[GoT]

well... now we're getting somewhere

[Dale Baldwin]

Don't worry, the reviews are in the works.

[Jackal]

Yeah, but only in pre-production. That can take forever.

[paul1275]

It seems sad that people can't accept that we have different tastes. I played Monkey Island many many moons ago and really enjoyed it... BUT, Monkey Island isn't the pot of gold at the end of the adventure rainbow.

We all hold adventure games close to our heart. I know that some people (like me) love myst, some hate it. It's one thing to argue the merits of what you personally like about a game, it's another to demand that everyone love it.

I know what it's like, I happened to like "In Memoriam", I may have been the only person in the UK who did. I had to move heaven and earth to get a copy of the sequel, but that's how much it means to me.

On reflection, I did enjoy playing Monkey Island... But it wasn't revolutionary or mould breaking (has no-one here played the original leisure suit larry games?)

I just had to say that before you burn me as a witch.

Thanks

[GoT]

"Pork Doll"

[Karmillo]

Originally Posted by paul1275

It seems sad that people can't accept that we have different tastes. I played Monkey Island many many moons ago and really enjoyed it... BUT, Monkey Island isn't the pot of gold at the end of the adventure rainbow.

We all hold adventure games close to our heart. I know that some people (like me) love myst, some hate it. It's one thing to argue the merits of what you personally like about a game, it's another to demand that everyone love it.

I know what it's like, I happened to like "In Memoriam", I may have been the only person in the UK who did. I had to move heaven and earth to get a copy of the sequel, but that's how much it means to me.

On reflection, I did enjoy playing Monkey Island... But it wasn't revolutionary or mould breaking (has no-one here played the original leisure suit larry games?)

I just had to say that before you burn me as a witch.

Thanks

*pop*

[AGA]

Rest assured, paul1275, that whoever reviews it will be able to put it in its proper context, and won't just lavish endless praise without good reason. We know our stuff here at AG

[Karmillo]

Doesnt mean it wont get lavished with praise though

[AGA]

Well it is MI we're talking about

[After a brisk nap]

Originally Posted by paul1275

Monkey Island isn't the pot of gold at the end of the adventure rainbow.

Have to disagree with you there. I think you can learn everything there is to know about designing a great adventure game by studying The Secret of Monkey Island. The perfection of its design is simply awe-inspiring. Not only does it embody Ron Gilbert's then new ideas about what an adventure game should be like, it also manages to get things right that most games since then have screwed up. (Notably: most of the story is told through playable segments.)

Monkey Island is the pot of gold, the holy grail, the best adventure game ever made. And that would be my review if I was asked to write it.

[AGA]

I had almost exactly those thoughts as I was playing DotT recently. Such awesome design.

[paul1275]

No game can honestly live up to that kind of praise.

Monkey Island is simply a well written inventory driven adventure game. Sierra were knocking out these types of game ten a penny in the 80's. Monkey Island uses a very similar style of game play, graphics, inventory system, puzzles and humour (maybe not as adult though) as Leisure Suit Larry and many of the other adventure games of the time.

Monkey Island does not contain the same imagination or daring that "Captain Blood" & "Loom" did. Those games really dared to be different.

Reviews should be written without bias or the review becomes pointless. Many of the people posting on this thread are biased, and even worse, unable to accept that people can and should have different points of view.

It is also vitally important that you understand that while people here may believe MI is the greatest game ever made, some may think it's just OK, some may even hate it. Just be thankful that we all have different tastes or the world would be a very boring place.

Monkey Island will have its place in the adventure game hall of fame, but it survives in our memories purely through nostalgia and not because it dared to be different!

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by AGA

I had almost exactly those thoughts as I was playing DotT recently. Such awesome design.

Sorry, I just had to say that.

[AGA]

The puzzles in DotT are near flawless!

paul: games don't have to "dare to be different" to be a near-perfect example of their genre. If anything, daring to be different would make them unsuitable for comparison against the majority of other adventures.

[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by AGA

The puzzles in DotT are near flawless!

