The Curse of Monkey Island
My favorite game of all time, hands down. I play it every year or so since I first played it, probably in 2000 where I bought it at a store that sold used video games that came in CD cases (this was a 2-CD game). There is one significant problem with this game: I’ve been searching for its equal ever since, and I’ve never found it. The gentle mix of humor, of lightheartedness, challenging puzzles, voice acting by Dominic Armato, the beautiful graphics and amazing musical score… Nothing comes close. I don’t think that the folks who created this knew what they were making at the time, it was just another game from LucasArts. Bill Tiller did the graphics, and there is something so soothing about the visuals. I think most importantly is the intelligence of the puzzles, where each item you get will be put to use in some creative form later on in the game in a way that makes you think about what you’re doing and what is possible, but doesn’t go too far in difficulty nor is it too easy, either. The fact that all of this came together in one game is truly remarkable feat.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1990's Cult Classic Games.
I never got the chance to play one Monkey Island game until now, and this is actually my first eventhough it’s the third xD. I’m clearly missing a lot of references to the first and second game, there are some characters that I can tell is not the first time “we” met so I’m clueless to most of the funny bits regarding these ones.
The humor is the best part of the game, at least to me. I had lots of fun with the dialogs and incredibly horrible dad jokes. Puzzles are sometimes hard to understand, there may be very very very little objects you thought you clicked on but you didn’t , maybe you thought you could solve the puzzle certain way because it’s the most logical to you but NOT and the solution is one of the silliest you could ever think of. So yeah, puzzles are not exactly unfair but rather… weird? You just gotta get used to the game’s logic, that’s all.
– Real player with 11.9 hrs in game
Maniac Mansion
“Maniac Mansion” is one of the first point and click adventures of LucasArts (published back in 1987) and one of the games that set the tone at the beginning of the genre’s golden era. Beautiful colorful aesthetics, clever puzzles, multiple characters, fantastic humor and iconic music are some of its characteristics. Yet, it’s gameplay logic is still a little bit primitive compared to the following LucasArts' games and I’m not a big fun of deaths and dead ends. But it is one the most classical games out there so you have to play it.
– Real player with 13.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1990's Cult Classic Games.
LucasArts classic wacky adventure and a predecessor of an even bigger classic – Day of The Tentacle. Nostalgic point’n’click not without its flaws.
The set-up is simple and is largely left off-screen – you and a few of your friends (which you get to choose at the beginning of the game) need to rescue your girlfriend Sandy from being kidnapped by Dr. Fred for experiments. Starting at the gate of not-very-maniac-looking-yet mansion, you’re making your way in to find a place that manages to have nuclear reactor, gigantic telescope, man-eating plant and strange, walking tentacles all under the same roof. Oh, and there is a basement. In which you, no doubt, will be held on multiple occasions. So… Where’s Sandy? Why is everyone talking about some meteor? How can a tentacle be depressed? All these questions will be answered as you’re finding your way around a strange house, trying to avoid its mad inhabitants, opening lots and lots of doors and collecting a hell of a lot of useless stuff, in the best point’n’click fashion.
– Real player with 7.0 hrs in game
Fenimore Fillmore: 3 Skulls of the Toltecs
After i’ve finished the second of Fenimore adventures, i wanted to take back the very older first one,that i abandoned many time ago in its first release, now in this new remastered version it gains new shining light and value revealing to be a really solid game.
Now that i finally was able to complete it i have to say i am amazed and speechless from how good the puzzles were, i never expected this but this first one is even better than the second, altough i was stuck for few days in some nasty puzzles, after solving them i can say that altough the average level here is set on Hard, nothing is impossible or too much illogic, all has its own sense and works like a charm.
– Real player with 28.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best 1990's Cult Classic Games.
This was one of first adventures I played at the time of release in 1996 and I have good memories of it. There were some serious problems with distribution back then and today the English only copies are very rare collector items and extremely expensive (I saw copies offered for thousands dollars). So it’s good that it is available again for affordable price as a digital copy.
The remastered version was not released in perfect state with some bugs and missing features but developers do care, already improved lots of things and listen to the players suggestions.
