will be more awesome.
Anyway I give 10 and praying for a sequel.........
Korhan 'Asterothe' Demirkaya
I have to say I was particularly unimpressed by CMI. The story element
was just not up to scratch.
The first disapointment comes when, in the intro we find that Ron
Gilbert's imaginative ending to Monkey2 has been blown away with a
simple "I escaped Lechuck's carnival of the dammned!". We later get an
opportunity to hear Lechuck explain what happened, but surely with
CD-ROM technology it would have been much better done in cut scene
format rather than a boring monologue.
The romantic comedy element is all but gone. In the first game we are
given the opportunity to chat up Elaine in Guybrush's unique and
eloquent manner, and then in number 2 we get the chance to put her down
in one of the most amusing parts of the game. But in CMI the few moments
where she does grace the game are in cutscenes where no interaction is
allowed, and since she spends almost the entire game as a gold statue
it's hard not to feel as if the story is not progressing.
On the other hand, the presentation was excellent. The graphics and
animation were the best to date and the characters voices were
absolutely spot on. But, alas, as the old argument goes, presentation
does not make the game.
The gameplay was in Lucasart's usual entertaining style, ie. the sword
fights, the puzzles, etc. But without the motivation of a good story to
drive you on they become kind of pointless.
The final nail in the coffin (previously owned of course) was the
ending, where you are rewarded with a barely 30 second long cutscene for
all your trouble, and then they blatantly leave the ending open again
for another episode. But not, as in MI2, where the game departs on a
note of mystery and you wonder whether it's going to be like the old
Dungeons and Dragons cartoon where the fairground ride is a gateway to
another world. But instead leaves you feeling it's just a swiz to make
more money from the series.
CMI marks out of ten: 4/10
Yep, less than half. Sorry guys but remember...
"Never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game unless it's by Ron
Gilbert!"
everliving@hotmail.com
It may not have the Gilbert touch, but thank God there's still Micheal Land!!
Brink on IRC
Copyright © 1996-2013 The Monkey Island SCUMM Bar. All rights reserved. No part of this web page may be
reproduced in any way. We are in no way associated with LucasArts, we are doing this web page for fun and to
provide people with information about Monkey Island.
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