The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition LITE

Re-live your first visit to Melee Island. [get it]
My rating 4.5/5, iTunes Store rating 3.5/5

The Secret of Monkey Island is a LucasArts adventure game from the 1980's. This year two new versions have been released. Tales of Monkey Island, which is intended to take the place of the long awaited fifth installment, and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, a remake of the original game for the PC, the X-Box and the iPhone too.

The Secret of Monkey Island is credited by many for bringing humour into computer gaming. The game had three popular sequels and a fourth one has been an Internet talking point for a long time. For those who have fond memories of playing the game in the 1980s any reminder of the theme music or humour may be enough to bring a smile to the face. As one such fan, I have to give "The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition LITE" almost top marks. Had the full version been free (it is currently £4.99 for the iPhone or £6.99 for the PC) it would certainly get 5/5.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition LITE brings that first installment of the Monkey Island series back to life with fresh artwork, music and voices (including the voice that Guybrush Threepwood had in later episodes of the game). Chatting with the dog in the SCUMM bar gives a clear example of how much better the game is with these enhancements.

The control system does not work in the way that you might initially expect it to, but instructions are given on screen and once you have had a little wander around you will become familiar with it, it is a good control system once you have the hang of it.

Ultimately, of course, this is just a demo, it is the start of the game. If you feel you might be tempted to buy the full version for any platform then you may wish to limit how much of the game you play in the demo, but if you are thinking of buying the iPhone version it is probably worth checking you can use the control system first.

If you are new to Monkey Island then you may not feel this app is worth my 4.5/5 rating, but if you loved the game as I did first time around, it is worth the download just to see a something of the old favourite brought into the 21st century.

I have kept The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition LITE on my iPhone and am launching it ever other day.