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Just Adventure Review 29 Nov, 2000 / Comments: 21


Just Adventure has finally reviewed Escape from Monkey Island (here) and given it some quite unfavorable markings. I personally take their reviews with a grain of salt (they gave Monkey Island 2 a C+!!!!!), so make what you will of their grade.
"And the answer is Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4, Rocky 4, Jaws 4, and Escape from Monkey Island."

"Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4, Rocky 4, Jaws 4, and Escape from Monkey Island," repeats the assistant.

Karnak glares at the source of the echo, "May a plague of locusts feast upon your wooden leg." He tears open and blows into the end of the envelope. After removing and unfolding the sheet of paper inside, he then reads aloud, "And the question is, name four sequels that should be forgotten."

If you do not find the above to be riotously funny, then you surely will want to avoid a game in which I found the title to be eerily prophetic, for the longer I played, the more I could not wait to Escape from Monkey Island.

Source: Just Adventure

21

21 Comments

  • Maximar on 30 Nov, 2000, 12:38…
    ERMMMM... did anyone notice that Randy didn't even bother to check the manual? If you read his review carefully you'll see he didn't even know how to scroll through the action or dialogue options with page down or page up. WHAT THE HECK IS SO DIFFICULT ABOUT THE INTERFACE? Sure, it doesn't work as smooth as p-'n-c, but for some reason Randy is completely unable to handle a keyboard. (Maybe it is his age?) Then the review continues about his personal technical problems with the game. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but Randy must've formed his before he even got his copy of EMI. As you can clearly see in the review, he hardly finished the game at all. What kind of a reviewer is that? JA is, in my not so humble opinion, pure crap.
  • Remi O on 30 Nov, 2000, 15:42…
    Well, if you're younger than 30 your opinion doesn't count, so that solves that.
  • bluetentacle on 30 Nov, 2000, 21:20…
    Idiot.
  • Trapezoid on 30 Nov, 2000, 22:12…
    Who's the idiot? I'm not sure whether or not you got Remi's joke.
  • Remi O on 30 Nov, 2000, 23:23…
    He doesn't understand the whole Adventuregamer/JA+ story so I'll forgive him just this once.
  • LGH on 30 Nov, 2000, 12:31…
    Hehe, this review is SOOO competent, I can only have a big grin ;-)
    "Maneuvering Guybrush to the proper position to interact with a character or object is literally at times impossible. Two control options are available, keyboard and gamepad, and both proved equally inept. The screen will list your options--look at fountain, use bottle with fountain, etc.--but way too often it is impossible to highlight the option you would like. You find yourself attempting to take baby steps in an attempt to place Guybrush in a proper position."
    **Never heard of the page up/down feature???

