Friday 18 April 2014

Game 43: The Secret of Monkey Island - Risk and Reward

Guybrush Threepwood Journal Entry 3: "There sure are some strange characters on this Melee Island! Outside of the village I've held conversations with the lookout (an old man that keeps watch for who knows what), the Fetuccini Brothers (two brothers that run a circus in the middle of nowhere), Meathook (a man with hooks instead of hands that lives in an ex-tourist establishment), and a troll (who was, as you might expect, guarding a bridge). It was at the circus that I found what I was looking for though...a way to earn some coin! I was extremely lucky not to die in the process, or at least break a few bones, but I managed to get 478 pieces of eight for just a few seconds work! That should be enough to buy the tools I need to have a crack at passing the three trials. Back to the village I go!"


Right. Let's see what else is on this island!

So my last post finished with me facing off against a horde of demonic poodles outside Governor Marley’s house. I’d thrown the stewed meat to them, which they’d eagerly devoured, but hadn’t noticed any effect from the action. I pondered what else I might be able to give some dogs that might draw their attention away long enough for me to pass, but couldn’t come up with anything I’d seen so far. This meant that my initial exploration of the Melee Island town was now complete! However, the town was only a small part of the island, so it was time to widen my exploration range. I made my way back up the mountain path to where the game’s introduction took place.  The old man was still staring out over the cliff face, and once again he was completely unaware of my presence. I had a bunch of great dialogue options to say to him, but whichever one I chose, the result was me scaring the crap out of him! “Yikes! You almost scared me to death. I thought you were a – never mind.” He then went into a spiel about how silly my name was: “You want to be a pirate, boy, take my advice. Change your name. Try something like Dreadbeard or Six-fingered Pete.” At this point Guybrush finally asked the man who he was: “I’m the lookout of Melee Island. I watch the ocean for approaching storms and ships, and report them directly to the Governor. She doesn’t like unexpected visitors… especially not now.”


That must be a riveting job. Wouldn't you rather be a pirate?

I was happy to see that one of my dialogue options was the question that was foremost on my mind. “How did you get to be the lookout when you’re obviously blind as a bat?” Unfortunately, the lookout only told me to watch my tongue, and that he’d been handpicked by Sheriff Shinetop. I then asked him why the Governor was so worried about unexpected visitors, although I knew the answer of course. “Actually, it’s the EXPECTED visitors we’re worried about. One pirate captain in particular, a dead one, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous.” After exhausting my options, I left the lookout and walked off to the right of screen. I was given a top down view of the whole island, with certain important locations lit up in a really neat way. As I moved my cursor around I could see Guybrush, the village, the lookout point, a fork in the path, a clearing, a bridge, some lights, a house, a shore, and an island. I couldn’t really remember what was waiting for me at any of them, so I chose one at random (the clearing). When the little Guybrush figure reached that part of the map, the standard side-on view returned. I was in the thick of the woods, and had stumbled upon the circus I’d seen advertised in the village. I had little doubt that this particular circus would be far more entertaining than the one I'd experienced in Les Manley a month or so ago.


This is the greatest in-game map in gaming history. No, you're right. It's probably not. I just wanted to emphasize how much I like it.


By now LucasArts had perfected night time environment through the use of black and blue.


Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly? (CAPs to anyone that can say that 5 times quickly!)

I entered the large tent, and there I found two very colourful gentlemen chatting about the cannon I could see in the bottom right corner of the screen. Man in Pink: “I’d get in the cannon, but the gunpowder makes me sneeze.” Man in Green: “Well, I can’t do it, I hurt my hand taming the lions last week.” Man in Pink: “I hardly think that little scratch compares to my chronic allergy. You get in the cannon.” Man in Green: “You don’t have any allergies, you faker. YOU get in the cannon.” They went on like this for some time, calling each other all sorts of names in the process. Eventually I was given some dialogue options, one of which included the LucasArts regular, “I’m selling these fine jackets”. I chose simply to clear my throat, and this interruption caused the two men to come charging at me, clearly sensing an opportunity for someone else to fulfil their desire. It turned out these two carnies were called the Fettucini Brothers. The pink one was Alfredo, and the green one Bill. The brothers tried their utmost to convince me to get into the cannon, which they would then fire across the room. I of course wanted to know what was in it for me, to which they answered: “How about 478 pieces of eight?” That was more than I’d hoped for, and would allow me to buy the sword, the shovel, and the map from the mysterious man on the corner, and still have a heap of coin left over!


