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Drop that FPS, pack up your rubber chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle, and book a trip back to Monkey Island.

The original Monkey Island titles are arguably LucasArts' pinnacle of 1990 era graphic adventures. When rumors of a remastered, re-release of the PC/Mac/Atari ST title first leaked out, there was a collective "Yes! (Look there's a 3-headed monkey behind you!)" from those who still have fond memories of Guybrush Threepwood's humorous pirate adventures. It hasn't been much longer than a month since The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition was official unveiled for both the Xbox 360 via XBLA and PC, and after finally getting our hands on it: that "Yes!" is still very relevant.

There is doubt that The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition was lovingly recreated and enhanced for both long-time fans and young new swashbucklers. If you're over the age of, oh, 25 and you have never played a Monkey Island game (or any late 80s/early 90s graphic adventure) shame on you. I've personally been through the first game a few times on multiple platforms - PC 16-color version, 256-color VGA version and yes, even the Sega CD version with the crazy long load times. Even though I know exactly what to expect, the game's humor and writing is still as sharp today as it was back then. For those who really don't know anything about the series, the plot is pretty straightforward: *Tales of pirate wealth attract Guybrush Threepwood, who lands at the port of Mêlee with high hopes, no money and an insatiable desire to become a pirate. Along the way, Guybrush will fall in love, win the confidence of Mêlee's established pirates and soon find himself blown by the winds of fate toward Monkey Island - a storied isle whose name alone chills the bones of even the most bloodthirsty buccaneers. *

The audio in The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is fantastic. The voice work is extremely well done and the actors do a great job interpreting the tone of the original games. After playing with voices, it's definitely difficult to go back. I personally turned the subtitles back on, as they're off by default for some reason. The soundtrack of the original version was impressive back then and the newly redone music, as mentioned earlier, is top notch. Some of the older arrangements I liked just a little bit better, though it's all quality stuff.

Having played the Sega CD version way back when, I have no problems playing The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition without a mouse and/or keyboard. The game employs some context-sensitive button actions along with action shortcuts mapped to the d-pad. Speaking of d-pad (I can't review an Xbox 360 game without complaining about it), there are a very few instances in which some sort of timing is involved, and fumbling through the menu to quickly select "use" by hitting the upper right diagonal took longer than it should have. There is the option to bring up your inventory or action menu using the triggers as well, though that requires a few extra button presses, and it's a little easy to screw up under pressure. It's not a huge complaint by any means, and there's really only one groggy part where it really comes into play. 99% of the game, the controls work perfectly. I just wanted to throw it out there for anyone wondering.

For the uninitiated, the puzzles in Monkey Island are fairly logical even though a few require you to think humorously outside the box. There are of course a few points within the game that will likely strand a few new Monkey Island player for a little bit. As a last resort, the game's hint system (activated by holding the X button) is a nice touch, but I'll say it again, don't use it! Doubly so if you're Achievement hunting... hint hint.

So is 800 points/$10 for a 3 - 5 hour adventure game with not much replay value worth it? You bet your Grog it is. The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic, and the enhanced visuals, soundtrack and audio, along with the inclusion of the original art and music is just icing on the cake. Drop that FPS, pack up your rubber chicken-with-a-pulley-in-the-middle, and book a trip to Monkey Island.