Presenting, the fabulous, the slendorific, the bemushroomed-like euphoria creating game that is Secret of Monkey Island! A twisted tale of high seas pirating, adventure, romance, and so much action packed excitement that only the strongest dare attempt it. Are you strong? Are you brave? Do you think you can handle this? Well, we shall see.

It all began on that fateful morning when a young Guybrush Threepwood, thirsting for adventure and treasure, happened upon Melee Island. Here he begins his quest to become a mighty pirate, breaking through the obstacles of sarcastic pirates and evil ghosts with evil plans. He lets nothing stand in his way, not even the undead. Making his way through puzzle after puzzle using his wit, various and seemingly unrelated objects, and his wonderful conversational skills, Threepwood manages to make a name for himself. As well as make many wonderful and eccentric friends, such as health conscious cannibals, crazy castaways, the funky voodoo lady, and the beautiful Elaine. And when his little plunder bunny (aw, ain’t that sweet?) turns up missing, he must go on a dangerous rescue mission where he will brave the molten fires of Hell.

The gameplay is fairly simple. Basically, you wander from place to place using your mouse to show where you want to go, sometimes using the map to direct yourself, talking to everyone you meet and picking up every object that you happen upon, since even the most unlikely of items can be of the utmost importance. Using a combination of the action choices and the items that you have collected, you are able to solve the various (and occasionally bizarre) problems that come your way.

Graphically, this isn’t the best. Facial expressions are pretty much limited to an immediate change from a frown to a smile, and when a person’s face changes colors, the colors do not flow together as is seen in cartoons with people holding their breath, but also happens quickly. When moving on the maps there is little to be seen other than a little labeled dot moving along the little pathways. But despite the roughness, the close-ups look decent, giving a better picture of the characters’ true appearances, and the backgrounds are usually nice (nothing like walls made of living body parts to help things along). Overall the graphics aren’t enough to make that much of a difference or to be a hindrance to the enjoyment of the game.

The sounds and music face the same problem as the graphics. As an older game, the quality may seem iffy. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be good. I love music, and when I do happen to notice it, I like it to be good, and Monkey Island was not a disappointment. The music has a rhythmic island flavor that you just can’t help but like. Music is not always present, but when it is, it just seems appropriate. The sounds, on the other hand, are not so good. They’re pretty limited, not amounting to much more than some varied squeaks that were supposed to be a rat and some bats.

One of the best parts of Monkey Island is the storyline. It isn’t the most complex or thought out story, but it is entertaining. From his exploits as a pirate wannabe trying to impress the Important Looking Pirates to his time spent as a certified, if not entirely competent, pirate of the seven seas, the time is filled with interesting characters, original dialogue, and an easy to follow plot. When you are talking to everyone, you are given quite an array of choices to say to the other characters. And their responses are often amusing, though occasionally stupid.

As explained earlier, with the exception of the pause and save/load options, this game is controlled with your mouse. You click an area, and little Guybrush will follow. Objects are picked up in this manner as well by clicking the pick up action and then clicking on your object of choice.

Overall this is a very enjoyable game with so many memorable parts, especially the ending. I highly recommend it, and if you can’t trust me for a good game recommendation, who can you trust? Now if you will excuse me, Slime and I have a barrel of the highly corrosive grog and some nice frosted mugs that are just begging to be used. And I leave you with the words to this well-known ditty, “Another little drink, another little drink, another little drink won’t do us any harm.”