Ahhh, brotherly love!


It's the once in a lifetime bit that has me worried!

I agreed to the stupid stunt, at which point Alfredo asked me whether I had a helmet. I didn’t of course, but I had something I figured would make do, so answered in the affirmative. I gave them the pot I’d picked up in the SCUMM Bar kitchen, and they seemed to think it was more than adequate. I hopped into the cannon head first, with my makeshift helmet on, and was immediately, and violently, shot across the room! The helmet flew off my head halfway across, and I slammed into a pole, sliding down to the ground where my cranium copped another heavy knock. The Fettucini Brothers were delighted! Alfredo: “It works!” Bill: “I’m so relieved!” After they finished congratulating themselves, they wandered over to see if I was alright. I chose to respond to their uncomforting questions with “I’m Bobbin. Are you my mother?”, which somehow convinced them that I was fine. They gave me the 478 pieces of eight as promised, and I was on my way. As tempting as it was to go back to the village and stock up on items, I decided to explore the map as much as I could with what I currently had. I made my way to the fork that was not too far away, taking a path leading out of the first screen at random. I reappeared in another woodland screen, where some bright yellow flowers caught my attention. I picked up a yellow petal, and then attempted to take the path leading away to the north. Guybrush turned to me and announced he wouldn’t go “into this mazelike forest without a map or a guide or something”.


Seriously, what could go wrong!?


Not...going...to...end...well!!!


Unusual indeed! Not sure how they appear yellow in the dark.

He said the same thing when I tried to leave the screen to left. It looked like this section of the map was off-limits until I had the map that would lead me to the Legendary Treasure of Melee Island! With that path blocked, I attempted to head north up to the shore and the island. What I haven’t mentioned so far is that there were other pirates wandering around the map, and I’d managed to avoid them to this point. This time I ran straight into one, and my view switched to a side on one. I was now confronted by a spiky haired pirate, who demanded I “move outta the way, or I cuts my way through!” I responded by mentioning how nice a night it was, hoping that would settle the situation down. It didn’t, and he aggressively enquired as to why I’d stopped him. My only option was to ask him why he talks so funny, but instead of this comment firing him up, he merely explained that it was “pirate lingo”, and that I should play along. That was the extent of the conversation, and I wondered if there would be anything of value to discuss with a wandering pirate at any stage in the game. Anyway, now that he was out of my way, I continued on to the area entitled “The Shore” on the map. Said shore ended up having a large, flashy sign pointing to a house across the water. The sign read “Visit Fabulous Hook Isle”, and suggested there would be Restrooms and Souvenirs for visitors. A flying fox (as in a cable running between two elevated points), ran between the shore and the island where the house was situated.


Had a good giggle at this one.


Shorely there'll be something interesting here! Hey, I'm a dad! I'm allowing to tell horrible jokes!


This screams tourist trap!

I was able to climb the ladder up to the cable, but there was nothing to swing across on. The solution was obvious though, and I formed the sentence “Use rubber chicken on cable”, then watched as Guybrush swung himself across the water to the island. Satisfied with my work, I entered the house on the hill, having no idea what to expect. Inside I found Meathook, an ex-pirate that very noticeably had two hooks where hands used to be. “Hey! I don’t like visitors! Who are you?” That wasn’t the welcome I was hoping for, but I decided to be nice…for now. “Excuse me, but the sign said there were restrooms in here?” Meathook informed me that the sign was a little out of date, and that his tourist business had been closed since there was “a little accident with one of the trained animals, and one of our guests was hurt very badly”. He went on to tell me that the beast that did the mauling was now his only company, and that by coincidence, it was identical to the one that took his hands when he was a child. Strangely, he failed to mention what type of animal it was, leaving my imagination to run riot. This was all well and good, but I had little idea what I might be able to achieve in his home. I decided to try insulting him, since there were plenty of juicy options available to me. I went with “I’m a pirate, cannonball-head. Who are you?” Clearly he was an emotional guy, as my insult actually upset him. “My name’s Meathook, and I think you’ve got a little attitude problem.”


I think I'll need that restroom after this!!!


Why do I get the feeling that "monster" is going to turn out to be a cuddly bunny with sharp pointy teeth?

