Summary
Perhaps not Lucas Arts' best game, but a cool adventure nevertheless
The Good
Well, the first thing to mention is the famous interface - SCUMM, the engine that brought fame to LucasArts, and spawned so many great games... don't forget the last two M stand for "Maniac Mansion"!
Historical significance of this game can hardly be overestimated: this is the first classic adventure by LucasArts, so if you rave, just like me, over
Secret of Monkey Island or
Day of the Tentacle, you gotta have some respect toward this one.
Okay, but respect alone doesn't make a game great, so what does? Well, first of all, the humor. The game is very funny, a true parody on those silly teenager movies, with lots of hilarious things to do and to watch in the mansion, and with cool characters (not only inside the mansion, but also among your protagonists - think of Razor...). The other reviewers stated correctly: it is a parody, so whoever thinks the game took itself seriously with all its cheese must have a problem with humor and satire. The game is cool and funny in a subtle way - true LucasArts quality. No doubt about that.
That said, you must understand the story is nothing but a huge parody, but then again, if you take the story of any Monkey Island game seriously, you'll have to think it is the silliest game possible. Same goes for "Day of the Tentacle" and
Sam and Max. LucasArts does its best with parodies, and it all started in this game.
There are some very cool and interesting puzzles - although the puzzles don't have that classically hilarious Monkey Island design. The graphics are excellent. Really great graphics, which can be compared to those of Sierra products of the time.
The Bad
It was the first classic adventure by LucasArts, so naturally, they couldn't achieve in it the same perfection as in their later games. The famous LucasArts-style dialogue is lacking, the characters don't talk much, and their remarks are not that funny or significant for the most part. There is not enough in-depth characterization of the protagonists. The interface is not as intuitive and as comfortable as in later LucasArts adventures - the objects are not highlighted, so it's sometimes hard to spot them. Some puzzles are obscure, hard to figure out, and it is possible to get irrevocably stuck in the game.
The Bottom Line
This is a true classic, worthy of its fame. It is perfectly natural to prefer such masterpeices as Monkey Island games over this one, as it still lacks in many aspects, yet it is an amazingly progressive and groundbreaking adventure, with great humor, fantastic interface, and cool puzzles. And once again - it is a parody, so don't take it seriously. It is better than
Zak McKracken, in my opinion.
