RetroAhoy
The Secret of Monkey Island
Stumbled across this on Letterboxd, so thought I might end up logging it as a film, but eh, not really. It's very slickly produced, though, even if it does stray from its ostensible title: the part about The Secret of Monkey Island is actually only 10 or 15 minutes of the 74-minute video, proceeded by a potted history of the birth of the adventure game genre, and followed by a look at the sequels, other LucasArts adventure games, and what's happened to the genre since. All very interesting, mind, and I've ended up with about half-a-dozen titles to look up.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube.]
Showing posts sorted by date for query The Secret of Monkey Island. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query The Secret of Monkey Island. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Sunday, 15 May 2022
Friday, 13 May 2022
Games
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge: Special Edition
My opinion is now swinging the other way: I feel like I'm nearly at the end, and I've got there quicker than in Secret. Possibly I've just been playing it in a more condensed timeframe, though, because I'm at about five-and-a-half hours of playtime for 87% complete.
My opinion is now swinging the other way: I feel like I'm nearly at the end, and I've got there quicker than in Secret. Possibly I've just been playing it in a more condensed timeframe, though, because I'm at about five-and-a-half hours of playtime for 87% complete.
Thursday, 12 May 2022
Games
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge: Special Edition
Just over 3 hours playtime and apparently 37% complete. Might be worth mentioning that I don’t remember this one as well as I did Secret, so I am having to actually solve more of the puzzles. Still, the game feels bigger, with more stuff to look at, more characters to talk to and for longer, and the need to traverse multiple islands with multiple locations on each.
Just over 3 hours playtime and apparently 37% complete. Might be worth mentioning that I don’t remember this one as well as I did Secret, so I am having to actually solve more of the puzzles. Still, the game feels bigger, with more stuff to look at, more characters to talk to and for longer, and the need to traverse multiple islands with multiple locations on each.
Tuesday, 3 May 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
And I'm done. Took almost exactly 6 hours in the end, over half of which was spent on the first "35%" — and that was the part of the game I remembered best, so was also the part I worked through the fastest and with the greatest ease. That said, it's also the part with more characters to just chat to and places to just explore, so I was hardly doing a speedrun. Nonetheless, I think those percentages are pretty darn inaccurate, however they're generated.
Anyway, that was a lot of fun. It's a great game — a classic for a reason. On to the sequel next, which I remember as being a much bigger game, so it'll be interesting to see how many hours that takes me.
And I'm done. Took almost exactly 6 hours in the end, over half of which was spent on the first "35%" — and that was the part of the game I remembered best, so was also the part I worked through the fastest and with the greatest ease. That said, it's also the part with more characters to just chat to and places to just explore, so I was hardly doing a speedrun. Nonetheless, I think those percentages are pretty darn inaccurate, however they're generated.
Anyway, that was a lot of fun. It's a great game — a classic for a reason. On to the sequel next, which I remember as being a much bigger game, so it'll be interesting to see how many hours that takes me.
Monday, 2 May 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Officially at 69% now, although I think I'm actually much nearer the end than that. We'll see.
Officially at 69% now, although I think I'm actually much nearer the end than that. We'll see.
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Completed Part One, on Mêlée Island. This section of the game dominates my memory of it, so it's kinda surprising to learn I'm only 35% of the way through. I've found it easy, too, because I remember all of the puzzles and their solutions. It'll be interesting to see if I find the rest harder, or if it all comes back to me as and when I get there.
Edit: After writing the above, I continued on a bit further, and soon had reached 57% complete. So, that's 22% done in 1/7th the time it took me to do the first 35%. However these percentages are calculated, it's clearly not time-based!
Completed Part One, on Mêlée Island. This section of the game dominates my memory of it, so it's kinda surprising to learn I'm only 35% of the way through. I've found it easy, too, because I remember all of the puzzles and their solutions. It'll be interesting to see if I find the rest harder, or if it all comes back to me as and when I get there.
Edit: After writing the above, I continued on a bit further, and soon had reached 57% complete. So, that's 22% done in 1/7th the time it took me to do the first 35%. However these percentages are calculated, it's clearly not time-based!
Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Another hour-and-a-half’s play and I’m at 22%. I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not so much solving the puzzles as remembering them. But the Melee Island portion of the game is the bit I remember the most clearly by far, so it’ll be interesting to see if I still remember what to do later on — I could’ve told you a bunch of the Melee Island puzzles and their solutions before even starting to play the game, but I can remember very little of what comes later with such clarity.