My insult had opened up further insulting dialogue options, so I decided to run with it. Guybrush: “Well, I think you’ve got a little hair problem.” Meathook: “Geeze! You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Guybrush: “Obviously, neither did your barber.” This last insult pushed Meathook over the edge, and he kicked me out! I walked back in to see what would happen. “I suppose you’ve come to invade my peaceful home and insult me again, eh?” This time I decided to take a different approach, and apologised for my earlier behaviour. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you cannonball-head.” This seemed to appease him, and when I laughed along with his joke about my pony-tail, he finally decided I was alright after all. “Hey, you’ve got a pretty good sense of humor. Want to see something really funny?” As tempting as it was to ask whether it would be a picture of his whole bald family, I responded that I really did want to see whatever it was he thought was so humorous. To my surprise, he said “Say hello, Roger!”, and then the skull tattoo on his chest said “Hello, Roger” in return! Either this guy’s tattoo was a living entity, or Meathook had such good control over his chest muscles that he could make it appear so. It was impressive either way, but I didn’t see how it could possibly help me. Meathook informed me that he had a whole routine, but that he didn’t have time to do it all right now. At this point I had no option but to request to see the trick again or to leave, making me wonder how Meathook will ever be of use to me.


It is pretty awesome!

With the island done with for now, it was time to go check out the southern part of the map. The first location of interest there was a bridge, and it was there I discovered a strange looking creature blocking my path! Trolls have often guarded bridges in stories over the years, demanding payment before they’ll let journeymen passed, but I hadn’t expected to find one in The Secret of Monkey Island. I guess it wouldn’t be completely out of place, given that the main villain is an undead pirate. Perhaps it’s a man in disguise? I had plenty of dialogue options after he demanded a toll, but I decided to go with “Stand aside, troll, I’m a mighty pirate.” The troll was unperturbed by my threat, saying: “You’re no pirate! Why, the town drunk could out-insult you on his back!” He was proved right, when the best response I had was “Stick it in your ear, you great green garrulous grub!” In the end I had no option but to ask how much the toll would be, with his response being “Well, what have you got?” I offered him all sorts of things, but he wasn’t interested in any of it. “I want something that will attract attention, but have no real importance.” Whatever it was that he wanted, I clearly didn’t have it. This meant I’d explored as far as I could outside the main village of Melee Island, since the locations past the bridge were currently unavailable to me. It was time to head back to the village with my newly claimed cash. Hopefully the items I buy will help me to have a bit more success passing the Three Trials.


What is this? King's Quest?


You're a fussy troll, you know that!?

Session Time: 0 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: I've written a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I've not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

67 comments:

  1. Next GOG.com battle of the games is between Gabriel Knight trilogy and Blackwell bundl, Gemini Rue and Resonance. You can vote for which will be 75% off or 60% off. Currently Gabriel Knight is winning. Be on sale in 22.5 hours from now

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    1. GOG.com is also having an EA sale. Go pick up Theme Hospital, Populous, and Ultima, plus many more. (Oh yeah, adventure games include the Kyrandia series, which I've heard describe in not so pleasant tones so play now and get your bets in when the time comes).

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    2. Awww.... but I already have GK trilogy.

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  2. Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly?
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly?
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly?
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly?
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly?

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    1. Weren't we supposed to record ourselves saying it as fast as we could and publish it in Youtube? ;)

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    2. Just make sure you provide a link. I'd like to see it.

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    3. If anyone actually does this, I will be very generous indeed! :)

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  3. Really looking forward to Trickster's reaction when he realizes what exactly is needed for the Troll's toll.

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    1. I'm amazed at how much of the game I've forgotten since I played it, but I think I actually must have missed large parts because I was playing it in tandem with someone else. I feel like there's no way I could have forgotten that puzzle, but it doesn't ring any bells at all... (solution guess/spoiler: V guvax Gevpxfgre rira xabjf gur fbyhgvba vf gur Erq Ureevat, ohg vf fnivat vg sbe yngre sbe qenzngvp ernfbaf) though, it seems like Trickster has forgotten most of it too... so odd that such a memorable game ends up with large chunks you forget! I suppose it's just overwhelmed by the few things that stick in everyone's mind (one of them being the rubber chicken, most of the rest being spoilers at this point).

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  4. I'm going away with the family for the Easter break tomorrow and won't be back until Thursday next week. I won't have internet access for the entire time, which is very scary indeed.

