Do you hate dying in videogames? Does plummeting to your death after missing a simple jump elicit a rage in you that can only be calmed by flinging a controller across the room? Or running out of ammo in a room full of zombies, does it make you nuts? If this sounds like you, then Lucasarts has got a remedy in Escape From Monkey Island. The main character, Guybrush Threepwood cant be killed, but that doesnt mean this game is a walk in the park. In a nod to adventure games of yore, the Monkey Island experience focuses on solving puzzles with brains rather than brawn, and mixes in a heavy dose of humor.

The Monkey Island series has been a long running franchise on the PC, where similar games like Space Quest, Kings Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry used to be top sellers. While that genre has cooled in popularity, Lucasarts is still putting out quality sequels to a satisfied audience. Originally released on the PC, Escape From Monkey Island marks the series first conversion to a home console, and its a worthy effort. The games use of humor and sarcasm are akin to what was found in Conkers Bad Fur Day for the N64, but less racy and thus better suited for a slightly younger crowd. The game is far from perfect, but its problems wont necessarily keep you from enjoying this game.

The game follows the story of the swashbuckling pirate, Guybrush Threepwood, and his wife, Elaine Marley who just happens to be the governor of Lucre Island. Guybrush and Elaine are returning to the Tri-Island area after a three month honeymoon at sea, and are looking forward to returning to throngs of well wishers. Just before they are to reach port, they are attacked by a band of pirates with a much bigger ship, but Guybrush, along with your help, manages to save the day. As the couples ship approaches the island, Elaine wonders aloud about how many people will be waiting on the docks to greet them; what she doesnt know is that there wont be a soul.

In a scene straight out of Lassie, a small monkey appears before the couple and begins to squawk and point excitedly. Theres trouble at the Governors mansion! they both exclaim and they hurry to their home. It is here they learn that due to her long absence, Elaine has been declared dead, lost her governorship, and their home has been condemned. All of these problems have been caused by a shady character named Charles L. Charles, and an Australian real estate mogul, Ozzie Mandrill. Elaine sets off to prove that shes not dead, and leaves Guybrush in charge of saving their home, a task easier said than done. It is at this point you take the reigns of our slightly dimwitted hero, and try to return things back to normal.

EFMI utilizes polygonal characters and lush pre-rendered backgrounds to tell its story. The backgrounds are by far the games strongest graphical asset. Each one is brightly colored, thoughtfully designed, and generally looks as if it was lifted straight from a cartoon. Since the adventure does take place on a tropical island, the multitude of colors used does a nice job of conveying the look of a tropical paradise. There are a few FMV scenes scattered at different points of the game, nothing gratuitous, but just enough to help move the story along. These scenes are nice looking, but arent breathtaking.

Each character is nicely designed, and unique looking, to say the least. Its easy to learn everyones name and remember them due to their distinctive characteristics, like double eye patches, prosthetic noses, or portliness. Guybrush and his comrades are also capable of displaying a wide range of facial expressions, often adding to the humor in an already humorous situation. Lucasarts also did a fine job of animating the characters; each one is smooth, and like their facial expressions, they are often used to add emotion to the game.

Monkey Islands biggest graphical issue is in my opinion its camera angles. Since each background is pre-rendered, each scene features a static camera. This means that the camera should be placed to provide a complete view of the area, as well as a functional view. This is where the problem lies. Its often difficult to tell where your character is when changing rooms; let me explain. I moved Guybrush from the Melee Island map into the town. When the view switched to the town, Guybrush was nowhere to be seen, so I pressed up, trying to move him into view. Wrong move. This moved him back to the map screen, and then I had to move him back to the town. This time I pushed down, and lo and behold, out pops Guybrush from behind a gate. Simply sliding the camera over to the left a hair, or making Guybrush appear about three feet forward from where he was originally would have solved this problem. Other times, the camera looks as if it is onboard the Hubble Telescope, making it almost impossible to see the brave pirate Threepwood as he moves about.

Where's Guybrush?
Somewhere in that red circle is Guybrush. While pretty, views like this yield poor control.