Sorry, I just had to say that... again.

[fov]

If The Secret of Monkey Island were a perfectly designed adventure game, I wouldn't have gotten frustrated and looked at a walkthrough. Three times.

Structurally it is a good game, and I think it has some great puzzles, but it also has some unintuitive puzzles.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by paul1275

Monkey Island is simply a well written inventory driven adventure game. Sierra were knocking out these types of game ten a penny in the 80's. Monkey Island uses a very similar style of game play, graphics, inventory system, puzzles and humour (maybe not as adult though) as Leisure Suit Larry and many of the other adventure games of the time.

That's a debatable point. I happen to think that MI features far better writing than anything Sierra managed at around that time, and that the gameplay mechanics are much better in LucasArts' effort too; a lack of annoying timed/arcade puzzles (the breath-holding joke excluded), a lack of dead ends and a context sensitive mouse interface were all things that MI has that Sierra games didn't. Now, I'm not trying to damage the reputation of Sierra's games here, but there are some pretty fundamental differences between the two companies' games.

Reviews should be written without bias or the review becomes pointless. Many of the people posting on this thread are biased, and even worse, unable to accept that people can and should have different points of view.

Reviews are always subjective. I happen to dislike most of the Sierra games that I'm assuming, from the way your post is written, that you think are great. Does that mean that I would complain if King's Quest VI was given five stars?

Well... yes . But that doesn't mean that the score couldn't be justified.

It is also vitally important that you understand that while people here may believe MI is the greatest game ever made, some may think it's just OK, some may even hate it. Just be thankful that we all have different tastes or the world would be a very boring place.

Agreed entirely.

Monkey Island will have its place in the adventure game hall of fame, but it survives in our memories purely through nostalgia and not because it dared to be different!

No, Monkey Island survives in our memories because it's a superbly crafted game with intelligent design, witty humour, some extremely clever puzzles and without many of the flaws that plagued other games of the time and have featured in games since. Nostalgia is important, yes, but that doesn't prevent MI from being one of the finest adventure games ever produced.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by fov

Structurally it is a good game, and I think it has some great puzzles, but it also has some unintuitive puzzles.

If we follow that logic, do I get to kill you if you even consider giving a King's Quest game five stars?

[Naveed]

Originally Posted by paul1275

Monkey Island will have its place in the adventure game hall of fame, but it survives in our memories purely through nostalgia and not because it dared to be different!

Now this is where I disagree with you completely. Don't want to sound rude, but please have a look in the dictionary for the word nostalgia! Nostalgia comes into play when you are away from something for a long time and the longing for it makes you delusional. Nothing stops people from playing MI1 and MI2 now, I occasionally play them and still find them fun. Don't rubbish the games which were released 15 years ago as nostalgic. I bet there were lots of other games were released at that time, how many are remembered till this day? How many still have such following? You should admit that there must be something different in Monkey Island that's why it survives, it is not simply nostalgia.

[paul1275]

Originally Posted by Naveed

Don't rubbish the games which were released 15 years ago as nostalgic.

I have never once said that Monkey Island is Rubbish, far from it. I really enjoyed playing it. This thread is about the non-existence of a MI review on this site and the comments made about the review on Just Adventure.

From subsequent posts, it would seem that some will not accept an honest critical review of the game. A review at the end of the day is one person’s perception of a piece of work. It should not be biased and it should not be subject to vetting. You have to accept that it may not be the review you want to hear - again look at the reaction to the JA review of MI 1 and 2.

I simply believe that no-one should demand that a reviewer give an A+ just because they like the work in question.

And Nostalgia does not equal rubbish. If you remember anything with fondness like me (please remember I played MI when it first came out!) there must be something good to make you remember it in such a way.

Let’s agree that.

a) MI is a great game.
b) MI is loved by many, liked by some and dismissed (possibly even hated) by a few.
c) No one should dictate the outcome of a review no matter how biased they are.
d) The adventure game scene is a wide and varied one and we should be excited by that fact!