    I'm afraid Melee Island will have to wait until I return...

    Tricky.

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    1. Have a fun time. That will let me get the game finished before you post the final post at least, although I am managing to stay ahead of you so far.

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    2. Oh good, time for me to catch up. Enjoy the break!

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  5. Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly
    Oh-oh! I'll surely be shoveling thish shortly... damn!

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  6. I just noticed no-one has solved my riddle for this game. I'll make it a bit easier, shall I?

    I can’t believe that monster did it,
    Why couldn’t he leave me alone?
    I’m trapped within this ghastly place,
    Will I ever be able to go home?

    I guess there are some benefits
    To being a creature of the night
    For example, nothing's out of reach
    When I can simply take flight!

    Who am I for 30 CAPs?

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    1. Zban Qr Ynsvggr sebz N Inzcler Fgbel?

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    2. Yes, Laukku has nailed it! Experience or Google?

      Either way, it's 30 CAPs for Laukku.

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    3. I haven't played the game but knew enough about it to instantly recognise it from the new hint. Didn't remember the main character's name though, so I had to check it from Wikipedia.

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  7. >Why do I get the feeling that "monster" is going to turn out
    >to be a cuddly bunny with sharp pointy teeth?

    The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog? Nah, it'd be too obvious.

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  8. Fun story: When this game came out in 1990 (EIGHT DISKS!) I was eight years old. I loved the humor and the style of it. I'd already finished a number of Sierra games (King's Quest 1 and 3 for sure, also Space Quest) and Loom. So I wandered all over the town... and then I got stuck.

    I got stuck for two, maybe three years. Couldn't figure out what to do. Looked over reviews, saw a bunch of places I'd never been, explored town again more carefully this time. Nope, couldn't work it out at all. I'd load it up, roam all over the place, then quit every couple of months.

    I remember thinking "Gujybrush comes DOWN this mountain in the intro..." and clicking on the path a couple times. He'd walk partway up and then slow way down or stop, so I shrugged and moved on. Somehow it wasn't until roughly 1994 that I got him all the way UP the mountain... and believe me, that Melee Island map screen was even MORE beautiful after all that frustration.

    I think about all that time spent every time someone says I'm "good at video games".

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    1. Ah, to be 8 years old again and actually have enough patience with a game to be at it for 4 years before I found the solution to progress. I can only imagine the feeling of success you got when you finally made it up to the lookout.

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    2. It was really more a mixed feeling of "oh my goodness there's MORE GAME UP HERE how do I deal with that?" and "FINALLY."
      Nowadays I would use a walkthrough and feel much much better about it.

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    3. I think I struggled with that on my first playthrough too. I only found the rest of the island this time after heading back up to see if I could chat with the lookout.

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  9. New adventure game!

    The Samaritan Paradox: A writer has died. His daughter seeks the help of you, Ord Salamon, to find his secret last novel. During the search, questions will emerge. Did her father really kill himself? What is the secret novel all about? What is going on at the island of Fardo?

    Old fashioned pixel-tastic graphics and bland art. http://store.steampowered.com/app/283180/

    Also 10% off.

    5 new games, 14 sales.

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    1. Also: Rocking the 2D graphics here, I suspect this is a rather old game that uses its Steam release as its release date. Um, what else to say, Oh! It runs on Linux!

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  10. New old adventure games on Steam, the Dracula trilogy:
    Dracula: The Resurrection: http://store.steampowered.com/app/289800/
    Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary: http://store.steampowered.com/app/289820/
    Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon: http://store.steampowered.com/app/289840/
    They are all 33% off now, and have also been available at GoG for some time.

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  11. Also, Humongous Entertainment have put their library on Steam, but somewhat hidden:
    Putt-Putt Complete Pack: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/42719/
    Pajama Sam Complete Pack: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/42721/
    Freddi Fish Complete Pack: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/42720/
    Spy Fox Complete Pack: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/42722/

    All of these packs are also combined in Humongous Entertainment Complete Pack: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/42723
    Included in this are all 27 games, most of which are not available on Steam individually.

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    1. I already posted about the Humongous pack, though I didn't realize they were new....

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    2. Oh, sorry, I must have missed that. I only saw your post about 4 single games, not the Complete Packs which have 27 games in total. Where did you put that comment up? Must not be subscribed to that post.