    "My downfall, though, was a puzzle that required obtaining a wooden prosthetic hand. The command to do so was present on the screen, but no matter how I angled Guybrush or what buttons I pressed I still could not highlight that particular option. Finally, in frustration and desperation, I consulted two different walkthroughs to see if I had missed anything. Nope."
    Yeah, perhaps it's hard to select that option without using page up and down.
  • spaff on 30 Nov, 2000, 09:23…
    im really enjoying this game i have yet to finish due to pc death problems but i am however enjoying it face it folks nothing is going to beat Ron Gillberts stories, and no one can come along and make a story contine from them except the man himself. These same opinions of crapness were given to CMI. apart from the fact that i like this game, you should be thankful that lec are making adventure games at all. also think back - did u actually enjoy playing the game at all? did u smile when you saw otis? the scummbar? hmmm well opinons will be split on this one. but no matter what - I still think justadventure is an awful site.
  • TaXicab on 30 Nov, 2000, 12:27…
    a VERY awful site.
  • Emma on 30 Nov, 2000, 03:38…
    All I have to say is that I agree with Blue Tentacle.
  • C Shutt on 30 Nov, 2000, 02:54…
    It's nice to see a site that has the cojones to stand up and say the obvious: Escape from Monkey Island sucks. "Just Adventure", I salute you.
  • Remi O on 30 Nov, 2000, 03:17…
    They also gave MI2 a C+...
  • bluetentacle on 30 Nov, 2000, 01:30…
    ACTUALLY, EMI was not a good game all guys! I can't believe that so many sources including House o' Mojo gave it such praise! Then again the game sites and magazines get MONEY from ads paid for by game Companies. So I can understand why they would give it a decent review, but C'mon IHOM! It is the WORST thing to happen to the MI saga ever! It screwed up the continuity, the plot is terrible, the new characters are horrible. Mister cheese is a good example: he has no real traits that separate him from the others. How about any of the others? None of them play any real role in the game. Otis is the only character who is done well. What the heck is with Lucasarts using heck instead of H-E-L-L? They used Hell in past games including CMI and ratings never stopped them before. How about Continuity? Why does Guybrush look so young?(Don't believe me? Put the boxes of CMI and EMI together, or even screenshots of both versions of Guybrush) Plus they RUINED Herman! The plot really is underdeveloped. Who cares about the lawyers or the Ultimate Insult? It can't hold a candle to rescuing Elaine or trying to find Big Whoop. In fact I think that Whoops is what people should be saying about EMI. Don't just lap up whatever Lucasarts has to give you as this is a SERIOUSLY underpar Monkey island game! Guys, look: the game just isn't Monkey Island caliber. See the MI 2, or CMI intro then look at EMI's intro! Most readers are probably just going to write off this post and claim I am not a "True Fan". I can assure you this is not the case. I have been a fan ever since Secret came out, when it didn't even have icons for the inventory. I followed the game all the way through EMI(no hint books used in any of them), but now I am seriously disapointed with Lucasarts. Everyone here is so good at writing petitions so write Lucasarts and tell them to hire Ron Gilbert back, NO Matter The Cost! Try to look at the game from a MI 1 or MI 2 perspective and compare them a bit. Thanks everyone.
  • Remi O on 30 Nov, 2000, 01:50…
    Looks - compares. Nope, still looks great.
  • bluetentacle on 30 Nov, 2000, 02:03…
    Sorry, my brainwashed friend, EMI cannot compare. EMI may be a good adventure game, but it is a terrible Monkey Island game. I also see you have plenty of warrents to back up your arguments. Thanks again.
  • TaXicab on 30 Nov, 2000, 02:31…
    This review does not criticize its merits as a Monkey Island game, but rather a poor adventure game.Obviously from this post you agree it is a lackluster MI game but remains a good Adventure game. If you notice, i said this in my "first impression" of EMI myself, so dont go criticizing the House of Mojo's Credibility, simply because you dont agree with all the staff's opinions. btw, 'warrants' is spelled with an 'a'
  • bluetentacle on 30 Nov, 2000, 02:54…
    I'm sorry I misunderstood the purpose of the comments section. I will now post my opinions On the Message Board. Taxicab- If you compare your paragraph with my comment they are quite different. I am sorry you feel that I was insulting IHOM. I merely was supprised that IHOM seemed fully supportive of EMI. Oh and 'warrants' is indeed spelled with and 'a', just as periods end sentences. All I can say is whoops. See you on the MB.
  • Jake on 01 Dec, 2000, 00:17…
    Note Mojo hasn't posted a full review yet. Those were just after we had all barely gotten to the end of CD 1. I'm also standing by the fact that with EMI you see what you want to see. Many of the EMI lovers obviously went into EMI "knowing" that it would be excellent, and many of those badmouthing it went into it already "knowing" (and frequently posting on messageboards) that it would be crap and would never live up to its predecessors. Up to where I am in CMI (just arrived on Jambalaya) I'd say CMI is less of a Monkey game than EMI is (where was the sarcasm, the biting wit in CMI? Hardly anywhere. Where was hefty borrowing of MI1 and 2? In many many places. I've heard that EMI goes insane right after where I've played to though so we'll see in the real EMI review...
  • Jake on 01 Dec, 2000, 00:18…
    "Up to where I am in CMI (just arrived on Jambalaya)" should have read "Up to where I am in EMI (just arrived on Jambalaya)"
  • bluetentacle on 30 Nov, 2000, 03:00…
    Oh and I misspelled 'surprised'.
  • Remi O on 30 Nov, 2000, 02:14…
    This isn't a discussion board, this is comments to news postings. If you want to discuss this, go to the Monkey Island posting board. Thanks again.
  • Remi O on 29 Nov, 2000, 22:18…
    Randy-boy wrote the following in a column this April: "Am I the only one who is not excited by the announcement of a 3D Monkey Island 4? Personally, I found attempting to play the previous Monkey Islands an exercise in tediousness as I was put off by the juvenile humor and rehashed puzzles. Why not a new Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, or even a Star Wars adventure game? All are more deserving. " Obviously he made up his mind before even playing this game...