Summary
Lovable, beautiful; a masterpiece.
The Good
I loved everything about this game. This is my favourite in the series, and I will individually point out all of the features I adore:
Music - Probably the best music in the Monkey Island series. It is so imaginative and well put together - I definitely admire Michael Land for all of the wonderful pieces in this game, and they go amazingly well with whatever scene is present - whether it's happy music for the wonderful island of Puerto Pollo, or it's an anxious score for the rollercoaster chase at the end - it is all exquisite and deserves more recognition than it gets.
Characters - The character development is lovely. You get to know the ins and outs of all the characters by the vast range of speech options you can click, and you can explore all of their personalities as if you were really talking to them. Each character shines through outside of the screen into your mind, and this is valuable in a game. Guybrush's gullibility is so obvious here, as is LeChuck's uncertainty about what's going on, and Elaine's irritation and patronization towards Guybrush!
Graphics - Very cartoon style graphics are present here, which I find good. The puffy clouds become a trademark, so to speak, and the drawing of the backgrounds is lovely; all of which are very interactive and Guybrush makes his comments on all of the scenery and objects around him.
Gameplay - Somewhat different to the earlier games, but very good. It has become easier for people to learn how to play without imposing limitations, by simply 'looking' 'using' or 'talking', instead of all the 'open' 'close' etc. The humour in the game is brilliant, and I never ceased to smile while playing Monkey Island 3! The storyline is excellent and imaginative, and a lot of effort has clearly gone into the making of this masterpiece.
The Bad
There isn't much to dislike about this game in my view. On newer PCs you may encounter errors with the palette of the game, but this is fairly rare and shouldn't cause a problem - and can be cured with a save and restart of the application.
Other than that - Nope, nothing I dislike about this game!
The Bottom Line
Buy it - You will love it, and as with all the other MI games, it can be played at any age and be loved. While it can be enjoyed, unfortunately it is not always appreciated, and you must look carefully at everything they are saying on-screen, to fully understand the genius behind this game.
Simply brilliant.
