The Curse of Monkey Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
The Curse of Monkey Island
Monkey Island Classics release
Developer(s) LucasArts
Publisher(s) LucasArts
Designer(s) Jonathan Ackley
Larry Ahern
Engine SCUMM
Release date(s) 1997
Genre(s) Adventure game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ELSPA: 11+
ESRB: Everyone (6+)
Platform(s) Windows
Media CD (2)
System requirements 90MHz processor, 16MB RAM, PCI graphics card, DirectX 5.0
Input Mouse

The Curse of Monkey Island (CMI) is the third game in the Monkey Island series of computer adventure games by LucasArts, following the successful games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. CMI is the twelfth and last game to use the SCUMM engine, which was extensively upgraded for its last outing before being replaced by the GrimE engine for the next game in the series, Escape from Monkey Island. CMI is the first Monkey Island game to be voiced, and has a graphic style more cartoon-ish than the earlier games.

In the opening and closing credits the game is dedicated to Brett Barret, a programmer of the first two games who was killed in a motorcycle accident.[1]

Ron Gilbert parted ways with the series after Monkey Island 2, and the new project leaders and designers were Jonathan Ackley and Larry Ahern, both of whom had previously worked on Full Throttle (the interface of the game was adopted almost entirely). Voice actor Dominic Armato provided the voice of Guybrush Threepwood. Michael Land who provided the music for the first two games once more composed the soundtrack.

The game was released on CD-ROM in 1997. It was later included on a CD-ROM compilation of Monkey Island games, bundled with The Secret of Monkey Island and LeChuck's Revenge.

After 'CMI' shipped, a Monkey Island movie was in the works. This was only brought to light when Tony Stacchi, a concept artist for the project, sent his work to The Scumm Bar, a Monkey Island fansite. The movie was cancelled in the very early stages of development. They published the artwork on their site. Note that despite the name, this movie was not to be based on 'CMI' but rather on original material that was inspired by the entire Monkey Island series.

Contents

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

After the vague and surreal ending of Monkey Island 2, Guybrush Threepwood is inexplicably found on the sea in a floating bumper car. Guybrush is trying to recall in his journal how he ended up in his dire situation, his escape from the Big Whoop where he was trapped for an undisclosed period of time.

Eventually he approaches Plunder Island, which is governed by Elaine Marley and currently under siege by LeChuck himself. After a lengthy exchange where LeChuck is rebuffed in his attempts to woo Elaine, both notice Guybrush and he is quickly recaptured by LeChuck. While seeking a way out, Guybrush causes LeChuck to blast himself to smithereens (though he does return later), finds a diamond ring in LeChuck's treasure hold, and escapes the ship whilst sinking it.

He then reunites with his love, Elaine Marley and officially proposes to her, offering her the diamond ring he found on LeChuck's ship. Unbeknownst to him is the fact that the ring is cursed — Elaine gets turned into a gold statue as soon as she puts it on. Guybrush must then retrieve the statue (which is stolen almost immediately) and return her to human form.

The Voodoo Lady tells Guybrush that he must travel to Blood Island to find a certain uncursed diamond ring to break the spell. In doing so, he must get a crew, a ship, the statue of Elaine, and a map as nobody knows where Blood Island is anymore. In his attempts to get a crew, Guybrush hastily informs Captain Rottingham about the gold statue of Elaine, which obviously piques his curiosity. The map also presents a problem as the only known map is tattooed to the back of Palido Domingo, which is tanning in the exclusive club. Guybrush must also find out where the statue of Elaine is hidden on the island as well as

On Blood Island, Guybrush will meet the legendary Goodsoup family, fiddle with its lineage, meet once again the vegetarian Cannibals, outsmart some dangerous smugglers and finally beat LeChuck, who was gathering victims to join his undead army in the meantime.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Reactions

Like the earlier Monkey Island games, CMI received nearly uniform positive reviews in the press. GameSpot praised the graphics style for making the game "as much fun to watch as it is to play",[2] JustAdventure emphasized that the "music is the best I've ever heard in a game; [...] it never stops and it's never annoying; it's always a joy".[3] RPGFan was pleased that the "additions of detailed graphics and actual spoken dialogue managed to take the already hilarious story to a whole new level".[4] The Adventure Classic Gaming review addressed plot criticism, saying "some [...] may criticize the numerous farfetched plot twists in this game", while "some may just call it creative writing!",[5] and Adrenaline Vault likened CMI to the adventure genre as a whole, saying: "The twin vitals of an adventure game are a good plot coupled with strong dialogue. This game has both, in spades."[6]

On the other hand, AdventureGamers, though citing the graphic style's "refusal to take itself seriously" was adding "immensely to the game's charm", found the secondary characters "criminally underdeveloped" and the ending "an anticlimax, leaving the player thinking he could have done so much more, if only the game’s programmers had let him",[7] the abrupt ending also a criticism voiced in the favourable reviews of GameSpot and JustAdventure. Also, PC Zone described that due to the introduction of cartoon-ish graphics "for Monkey devotees of the first two titles something tiny and almost intangible has been lost",[8] while still scoring the game a 92/100 praising the voiceover work and humor of the game.

