NerdyMrSimms
2003
Japanese version is 3.5 stars because the final boss has a new phase that is hella fun. It's otherwise a fun if stale platform brawler.
Unless you're trying to do a self imposed challenge of collecting as many coins as possible, they aren't as important as the game makes them out to be. Their only uses are to get garlic from that italian dispenser to restore health, as well as respawning at the point of death.
However, the amount you'll pay for both of those situations is almost negligible with the amount you'll find in the levels. Apart from those two things, the coins have absolutely no significance to the game's progression, ironic considering the significance of them to Wario.
Unless you're trying to do a self imposed challenge of collecting as many coins as possible, they aren't as important as the game makes them out to be. Their only uses are to get garlic from that italian dispenser to restore health, as well as respawning at the point of death.
However, the amount you'll pay for both of those situations is almost negligible with the amount you'll find in the levels. Apart from those two things, the coins have absolutely no significance to the game's progression, ironic considering the significance of them to Wario.
2006
Prey had its moments with how seriously warped its levels can be with gravity and portals, but at the end of the day, it's a shooter, a very easy one at that.
Like others have said, if you're low on health, just die and get it back with almost no repercussions to your whereabouts in a level.
Like others have said, if you're low on health, just die and get it back with almost no repercussions to your whereabouts in a level.
Plays like Baulder's Gate: Dark Alliance except it's for four players and it's painfully average.
1996
Acts more like an FPS that allows you to go in any direction than a flight sim simply because you can stop in midair without gravity pulling you down. Missions are pretty much the same as they have you destroy bases and do some escorts, but the planets' non-linear level design encourages exploration.
One great thing I can say about this game is that it's one of the rare examples of an old game that still works on modern systems like Win 10. Just pop the CD in, install, and play.
One great thing I can say about this game is that it's one of the rare examples of an old game that still works on modern systems like Win 10. Just pop the CD in, install, and play.
Couldn't be assed to finish this because I wasn't invested in the story or characters. The only character I liked was basically a re-write of Garrus.
It's easily the weakest entry in the series. Monkey Island is known for its pretty out of the way logic for its puzzles and this game takes it a bit farther to a fault. You'll find yourself going back and forth between many areas because there was one small area that you might have overlooked that had an item that is critical to continuing the story. Many times I'd have a guide next to me because of how unclear many of the solutions are presented, which seems to be an issue for a lot of older adventure games, but I feel like Escape takes it too far.
The controls are also pretty bad, manageable on the PS2 but hell on PC. A lot of the actions are spread out into several buttons and a few of the actions would benefit more of being condensed into one button. This was also a problem with Grim Fandango back in the day, but that was addressed in the remasters.
Escape on PC also simply outright refuses to use any controller other than directinput ones, so steam users are gonna have a very bad time with this game. The developers also disabled the alt-tabbing and alt-f4 keys, so if the game crashes, have fun force quitting!
After almost an hour of trying to get the game working, I've settled on the fact that the PC version was too much of a hassle to get working properly, so I just played the game through a ps2 emulator and it was pretty flawless for the most part. Apart from the occasional frame dip, it plays infinitely better than the PC version.
Overall, It holds its own quite well with its comedy, the Pirate Rehabilitation School is among the most hilarious moments in the series, and some returning characters stand out very well too. However, with its technical issues of making it work, its very confusing controls, and the amount of backtracking and Where's Waldo item searching, it's hard to recommend Escape from Monkey Island to most players.
Maybe consider it if you enjoyed other LucasArts adventure games, but it might be worth watching a YouTube playthrough of the game because of how much of a hassle it is to play.
The controls are also pretty bad, manageable on the PS2 but hell on PC. A lot of the actions are spread out into several buttons and a few of the actions would benefit more of being condensed into one button. This was also a problem with Grim Fandango back in the day, but that was addressed in the remasters.
Escape on PC also simply outright refuses to use any controller other than directinput ones, so steam users are gonna have a very bad time with this game. The developers also disabled the alt-tabbing and alt-f4 keys, so if the game crashes, have fun force quitting!
After almost an hour of trying to get the game working, I've settled on the fact that the PC version was too much of a hassle to get working properly, so I just played the game through a ps2 emulator and it was pretty flawless for the most part. Apart from the occasional frame dip, it plays infinitely better than the PC version.
Overall, It holds its own quite well with its comedy, the Pirate Rehabilitation School is among the most hilarious moments in the series, and some returning characters stand out very well too. However, with its technical issues of making it work, its very confusing controls, and the amount of backtracking and Where's Waldo item searching, it's hard to recommend Escape from Monkey Island to most players.
Maybe consider it if you enjoyed other LucasArts adventure games, but it might be worth watching a YouTube playthrough of the game because of how much of a hassle it is to play.
Sets a better example over MM3D of making the game more accessible by having some discrete QoL improvements all while having the really hand holdy parts optional. A phenomenal remake to an already phenomenal game
There are some QoL changes to this game that are very welcome. However other design decisions like changing the masks' abilities but not adjusting the levels to accommodate their abilities (the zora's new slower swimming functions do not work at all with the game's large level designs,) as well as the boss battles feeling way less chaotic (and Odolwa being way too stupid in the remake) all make it hard to recommend over the original game.