Another hour-and-a-half’s play and I’m at 22%. I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not so much solving the puzzles as remembering them. But the Melee Island portion of the game is the bit I remember the most clearly by far, so it’ll be interesting to see if I still remember what to do later on — I could’ve told you a bunch of the Melee Island puzzles and their solutions before even starting to play the game, but I can remember very little of what comes later with such clarity.
Monday, 25 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
I've been meaning to re-play this for years — decades, even — and the news of the new one has finally spurred me to do it. Well, there are up to five games to (re)play before it comes out! (The new one is going to pick up where #2 left off though, so 3 to 5 are hardly essentially; but I'd like to revisit them all — or visit for the first time, in the case of most of #5, as I only played the first of its five chapters.)
Anyway, according to the save game file I played for just under an hour and have completed 12% of the game so far.
I've been meaning to re-play this for years — decades, even — and the news of the new one has finally spurred me to do it. Well, there are up to five games to (re)play before it comes out! (The new one is going to pick up where #2 left off though, so 3 to 5 are hardly essentially; but I'd like to revisit them all — or visit for the first time, in the case of most of #5, as I only played the first of its five chapters.)
Anyway, according to the save game file I played for just under an hour and have completed 12% of the game so far.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Articles
LucasArts nostalgia: Remembering The Secret of Monkey Island
by Alex Hudson (from BBC News Magazine)
BBC News commemorate the end of LucasArts not with a look back at its obsessively endless production of Star Wars games, but with a bona fide classic, one of the greatest games of all time.
by Alex Hudson (from BBC News Magazine)
BBC News commemorate the end of LucasArts not with a look back at its obsessively endless production of Star Wars games, but with a bona fide classic, one of the greatest games of all time.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: The Flash Movie
The whole plot of The Secret of Monkey Island, re-told at speed by a German bloke (in English) with cartoony illustrations. Kinda fun.
The whole plot of The Secret of Monkey Island, re-told at speed by a German bloke (in English) with cartoony illustrations. Kinda fun.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
Articles
Do We Know What a Best Picture Winner Looks Like Anymore? by Kyle Buchanan
(from Movie|Line)
Six Best Picture winners out of the last 10 that are Rather Unusual. But best of all is this quote right at the end:
LucasArts confirms MI2 special edition by Mark Langshaw
(from Digital Spy)
No, not that M:I-2, but the inestimably better Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
Following in the footsteps of last year's The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, the sequel "will be available for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and iPhone in the summer." Hurrah!
And in related good news, "LucasArts also revealed that The Secret Of Monkey Island Special Edition is bound for PSN and Mac OS". Couldn't give a monkeys about PSN (in fact, I'd not even heard of it before -- fyi, it's a PS3 thing), but Mac OS is good -- no need to run a bloody PC emulator or try to play it on my iPhone. Double yay! It can be pre-ordered (exclusively -- and, irritatingly, only in the US) here.
(from Movie|Line)
Six Best Picture winners out of the last 10 that are Rather Unusual. But best of all is this quote right at the end:
[Hurt Locker vs. Avatar] isn’t David vs. Goliath — it’s Baby David vs. a Goliath who comes riding a dragon, armed with two bazookas.
LucasArts confirms MI2 special edition by Mark Langshaw
(from Digital Spy)
No, not that M:I-2, but the inestimably better Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge.
Following in the footsteps of last year's The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition, the sequel "will be available for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and iPhone in the summer." Hurrah!
And in related good news, "LucasArts also revealed that The Secret Of Monkey Island Special Edition is bound for PSN and Mac OS". Couldn't give a monkeys about PSN (in fact, I'd not even heard of it before -- fyi, it's a PS3 thing), but Mac OS is good -- no need to run a bloody PC emulator or try to play it on my iPhone. Double yay! It can be pre-ordered (exclusively -- and, irritatingly, only in the US) here.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Articles
Great Movies: The First 100 by Roger Ebert
(from rogerebert.com)
For those who don't know, Ebert does a weekly series of reviews where he highlights the Greatest Movies Ever Made (in his opinion, obviously). Here's a piece he published on reaching the 100th entry in this series, which is actually a beautiful argument for why we should all broaden our filmic horizons. Such things can often be preachy or held back by the author clearly hating the mainstream too much, but not so Ebert, who is well-reasoned and acknowledges that "some of the big hits are good, and a few of them are great". He's simply evangelical about film and a great writer. An inspiring read.
