The first 30 minutes of Monkey Island

• Driftwood
• Sunday, August 16, 2009 | 4:50 PM
• 14 comments

First 10 minutes PC Xbox 360

I know that we normally call it the first 10 minutes and that we usually show you more of the game by adding different videos but this time, we figured it would be more appropriate to show you the first 34 minutes of The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition in one shot. As you'll agree we wouldn't have been able to show you much in 10 minutes only so, if you're interested in seeing more, just follow me inside.

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition hit Xbox Live Arcade about a month ago, a good opportunity to (re) play LucasArts' 1990 classic adventure game.

If nostalgia is your thing, then you'll be happy to find the classic version just by hitting the select button at any time in the game. If you choose so, you'll obviously lose the voice acting and the new soundtrack but as you can switch from one version to the other whenever you feel like it, you can enjoy the best of both worlds. That's actually why the animations haven't changed a bit since 1990.

Once you've accepted Guybrush's new character design, it's just like old times. The painted landscapes look great, most of the characters - well, except for the hero that is - have been well-designed and the new music score gives the game a second youth. Some people might be annoyed to hear that sometimes the music has been replaced by ambient noises but the game still conveys this great pirate atmosphere.

The game is obviously a bit trickier to play with a controller than a mouse but it's still comfortable, thanks to some shortcuts you can use with the D-pad - which you won't see in the video as I wanted to show the menu interface. The game's longevity is good, provided you don't use the help button every time you get stuck but even so, it will take you some time to beat it.

As I didn't want to spoil too many puzzles, I've only captured the first trial that Guybrush is asked to accomplish in order to become a pirate. So if you really want to see more, let's hope you have an extra 800 Microsoft points lying around somewhere.

Counting the PC and Atari ST versions of the game, it'll be my fourth time traveling with Mister Threepwood and it doesn't get old at all. The game is still as funny as ever and, even though the gameplay mechanics have obviously gotten old, I have to say I have fallen for it again. So now, what will it be for you?

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The first 30 minutes