– Real player with 27.4 hrs in game
Broken Sword: Director’s Cut
I played the original Broken Sword for the PS1 back near when it first came out and was absolutely addicted to finishing it. I loved it and felt it fully deserved the acclaim it received. In the years since, I’ve played it through again a few times although more for the nostalgia and amusing dialogue - alas, I could always remember the path through the game, so it didn’t present any further challenge. So finding out there was a Director’s Cut seemed brilliant. More Broken Sword!
Having now done so, my feelings are unfortunately leaning to the negative. But there was a mix of good and bad. Here in my opinion what was done right:
– Real player with 23.5 hrs in game
How can an American’s vacation in Paris go wrong? especially when all he planned on doing is visiting the Eiffel tower, buying a small figurine of it, and stopping at the first cafe he spots that have an attractive waitress working in it??
well, not if the whole cafe gets blown up and he miraculously survives the explosive just to find out that he always wanted to play detective… and here is his chance!
a wannabe detective and a Journalist meet one another by pure luck or a twist of fate not knowing what they are dealing with whatsoever or that they are going to look behind the curtains which no one is supposed to look behind. and one could argue that it’s the best part of the game, how things evolve from nothing to a multi-layers complex narrative that starts with a clown’s red nose and ends in the Syrian desert or at the end of the world, West.
– Real player with 20.7 hrs in game
Monkey Island™ 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge™
|
AUDIO
| Great OST |
VISUAL
| Flexible Eyecandy |
|
DIFFICULTY
| Tough |
VIBE
| Devilish |
|
CRAVING
| Classic Point ‘n click |
ON SALE
| Sometimes |
PROS: Voice-acting is superb, environments are exceptional. iMUSE works beautifully in this, making the soundtrack feel alive. The game is completely unaltered, and concept art from the original development decades ago was used to fill in the blanks instead of simply extrapolating from what could be seen. The puzzles are just enough of a challenge, and the game is a fair length for a point n’ click adventure. Guybrush and all other sprites look fantastic.
– Real player with 34.5 hrs in game
“Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck’s Revenge” comes right from the golden era of point and click adventures games when Lucas Arts was releasing one masterpiece after another. It is easily one of the most hilarious games ever existed while it packs some nice hand drawn visuals, iconic characters, unforgettable music and many clever puzzles. Unfortunately it is also one of the most difficult adventures ever made, so that after many hours of unsuccessful searching you will feel too tired to laugh with its exceptional jokes. If you are a patient type of guy you should try it.
– Real player with 18.5 hrs in game
The Dig®
I grew up with point and click adventures, which gives you an idea where I am coming from. I have played The Dig in 2016 for the first time, so nobody should assume that I am blinded by nostalgia. Okay, here is what I think: The Dig is one of the best adventures that I have ever played. I loved it to pieces! My favourite titles are: Day of the Tentacle, Loom and Grim Fandango. I think The Dig is up there.
I do NOT like Sam and Max and Monkey Island, because they have too much moon logic for my taste.
– Real player with 15.8 hrs in game
A fun, beautiful, different and must-have point and click adventure game for every retro gamer. This is the kind of game that I think would do really well as a remake. Not everyone has heard of it. It’s setting is very alien, and it has Spielberg’s name attached to it. How could this NOT be a successful remake?! On to the review! …..
ATMOSPHERE:
One thing that Dig focuses on, which a lot of P&C adventures didn’t at the time, is atmosphere. You feel like your’e in a very confusing and mystifying alien world. There are some tablets, writings, art and such that you find that are not explained completely, adding mystery to the world. Also, that sense of being alone is very felt, despite the fact that you have a couple of teammates that you occassionally run into. The music fits nicely and there’s even a sense of danger with each new area. Admittedly, towards the end of the game there is quite a bit of back tracking and story which pulls you out of this.
– Real player with 14.4 hrs in game
Final Fantasy IV (3D Remake)
Where do I even begin with how special this game is to me? I was introduced to the legacy of Final Fantasy IV through the DS remake not long after it released, so it’s not like I’ve had decades to dwell on it, but the game struck a chord with me from the very start. The music is enchanting, the story is gripping, the voice cast is phenomenal, and the gameplay hasn’t aged a day. For my review, I’d like to elaborate on each of these points one at a time to give a better sense of what I love about Final Fantasy IV.