Pirates 4 Sails Stranger Tides by Owen Williams
(from Empire)
I knew the title On Stranger Tides rang a bell -- I'd heard of it being one of the inspirations for The Secret of Monkey Island before. This news makes me a great deal more excited about the film, I must say.
(from rogerebert.com)
For those who don't know, Ebert does a weekly series of reviews where he highlights the Greatest Movies Ever Made (in his opinion, obviously). Here's a piece he published on reaching the 100th entry in this series, which is actually a beautiful argument for why we should all broaden our filmic horizons. Such things can often be preachy or held back by the author clearly hating the mainstream too much, but not so Ebert, who is well-reasoned and acknowledges that "some of the big hits are good, and a few of them are great". He's simply evangelical about film and a great writer. An inspiring read.
Pirates 4 Sails Stranger Tides by Owen Williams
(from Empire)
I knew the title On Stranger Tides rang a bell -- I'd heard of it being one of the inspirations for The Secret of Monkey Island before. This news makes me a great deal more excited about the film, I must say.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Monkey Island is back!
I never thought I'd see the day, but it's been reported today that LucasArts' Monkey Island series of games is to return. Hooray! I've grown up playing those games and adored every last one, so this has me over the moon. I literally jumped for joy.
Anyway, here are some of the announcements & that..
Monkey Island is BACK, baby! by Emily
(from the Telltale Blog)
So, the new game -- or games, depending on your perspective -- is being developed by Telltale, who make various other game-series like Sam & Max and Wallace & Gromit (maybe the should've rebranded it Guybrush & Elaine? No?) Here's their announcement, with plentiful details.
Stuff and Things and Monkey Island by Ron Gilbert
(from Grumpy Gamer)
The games' original creator on the latest news. A long but fascinating read.
You may have noticed that, in addition to the new game, they've remade the original. Not sold on the new graphic style, though I'll definitely be getting my hands on it. The official site -- with art, videos, that kinda thing is...
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Official Site
aka www.MonkeyIslandSpecialEdition.com. Nice name. Includes a great behind-the-scenes video.
And to round things off, the full official site for the new game...
Tales of Monkey Island Official Site
Ooh, I can't wait!
Anyway, here are some of the announcements & that..
Monkey Island is BACK, baby! by Emily
(from the Telltale Blog)
So, the new game -- or games, depending on your perspective -- is being developed by Telltale, who make various other game-series like Sam & Max and Wallace & Gromit (maybe the should've rebranded it Guybrush & Elaine? No?) Here's their announcement, with plentiful details.
Stuff and Things and Monkey Island by Ron Gilbert
(from Grumpy Gamer)
The games' original creator on the latest news. A long but fascinating read.
You may have noticed that, in addition to the new game, they've remade the original. Not sold on the new graphic style, though I'll definitely be getting my hands on it. The official site -- with art, videos, that kinda thing is...
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Official Site
aka www.MonkeyIslandSpecialEdition.com. Nice name. Includes a great behind-the-scenes video.
And to round things off, the full official site for the new game...
Tales of Monkey Island Official Site
Ooh, I can't wait!
Thursday, 16 April 2009
Magazines
SFX #182
So packed with interesting things that I actually read most of it! Shocking, I know. Amongst the goodness in this Star Trek-bedecked issue there's...
a good interview with Alan Moore, as the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is out in the next week or two;
a retrospective on Babylon 5 (I wonder if Straczynski still hates SFX?);
a decent feature on Ashes to Ashes series two, complete with hints at series three and an exclusive, amusing comic;
a look back at the acclaimed 1981 BBC radio adaptation of Lord of the Rings, which I keep meaning to listen to;
a fairly large feature on sci-fi-related computer games, which includes The Secret of Monkey Island at a very respectable #6 in a Top 20 count-up, plus a look at worthwhile forthcomers;
a reviews section that means I now have a whole lot more stuff I want toread/watch/hear;
plus a very good news section. I'm not going to go summarising it here, but it took ages to get through so it must've been interesting.
Oh, and some big exclusive feature on that Star Trek thing, if you're interested.
So packed with interesting things that I actually read most of it! Shocking, I know. Amongst the goodness in this Star Trek-bedecked issue there's...
Oh, and some big exclusive feature on that Star Trek thing, if you're interested.
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