Outside of playing two demos for the later installments in the series, I was never into the point and click adventure scene on the PC when The Secret of Monkey Island was originally released. Friends had told me how great it was and that I needed to buy it, so buy it I did when Lucasarts released the special edition of the game on Xbox Live just recently. While the game does have some moments, I just don't see what the secret of this game is, and why it has captured the adoration of so many gamers throughout its long history.

You play as Guybrush Threepwood – a young man who has just landed on Melee Island and is looking to become a dastardly pirate. Before he can become a pirate, however, he'll have to overcome the three pirate trials, which might be pretty hard considering a ghost pirate named LeChuck has got everyone running scared and holed up in the bar. As you embark on your adventure, you'll have to deal with needy trolls, wax lips, piranha poodles, a lazy pirate crew, a used ship salesman, and even some cannibals looking to change their ways.

Grog Is Good

The game's single coolest feature is being able to press the back button and instantly transition the game from its new look to the old graphical styling as when the game first came out. I loved finding new scenes and people and merely clicking a button just to see what they looked like originally. In some cases you have to laugh at how bad the game looked, but other times the graphics for back then were quite charming. The biggest difference between the two versions is the voice work, which does a much better job at bringing the laughs than a regular line read aloud in your own head. If new voice work hadn't been added, I would've found the humor to be a little lacking – there's some great lines that made me chuckle, but there's other times where you wonder, "Was that ever funny?"

As a point and click adventure game, The Secret of Monkey Island doesn't work that well in regards to the Xbox 360 controller. You'll use the left thumbstick to act as a mouse point while the A-button moves you around when you click it. The A-button and B-button also act as mouse clicks, which allow you to do certain actions in the game, while the right bumper brings up your inventory list. Clicking an object to interact with and being given a list of drop down options would've been a much better solution, but instead you either have to manually slog your way through a menu system, or either remember what direction of the D-pad corresponds with what action in the game and work through that way; either way you go it's cumbersome and difficult to work with.

The biggest problem I have with the game – and the genre as a whole – is that too often there is no logical solution and you must be right in the mindset and know what the developer was thinking when they made the game. When looking at a giant overhead map of an island, how am I supposed to know there's a place in the top left corner hidden away? The game should tell you – like most of the objects in the game – when there is something you can interact with. Another instance comes from trying to get a fish away from a bird. I tried everything to get that fish away, but eventually had to consult an online walkthrough to figure it out. How was I supposed to know there's a loose board in the bottom corner if there's nothing suggesting it is?

The options in the game and inventory are equally frustrating. I can't tell you how many times I tried to push or pull an object that couldn't be used in that way. I've also opened plenty of chests and not have anything appear…until you manually look at something by clicking a button. Then of course there are objects in your inventory that you won't even use, so why allow us to pick them up in the first place? Why give me wax lips for a throwaway puzzle scene or a staple remove that isn't even used for anything in the whole game? How am I supposed to know to open cereal – or that I even can in the game – to find a toy prize? Or the fact that a rubber chicken actually has a pulley unless you click the right button?

Monkey Island

The game has an in-game hint system that works decently for the most part, as it only gives "idea" hints to start with before ultimately leading you by the hand. The system is flawed though and can lead to dead ends. One of the first trials early on I completed was stealing an idol from the governor, which had me poisoning a hunk of meat to give to some dogs. Since the game continued to let me find more meat and flowers, I thought perhaps that another puzzle would use the same idea much like what was done with the dogs. The hint system even said take the meat to poison the dogs, which was idiotic since the dogs were already poisoned and asleep. I couldn't get a new hint for the longest time because it thought I was still several steps back and it wouldn't help me go forward.

I also wasn't a fan of the story at all. It started off interesting with Guybrush trying to become a pirate, but then trailed off until it was nothing but a random number of situations thrust upon a guy. He falls head over heels in love for a girl he's met once and is determined to save his love. The couple is even deeply in love by the time the ending comes, which is preposterous considering they've known each other for no more than five minutes. Of course, then you've got the game's title, which makes you think there's some secret on Monkey Island, which is never paid off in the slightest.

Graphically I really enjoyed the new art style for the most part and I thought the voice acting was excellent, but that's the only thing I really found excellent about this game. Playing the game never felt like fun, but instead a mental evaluation that was testing my patience. If you like random humor that ultimately serves no purpose, a storyline that quickly branches off to a series of loosely connected vignettes, and clicking on every single manageable object until you find the right combination then you'll be absolutely in love with the game. If you don't like that stuff (and really you shouldn't) then leave this for the fans from back in the day, because I don't see it converting many new people at all.

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