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    3. I didn't post the bundle by name: http://advgamer.blogspot.ca/2014/04/game-43-secret-of-monkey-island-deadly.html?showComment=1397807105577#c7023043174543930629

      So I guess that is 7 new games, 14 sales for me.

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    4. New sale: 1953 - KGB Unleashed. Posted about it once before, long, long ago. Looks like a slightly spooky point and click first person game: http://store.steampowered.com/app/248490

      7 new games, 15 sales.

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    5. New sale with two games:

      The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief: http://store.steampowered.com/app/233370/ This looks like an adventure game, would someone check if it is for me? I'm sure ONE of you has played it.

      Also:
      Big Brain Wolf, which looks either terrible or awesome and I can't decide on which. http://store.steampowered.com/app/35600/

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  12. I'll be honest, I've been playing and am a bit stuck. I came here looking for answers and now see you've not gotten very far.

    I'll try to give it some more time before I look up any hints. Here's where I'm at: V'z ba zbaxrl vfynaq, naq V'ir znqr vg gb gur ivyyntr, ohg pna'g svther bhg jung gb tvir gurz gb fcner zl yvsr. V'ir rfpncrq naq abj unir n zbaxrl sbyybjvat zr ba gur znvaynaq, ohg ur bayl nccrnef va gur pyrnevat. V guvax vs V pna svther bhg jung gur pnaavonyf jnag, V pna trg gur onanan cvpxre, genqr vg sbe gur xrl sebz Urezna, naq ragre gur arkg fgntr bs gur tnzr. V'z whfg n ovg fghpx sbe jung gb qb gubhtu fvapr gurer nera'g nal boivbhf vgrzf yrsg gb pbyyrpg.

    If anyone can let me know if I'm on the right track or not I'd appreciate it. Trying to do this one without hints though so I'm not using rot13 on previous posts since they could contain spoilers.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Tvir gurz nyy lbhe zbarl naq gura qvir haqre jngre. Fgnl gurer sbe n juvyr.

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    4. You are on the right track

      Hint 1: V guvax gurer'f fbzrguvat va gur pyrnevat lbh unira'g abgvprq

      Hint 2: Jnyx evtug naq purpx gur nern gubebhtuyl

      Hint 3: Fbzrgvzrf lbh pna pyvpx ba zber guna bar cneg bs n fvatyr bowrpg

      Hint 4: Ybbx pnershyyl ng gur gbgrz cbyrf

      Hint 5: Zbaxrl frr - zbaxrl qb.

      Spoiler: Hfr gur gbgrz cbyr'f abfr. Gur zbaxrl jvyy pbcl lbh, ubyqvat gur tngr bcra

      Spoiler 2: Gura frnepu gur nern sbe n tvsg gur pnaavonyf zvtug yvxr.

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    5. Sorry for the deletions. I kept thinking of better ways to give hints.

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    6. Thanks, I spent another hour or so wandering around. I needed your first hint. Then I pixel hunted the entire area until I found what I missed. Now I'm jnaqrevat nebhaq guebhtu gur znmr bs ynin. V unira'g obgurerq gb znex jurer V'z tbvat, ohg ubj gur urpx nz V fhccbfrq gb xabj juvpu cnguf yrnq jurer jvgubhg n znc... ab uvagf guvf gvzr, V'yy trg vg riraghnyyl.

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    7. okay, pretty sure I'm stuck once again, haven't made progress in over an hour and I'm fairly sure I tried rubbing every item on anything I could. I'll just wait for Trickster to catch up and spoil myself once he gets past this point.

      V'z pheeragyl ba gur tubfg fuvc, unir ergevrirq gur tebt, naq abj unir abguvat gb qb. V pna'g hfr gur tebt ba nalguvat. Pna'g nccebnpu gur xrl be qvfgenpg YrPuhpx gb trg vg. Cerggl fher V arrq gung gb bcra gur ungpu. Pna'g svther bhg ubj gb dhvrg gur fdhrnxl qbbe, juvpu vf cebonoyl gur arkg guvat V arrq gb qb. Ab bvy, abguvat gb zhssyr gur fbhaq, abg fher jurer gb tb. Ubj qvq ab bar ryfr trg fghpx ng guvf cbvag?