[edit] Awards

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.
  • At the beginning of the game, you see a big CMI Logo, hear the Deep Note and afterwards you see the text "The monkeys are Listening". It's a parody of the THX soundsystem logo.
  • Crew member and skilled musician Edward Van Helgen is named after the guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
  • The Puerto Pollo hairdressers is called "The Barbery Coast", a pun on the Barbary Coast (the northwest coast of Africa) and presumably a reference to the Barbary pirates.
  • Continuing the tradition of having characters from other Lucasarts games make cameo appearances, Grim Fandango's Manny Calavera can be seen slumped over a table with a knife in his back in Blondebeard's Chicken Shop, wearing a badge which says "Ask me about Grim Fandango." Guybrush mistakes him for one of LeChuck's undead pirates.
  • CMI leaves a gap in the series for Mac users since it was never released for that platform (the free software ScummVM interpreter supports CMI on the Macintosh, provided that the interested Mac user has the PC software).
  • In the game, Guybrush has a deathly fear of porcelain. Bill Tiller, CMI lead artist, has revealed that "it is just a joke. It means nothing. Why would anyone be afraid of porcelain?" It has been suggested that Guybrush's fear is a result of having been hit with a porcelain vase in the first game; however, Guybrush actually used the vase to hit another character.
  • A storyboard of a sequence between the two final chapters has been circulating the Internet, explaining what happened before Guybrush enters the Rollercoaster of Death; due to time constraints, this scene did not make it to the finished product. The storyboard can be seen here.
  • The fourth chapter of the game, "The Bartender, The Thieves, His Aunt and her Lover", is a reference to the 1989 British film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
  • Murray, the talking skull, was only intended to be featured in the first chapter. However, he proved so popular with test players that he was written to re-appear later in the game.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • During the cutscene lead-in to the second chapter Wally B. Feed (who was last seen in the hold of LeChuck's ship) makes an appearance. When asked how he survived the explosion which capsized LeChuck's ship he says he was thrown clear and that he was lucky he had not been wearing his seat belt. This is probably a reference to George Lucas, who was in a near fatal car accident as a teen and only survived because he was thrown from the vehicle as it rolled over when his seatbelt snapped — a racing harness which he has stated should never have broken [1].
  • When LeChuck makes Guybrush guess the secret of Monkey Island, Guybrush's guesses are five famous movie spoilers: "That 'Rosebud' is a sled?", "That the guy's girlfriend is really a man?", "That they have to shoot the dog at the end?", "That it's made from people?" and "That the girl is her daughter AND her sister?". [2]
  • On Completing the "Duelling Banjo" puzzle (A reference to the film Deliverance) by shooting Edward Van Helgen's Banjo, Guybrush claims the shot could have come from the grassy knoll, itself a reference to the shooting of JFK.
  • When Guybrush is in the smugglers' cave to get the diamond, one of his options is to say: "That Diamond belongs in a museum!", which is a reference to a famous line from the George Lucas' film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, referring to a jewelled cross.
  • The dog in the graveyard on Blood Island is named after the blind Pew in Treasure Island.
  • In the gravedigger's house, you can see a book named Zombies Ate My Neighbors in the foreground. Which is the name of a LucasArts game released on SNES.
  • Wally is among the characters tied up in the roller coaster. You can hear him cry if you get off the cart and click on him. Despite Guybrush's promise to save him, he is nowhere to be seen in the game's ending. Some fans assume that he was simply killed in the explosion.
  • The Ferryman taking Guybrush to Skull Island is called The Flying Welshman. This is a parody on The Flying Dutchman, one of the world's most infamous, fabled undead captains.
  • Guybrush and the Ferryman also have a conversation about mist: Guybrush makes the comment that "I like mist, I think it's pretty", to which the Ferryman replies "Well of course mist is pretty, but egad is it dull!", a possible reference to Myst.
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cast

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interview by SCUMM Bar. SCUMM Bar (2004). Retrieved on September 17, 2006.
  2. ^ Michael E. Ryan (1997). The Curse of Monkey Island PC Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  3. ^ Peter Rollo (1997). The Curse of Monkey Island. JustAdventure. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  4. ^ Slime (1997). The Curse of Monkey Island. RPGFan. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Joonas Linkola (1998). The Curse of Monkey Island. Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  6. ^ Jordan Thomas (1998). The Curse of Monkey Island. Adrenaline Vault. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  7. ^ Tamara Schembri (2002). The Curse of Monkey Island review. AdventureGamers. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.
  8. ^ Amaya Lopez (2001). MONKEY ISLAND 3: THE CURSE OF MONKEY ISLAND. PCZone. Retrieved on January 24, 2006.

[edit] External links

Monkey Island video games
v • d • e
Games: The Secret of Monkey Island | LeChuck's Revenge | The Curse of Monkey Island | Escape from Monkey Island
Characters: Guybrush Threepwood | Elaine Marley | LeChuck | Ozzie Mandrill | Herman Toothrot | Voodoo Lady | Stan | Minor Characters
Islands: Blood | Booty | Dinky | Jambalaya | Lucre | Mêlée | Monkey | Phatt | Plunder | Scabb | Skull
Various: SCUMM | GrimE | iMuse | Insult swordfighting | List of Monkey Island topics
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_Curse_of_Monkey_Island_2dc1.html"