More power to you if you enjoy the game despite the questionable changes, but I'll stick with the older game.
More power to you if you enjoy the game despite the questionable changes, but I'll stick with the older game.
As a Homestar cartoon, it's funny and very well written, but as a game, it isn't that well designed. The goal tracker is not clear with what objectives you need to do in order to get the trophies. The majority of the trophies require you to speak to certain characters at very specific points in the game. If you don't, you lose the chance to obtain the marker needed to get the trophy unless you reset the game.
The PC version also gets the short end with its lack of controls. With no shortcut keys, it makes navigating through the UI a slog. The Wii version at least had some shortcut keys tied to the controller, so emulating it through Dolphin might work out. I'm considering that an option for the next episode.
The PC version also gets the short end with its lack of controls. With no shortcut keys, it makes navigating through the UI a slog. The Wii version at least had some shortcut keys tied to the controller, so emulating it through Dolphin might work out. I'm considering that an option for the next episode.
I think it had everything in its arsenal to be a great game, but the development interference, its clunky combat controls, and the fact that the game still crashes periodically even with the fan patch brought the whole experience down. The last crash made me lose the motivation to continue playing, but I think it's worth checking out, as it has a very interesting world inhabited by some great characters.
You will need to set some time aside to get the game working though.
You will need to set some time aside to get the game working though.
2016
I'd buy an artbook for this game, but the game itself was just too boring for me to finish.
2002
The main campaign's story is ehhh, but the insurmountable amount of content that the game provided thanks to its modding tools, as well as IGN's defunct NWVault, made this one of the most played games of my late childhood and early adolescence. This is the game that made me want to start developing games.
MS Dos: 1.5/5
Playstation: 2/5
One of the many games back in the 90s that rode on the bandwagon of using its FMV capability hard while putting playability as a secondary objective. Levels 1 and 2 are pretty straightforward rail shooter/cover shooter minigames, but the 3rd level- the Mining Tunnels - is absolute hell on earth.
Whoever designed the mining tunnels level needs to take a long look at themselves in the mirror and re-evaluate what they've done. Even after beating the level, I abandoned the game just because I was beyond frustrated with the game's controls.
After playing the PS1 version, the Mining Tunnels is less of a bullshit ride than the PC, but not by much. The Millenium Falcon seems like it's contained in a bubble and it's jerked around depending on where the FMV is currently. You'll still be thrown and bounced around like a pinball when the movie in the background starts to jerk its turns.
The difficulty setting adjusts how much the bubble gets wobbled around as you go through the tunnel. Putting it on "Easy" will make it tolerable, but the rest of the levels will be a breeze to get through. It might be worth it for your sanity if you desire to try this game.
Playstation: 2/5
One of the many games back in the 90s that rode on the bandwagon of using its FMV capability hard while putting playability as a secondary objective. Levels 1 and 2 are pretty straightforward rail shooter/cover shooter minigames, but the 3rd level- the Mining Tunnels - is absolute hell on earth.
Whoever designed the mining tunnels level needs to take a long look at themselves in the mirror and re-evaluate what they've done. Even after beating the level, I abandoned the game just because I was beyond frustrated with the game's controls.
After playing the PS1 version, the Mining Tunnels is less of a bullshit ride than the PC, but not by much. The Millenium Falcon seems like it's contained in a bubble and it's jerked around depending on where the FMV is currently. You'll still be thrown and bounced around like a pinball when the movie in the background starts to jerk its turns.
The difficulty setting adjusts how much the bubble gets wobbled around as you go through the tunnel. Putting it on "Easy" will make it tolerable, but the rest of the levels will be a breeze to get through. It might be worth it for your sanity if you desire to try this game.
"Mr. Francis York Morgan,
Should you know, this game is surreal.
This port, though, has a tarnished appeal.
"Such poor optimization!" one would declare.
Might I suggest that you should try it elsewhere?
So says, Mr. Stewart."
It's barely playable on PC, provided that you have a desktop setup with one graphics card. A lot of laptops that have an onboard graphics card as well as a dedicated card will not run this game.
If you are able to boot this game, it's inevitable that it will crash hard and frequently. The game has an immense charm that forgives its many, many issues, but unfortunately the PC version is unoptimized to a fault where it becomes frustrating to enjoy
Play this game on literally any other platform, it's an absolute treat.
Should you know, this game is surreal.
This port, though, has a tarnished appeal.
"Such poor optimization!" one would declare.
Might I suggest that you should try it elsewhere?
So says, Mr. Stewart."
It's barely playable on PC, provided that you have a desktop setup with one graphics card. A lot of laptops that have an onboard graphics card as well as a dedicated card will not run this game.
If you are able to boot this game, it's inevitable that it will crash hard and frequently. The game has an immense charm that forgives its many, many issues, but unfortunately the PC version is unoptimized to a fault where it becomes frustrating to enjoy
Play this game on literally any other platform, it's an absolute treat.
A pretty good third-person shooter, though the lack of checkpoints held it back from being really good. The story is pretty good with Willem Dafoe being the villain and owning it like the rest of his roles.
It's good enough that I'd consider this flick to be the real sendoff for Brosnan and not Die Another Day.
It's good enough that I'd consider this flick to be the real sendoff for Brosnan and not Die Another Day.