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    8. I almost got stuck there myself, but remembered something somebody said to me when I got a particular item. In case you don't want to wait for Trickster:

      Hint 1: Svefg guvat lbh arrq vf gur xrl.
      Hint 2: Ubj pna lbh trg vg jvgubhg gvccvat YrPuhpx bss?
      Hint 3: Znlor lbh qba'g arrq gb trg fb pybfr gb trg vg?
      Spoiler-ish: Vs bayl lbh unq n uhtr zntarg.
      Spoiler: Be znlor n fhcre-zntargvp pbzcnff?

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    9. Okay, went ahead and read your hints... beat the game... I'm upset about this puzzle though. Rant follows...

      Va rirel bgure ebbz vs lbh hfr gur pbzcnff lbh vzzrqvngryl trg n "vg cbvagf gb Zryrr Vfynaq" zrffntr. Rkprcg, va gung bar ebbz lbh trg gb hfr vg ba bgure vgrzf. Gung BAR ebbz! Jul?! Gurer'f ab ernfba sbe vg. V jebgr gur pbzcnff bss nf na hahfnoyr vgrz gb pbzovar jvgu bgure vgrzf orpnhfr bs gung. Gung'f whfg onq, zvfyrnqvat qrfvta.

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  13. Don't know if anyone's posted this.

    Big GOG sale.
    http://www.gog.com/gamerumble

    Most notably:

    Gabriel Knight games $1.49 each - classics - buy them if you don't have them
    Blackwell Bundle $5.99 for the first 4 games in the series - fun recent but graphically retro games.

    The fifth Blackwell game will be released in about a week and can be pre-ordered on GOG.

    http://www.gog.com/game/the_blackwell_epiphany

    Also Resonance and Gemini Rue are both $3.99 - haven't played them yet so don't have a recommendation

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  14. While researching a bit about the different versions of The Secret of Monkey Island, I stumbled over this page: http://www.gratissaugen.de/ultimatetalkies/monkey1.html

    Using the resources there it allows you to build a Talkie version of the VGA version of the game, as long as you own the Special Edition. It extracts the necessary resources and glues them together so you can use ScummVM to play VGA with voice. You also get a choice between the CD music tracks or Special Edition music tracks.

    This also means you can play the Special Edition (although without the new graphics) on other platforms which haven't got SE-support, such as Android. Which allowed me to play the entire first part of the game on my tablet while soaking in the tub yesterday, with full voice and SE music. ;)

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    1. Oh my. This is a wonderful thing and I will probably make my own Talkie Monkey Island 1 Classic at some point later. Thank you.

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  15. Lazy Guys Studio is offering the adventure game *Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine* bundled with 14 (!!) other non-adventure games for a minimum of $3:
    http://www.lazyguysstudio.com/

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  16. The creators of Tex Murphy have emailed a Moebius code to their kickstarter backers so anyone who wants 20% of Moebius can go here store.postudios.com and use this code TEXMOEB20OFF

    I imagine everyone who wanted Moebius at this price already owns it through Kickstarter, Steam or GOG, but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it here in case I'm wrong.

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  17. Finished it last night. Don't know whether to wait for Trick to play Monkey Island 2 or just start straight away. Anyone know if I can get games 3 and 4 legally other than e-bay?

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    1. Just checked, it's at least 18 games away. That's probably a couple of years away. Probably happily play it again by then. I'll go and turn on the X-Box

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  18. New Indie Gala bundle: http://store.indiegala.com/index.php/bundles/the-still-life-bundle.html
    Although it's a small bundle, it's all adventure games. For $2.99:
    Still Life
    Still Life 2
    Post Mortem

    ReplyDelete
  19. The final installment of the Blackwell series is out on GoG: http://www.gog.com/game/blackwell_epiphany_the
    and Steam:http://store.steampowered.com/app/236930/

    Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy is released on GoG: http://www.gog.com/game/dracula_4_5
    If you already owned Dracula 4 on GoG Dracula 5 is automatically yours in the same package, nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that. I owned Dracula 5 and didn't realise it :)

      Delete
    2. Yeah, when I saw the announcement, I thought, "Dracula 5, cool. Better put it on my wishlist". And then I clicked the link, saw it had status owned, and went "What?"
      It took me a while to realize why I owned it even though it was brand new. :p

      Delete
    3. Damn, I was going to post that, but um, got distracted by my job and spent the day setting up more failed reactions.

      Delete
    4. Nevermind, I posted that one a few days ago and decided not to try and double-count it.

