The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition

The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition – Yo ho ho! Pirates tremble once more at the name of LeChuck!

It’s with great pleasure that I get to announce to you the Lucas Arts classic, The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Special Edition is available for your iPhone/iPod Touch!

I have been an avid fan of the series ever since the rather humble beginnings and sketchy graphics of the first game back on the old Amiga some 20 years ago or thereabouts. And not wanting to sound like a sad gamer, I’ve been unable to play the games on my powerful PC as they’re incompatible. So seeing this in the App Store is something of a rare find; a bit of a treasure even (if you excuse the pun!).

So, where to begin with the game? Well, it starts at the end where you unravel the mystery which got you dangling at the bottom of a rope in the first place. Your rather hapless hero is once more on a bumbling mission to become the greatest pirate ever, this time by unearthing the huge treasure of Big Whoop! There’s only a bit of a problem, to find Big Whoop you must try to defeat Largo (who’s the biggest bully imaginable), find a ship and a of course work out where exactly Big Whoop is in the first place. To do this, you must navigate your way round the island solving tasks along the way and picking up objects and clues as you go.

This game is very heavy on interaction and so it should be played when you can’t be distracted, although should you miss some of the conversations you can usually pick up the clue by speaking with the person again (who don’t seem to mind your amnesia and repeated questions).

True to form, the same tongue in cheek amusing quips and wit flow throughout the game and will reward you for your endeavours. Although it’s not as clear to see what you can interact with, you can use your gesture control (as if you were to zoom in) and all objects that you can interact with will glow briefly.

Where this game suffers mostly is that the controls are a little frustrating at times. For example picking up a monocle took the best part of a minute or two to manage as I inadvertently kept talking with the character and looking at objects rather than grabbing it. This wouldn’t have been a problem on a big screen with a mouse cursor. However, this isn’t too terrible and can be forgiven due to the sheer entertainment the title offers.

Overall, if you were a fan of the original game then this is going to definitely be right for you. If you enjoy searching and solving puzzles and following missions then this is a great one for you to play. Also if you like playing games that have plenty of humour then this is certainly going to fit the bill perfectly. For me, it’s just a pleasure slipping into something as comfortable as your old slippers and taking a trip down memory lane.

Rating 94%

Positives

Good script with lots of humour

Enjoyable music and atmospheric graphics

Addictive with loads of missions to keep you hooked

Negatives

Controls are a little tricky to get right

If your patience is thin then you may get tired of the talking bits (although there’s a skip button)