Formal Evaluation of

By: Pete Kinnunen

Basic Information

• The Company: LucasArts• The Author: Ron Gilbert• Type of Game: Interactive Fiction• Price: $14.99 (That’s with the sequels)• System Specifications:

– MS-DOS 5.0 or higher – 386/33 DX (486 recommended) – 1 Mb EMS required (2 Mb EMS recommended) – Mouse – 256 color VGA/MCGA – SoundBlaster and 100% compatibles, Adlib, Roland

MT 32

Game Overview

• What is the Secret of Monkey Island?– You play as Guybrush Threepwood, a man

who wishes to become a pirate. He has to complete three trials, which in turn lead him to the love of his life. Regretfully she is kidnapped by the Ghost Pirate LeChuck and you have to save her.

Installation

• Originally installed via floppy and run though DOS.

• It was provided with the third instalment of the series “The Curse of Monkey Island”– Requires you to install Curse of Monkey

Island, and you are given the option to play any of the first 3 games.

Artwork and Sound

• The graphics are your basic 256 colors, nothing to impressive for today's date. Still, they hold up fairly well and portray what they intend to.

•The sound is your basic MIDI soundtrack, simple ambience music and some sound effects

User Interface

• Provided with a screen showing your environment and a panel containing dialog, actions and inventory

Game Play

• Using your environment and available actions, you attempt to solve puzzles which will progress the storyline.– Example: Using Look at command with the

chicken in your inventory provides a description

What makes it fun?

• The Secret of Monkey Island is designed to be humorous. – Much of the dialog and interaction with the

environment is absurd.– Certain themes continue throughout the

game, becoming a running gag.

What makes it fun?

• One Example– To win a sword fight, you must be able to win

the battle of wits via insults.• One Exchange

– "I got this scar on my face during a mighty struggle." – "I hope now you've learned to stop picking your nose."

• And the first insult/comeback you learn.(becomes a running joke)

– "You fight like a dairy farmer." – “How appropriate, you fight like a cow.”

How it compares

• Outdated– It is from 1990, so the graphics are good for their

time, but a tad bit outdated for the current market.

• Interaction– Most puzzles have only one solution and very few

changes per run through.

• Overall though– This game is a classic for the genre, and the humor

carries over to this day.

Summary

• Strengths– Witty dialog, creative puzzles, unique look at the life

of a pirate.

• Weaknesses– Older graphics, not to many differences per run

though.

• Improvements– The sequels have improved on the graphics engine

and made the puzzles still difficult but more logical.