      The one I wanted to post were:
      NEW GAME: Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy. Nice looking, animated point and click. The Spiritual. The Supernatural. The Skeptical. All are touched upon in Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy. The player is immortalized as a profiler of sorts in this treasure hunt game - a brilliantly vivid historical rendition of the acclaimed quatrains of Nostradamus. http://store.steampowered.com/app/287720/

      8 new games, 16 sales.

      Delete
  20. I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly!
    I'll surely be shoveling shit shortly!
    I'll shortly be shivering shit surely!
    I'll shittily be insuring shorts shyly!
    Y-O-U M-E-R-E M-O-R-T-A-L-S H-A-V-E I-G-N-O-R-A-N-T-L-Y S-U-M-M-O-N-E-D W-H-A-T Y-O-U D-O N-O-T U-N-D-E-R-S-T-A-N-D W-I-T-H Y-O-U-R F-O-O-L-H-A-R-D-Y A-T-T-E-M-P-T-S O-N I-N-C-A-N-T-I-N-G M-Y I-N-V-O-C-A-T-I-O-N C-A-N-T... F-O-R I A-M T-H-E C-O-S-M-I-C S-H-I-T S-H-O-V-E-L-L-E-R O-F S-T-R-A-N-G-E A-E-O-N-S: ץ๏ﻮค รђคﻮﻮ๏tђ!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. O-H, R-E-A-L-L-Y? Y-O-U W-I-L-L S-U-R-E-L-Y B-E S-H-O-V-E-L-I-N-G S-H-I-T S-H-O-R-T-L-Y!
      уσυ αяє ησтнιηg вυт α мαggσт ση α ριє¢є σƒ ѕнιт.

      Delete
    2. Shittily be insuring shorts shyly is part of what caused the 2008 financal meltdown.

      Delete
    3. I'm convinced that Kenny will play a role in the upcoming apocalypse.

      Delete
  21. Groupees.com has a new bundle up devoted entirely to Microids adventures under the "build your bundle" format, which means you can select from 2 (min. $1) to all 7 games offered. The lineup includes Benoit Sokal's classic Amerzone and Cryo's first Atlantis game:
    http://groupees.com/microids

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, good catch! Grabbed Egypt 3, Road to India and Secrets of Atlantis as they were missing from my collection. Trickster, can you transfer 5 CAPS from me to Charles?

      Delete
    2. Glad you liked it. :-)
      Keep checking the page, as Pompei will be added to all purchases very soon and it's likely that another bonus game will unlock in the next few days.

      Delete
    3. They ended up adding three bonus games in total, so besides Pompeii your bundle should now include Benoit Sokal's Sinking Island and something called Red Johnson's Chronicles.

      They also lowered the minimum purchase to 1 game, so you get a minimum of 4 games for the price of 1. This is a really good deal, people! You all have to hurry though, as it ends in 8 hours!

      @Lars-Erik: thank you for the CAPs, but I'd rather save Trickster some administrative time. Knowing that I helped you get hold of a few new games for your collection is reward enough for me anyway :-)

      Delete
  22. I had forgotten how the troll describes the toll, but I love it.

    Just one example of the amazing writing going on here

    ReplyDelete
  23. Not sure what the spoiler rules are regarding older posts, so just in case...

    "Thloehfu ghearq gb zr naq naabhaprq ur jbhyqa’g tb 'vagb guvf znmryvxr sberfg jvgubhg n znc be n thvqr be fbzrguvat'."

    Jnvg, ernyyl?? V unir qvfgvapg zrzbevrf bs arire fbyivat gur sberfg znmr gur "cebcre" jnl; V'q nyjnlf whfg jnaqre nvzyrffyl hagvy V sbhaq gur gernfher/fjbeqznfgre. Vg jnf xvaqn sha, npghnyyl.

    “V jnag fbzrguvat gung jvyy nggenpg nggragvba, ohg unir ab erny vzcbegnapr.”

    Bu zl tbq, 26 lrnef yngre naq V whfg tbg gung. V nyjnlf whfg tnir uvz gur svfu orpnhfr ur jnf n gebyy, naq vg frrzrq yvxr fbzrguvat n gebyy jbhyq jnag.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bu, lbh xabj jung vg vf? V cebonoyl whfg obhtug gur znc orsber rkcybevat, naq gura pbzcyrgryl vtaberq vg naq arire hfrq vg sbe nalguvat. Gung fbhaqf yvxr fbzrguvat V'q qb.

      Delete