– Real player with 109.5 hrs in game
This game should be the Gold Standard when comes to “remakes” for it was properly done. The faithfulness that the developers at Matrix Software that took the pains and applied the wisdom to properly enhance the locations from the original that was unable to execute due to the limited capacities on the Super Nintendo (Famicom) now have been given the proper authentic vision the original developers envisioned.
For example: Damcyan (the desert-kingom) has taken the “middle-eastern” flavor and Fabul with its “Chinese” reflection; and of course, Eblan with its “ninja” embracement.
– Real player with 85.5 hrs in game
Night Trap - 25th Anniversary Edition
Where do I even begin with the remastered edition of one of my all-time favorite games? Playing this took me back to the mid 90s… back to the days of Mortal Kombat and video game magazines. I was somewhat surprised to realize I still know by heart way more of the dialogue than I should. I kinda wished I still had my old notebook from 1994 that had all of the trap times written down, painstakingly collected from hours upon hours of gameplay. They’re widely available on the internet now, but it’s really not the same, now is it?
– Real player with 23.9 hrs in game
Still too buggy. I had previously recommended this game after being able to finally playthrough it after it launched with a game breaking which caused the game to not be completable. It also had many other bugs. The updates have fixed quite a bit but I now have a bug where I can’t get a perfect game and unlock Scene of the Crime. At 6:30 the possible counter increments by two even though no trapable augs appear. There is a red light which indicates when a trapping opportunity is missed. That light never turns on indicating that I missed any augs. I haven’t tried to play to the end but I’m guessing that I’ll be at least two short even if I capture all augs. I know some people have 100% the game but I think that was prior to the 2nd update. In addition there are still audio issues, cams not updating, and crashes.
– Real player with 19.3 hrs in game
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
The classic of all classics.
It’s hard to imagine anyone who hasn’t played The Secret of Monkey Island or heard a name Guybrush Threepwood in adventure gaming. Following pirate wannabe on his quest to rescue governor Elaine Marley from the clutches of evil G.P. Le Chuck doesn’t get old even on the umpteenth re-play. Rediscovering old favorites became even easier with an ability to seamlessly switch from 1990s version to a remastered one in-game, at any moment it pleases you. Whether you prefer to look at updated visuals or nostalgically go through the original – you’re guaranteed hours of swashbuckling fun.
– Real player with 22.6 hrs in game
The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the finest games ever created. Impeccably designed, incredibly funny, wonderfully charming. While some areas have aged better than others, I still firmly believe that Ron Gilbert understood the adventure game genre better than anyone else.
I do have a few reservations about this Special Edition however - while I admire the effort put in to update all the art assets, the new style leaves a lot to be desired. It’s reminiscient of the art direction from the Curse of Monkey Island onwards, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but I don’t think it works as well for this game. After Ron Gilbert ceased to be the lead on the series, it took a slightly different approach, which warranted a cartoony style.
– Real player with 13.1 hrs in game
Broken Sword 2 - the Smoking Mirror: Remastered
A true point&click classic
This game is a true classic. This is my favorite point&click game. Probably one of the reasons is that it was my first. I fell in love with this game right from the beginning and couldn’t stop playing. Remember that when it came there was no internet and youtube walkthroughs, there was no hints and highlighted objects. I spent couple of weeks or even more until I completed it (I understood only half or less English text back then and couldn’t understand a single spoken word) and it felt so rewarding and this was the day when I knew I want more drawn point&click adventures.
– Real player with 11.1 hrs in game
Even though my guess is that most of the people who’ll buy this game are familiar with the version that came out 19 years ago, I’d just assume there are new gamers who want to know whether it’s worth checking out. So, here we go!
Broken Sword 2 - the Smoking Mirror is an adventure game that has its fair share of flaws. But oh boy, is it fun!
The game was released in 1997, back in the golden era of point and click adventure games (after the huge success of the first game), and I’m so happy to say it’s aged quite well. In fact, I found the character portraits/facial expressions which are exclusive to the remastered edition completely unnecessary. Most of them are plain bad (starting with George’s and Nico’s) while others bear no resemblance to the actual characters they represent.
– Real player with 7.3 hrs in game