Character driven videogames seem to always have average to below-average voice acting, but this game bucks that trend. Aurally, this game is excellent with only one flaw keeping it from a perfect score. Guybrush, Elaine, Ozzie, Charles L. Charles, Pegnose Pete, and nearly everyone else are voiced to perfection. Many of the jokes require a certain dry wit to be funny, and had they been voiced poorly, theyd have fallen flat. While some of the jokes do fail, its never die to a lack of timing or poor voicing. Adding to the individuality of each character, each one has a certain attitude that is conveyed only through the games excellent voice work.

The game also boasts an excellent musical score that gets you in the mood for an island adventure in the Caribbean. Whether its a foreboding piece foretelling of danger that lay ahead, or a light tune befitting of a coastal paradise, the music is very appropriate. The only thing that holds EFMIs audio back is an odd problem that pops up during conversation. It seems that sometimes during a dialogue the person speaking suddenly sounds far away or muffled. This happened frequently throughout the game, and while it didnt really affect gameplay (everything is subtitled) it hurt the games overall presentation.

Moving Guybrush around is done with the left analog stick, and the face buttons are mapped to specific actions for ease of use. The shoulder buttons allow you to scroll through your inventory, or the list of actions currently available to perform. If you want to examine an object, simply go up to it until you see a subtitle at the bottom of the screen prompting you to interact with it. Sometimes it is not obvious what can or cant be viewed or interacted with, thus much of the game is spent wandering around watching for the words at the bottom of the screen that tell you there is something to do. There also seems to be some inconsistency when it comes to entering and exiting doors; its more of an annoyance than anything else, but too many minor problems add up to big ones. Sometimes if I walked to close to a door, Id open it up and walk in even when I didnt want to. Due to some of the extraneous animations found in the game, Guybrush would turn around, take a few steps back, turn around again, open the door and walk through. This little sequence cant be interrupted, and has to be repeated to get out of where you just entered. Like the poor camera angles, it does nothing but frustrate the person playing.

Aside from collecting objects, Guybrush must socialize with the Tri-Island area locals. When speaking to someone, a list of your possible responses is listed at the bottom of the screen. Its generally not too difficult to figure out where the conversation should be headed, but there are oodles of responses to pick from, and this is where the bulk of the games humor lies. Sometimes a retort is too hilarious not to pick, because you want to hear what happens, fortunately Lucasarts recognized this and allows you to move the conversation along at your own pace, and doesnt penalize you for having a little fun with the islands inhabitants.

While guiding Captain Threepwood through his adventure, it is up to you to solve the games many puzzles. This is often a task easier said than done, as some of the solutions seem to have nothing to do with anything. Many of the puzzles require finding an object and then using it on a person, which then triggers an event. Its not too tough to figure out that I need to find food to feed someone thats hungry, but how do I know that to cure someones sniffles I need: A bottle, some fountain water, a flower, wood shavings, puddle water, and rotten fish bait? The manual has a brief walkthrough of the first hour or so, but its mostly there to get you acclimated to playing that style of game, rather than solving the more difficult puzzles late in the game. The PC version came with a complete walkthrough, and this is the same game, so why Lucasarts didnt feel compelled to include it here is beyond me. Im not ashamed to admit that I resorted to GameFaqs.com to help me through the tough times, and Im glad I did, or else Id have given myself a stroke trying to figure out some of the more puzzling aspects of the game.

When I first began playing the game, I struggled a bit, but pressed on. Soon I got the hang of trying to pick up anything interesting, and looking for places to use my inventory. At this point I was having a great time playing the game, the humor was excellent, the challenge was just right, and I was progressing at a comfortable pace. Suddenly I hit a wall, and the puzzles became too obscure to figure out (navigating the swamp), and things became less fun. I went and found a walkthrough online and got myself back on track, but had significantly less fun after that.

The game ending up being an overall fun experience, but using a walkthrough (which 99% of you will need) turns a game into a chore for me. Open the door, and on your left you will see rotting fish, pick these up. Then look around for a blah blah blah. Its like paint by numbers, theres no skill involved. If you can beat this game without outside help, then this game will no doubt be high on your list of favorites, but for the rest of us its left tarnished by the unbalanced difficulty, sound problems, minor control issues, and camera placement. Dont get me wrong, this game is better than most of the other Playstation2 games out there, and its humor is second to none. A few tweaks and this game would have been amazing.