Game Details

Title: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Special Edition
Cost: 800 MS Points
Developer: Lucasarts
Game Type: Point and Click Adventure Game
Multi-player: None
Length: Short (<5 hours) – Can take longer if you get stuck on a puzzle

My Impressions

Monkey Island returns this week with the release of a special edition of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. As with the special edition of The Secret of Monkey Island, the special edition of LeChuck’s Revenge comes with improved graphics and a revised control scheme, with the option to play the classic version interchangeably with the special edition if you so desire.

The revised controls in LeChuck’s Revenge are for the most part a big improvement on those in the special edition of The Secret of Monkey Island which I found to be overly fiddly at times. Unlike the controls in the first game you now control Guybrush through the joypad which is a great improvement, though I did at times find it difficult to navigate Guybrush around the screen and between areas as I sometimes got stuck at doors for a short time. I would have also appreciated a tutorial since whilst simple I did find myself going to the control scheme page frequently early on to work out how to do things, thankfully the controls were easy to get the hang of and faily intuitive.

Another tweak over the first special edition is that this time there is an option to have the voice over playing in the original mode as well as in the special edition. While I was initially not overly enamoured about some of the new voices they grew on me over time.

As you would expect the gameplay and plot appear to be unchanged from the original version of LeChuck’s revenge which while for the most part is a good thing means that a few of the references and jokes may be missed by younger players. Though Guybrush comparing himself to “Kyle Katarn in a dress” makes me wonder if some of the references have been changed given that Kyle Katarn first appeared in a Lucasarts game in 1995 and LeChucks Revenge was originally released in 1991.

Playing through the game again also reminded me of just how many references to Star Wars and Indiana Jones there are in the game. These range from the relatively subtle with the name of Elaine’s dog being Guybrush a reference to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, to the blatant Empire Strikes Back homage that occurs in the ending. The game is also of note for having an ending that implies the villain has actually won (confirmed in The Curse of Monkey Island).

LeChucks Revenge is also the game in which Guybrush and Elaine are at their least likeable. Guybrush’s problem is that he has become a bit of an egomaniac living off his past glory of defeating LeChuck and Elaine is due to her general attitude towards Guybrush and because 90% of the game is actually a flashback in which Guybrush is telling Elaine what is going on whilst hanging onto a rope over a pit for dear life.

This situation does however lead to some amusing dialog if you “die” in one of the scenes. The scene which is noteworthy initself has you captured byLeChuck who plans to kill you in a way more convoluted than most James Bond villains could ever hope to come up with and an even more ridiculous escape that is not actually explained. If you let yourself die you then go back to the coversation between Elaine and Guybrush in which Guybrush admits he may have embelleshed the scene a little for dramatic effect. This also nets you an achievement in the process.

As you might be able to tell, I really enjoyed playing LeChucks Revenge (again). If you are looking for some retro point and click action then the special edition of LeChuck’s Revenge has much in its favour. As always the main downside to this type of the game is that the plot is fairly linear and the puzzles can get frustrating at times.

My Recommendation

Buy

The Special Edition of LeChucks Revenge does everything you would expect and more. Thankfully the developers have learnt lessons from mistakes made in the Special Edition of The Secret of Monkey Island and for the most part rectified them.