BCCharGT

Ask any non-gamer who Lara Croft is, and
you can bet they'll know her age, height and
measurements (providing it's a male non-
gamer, of course). Ask them who Guybrush
is, however, and you're likely to draw a
blank. In fact even most 'real' gamers seem
not to know who he is. But to his fans, he's
the greatest thing before sliced bread.

As well as The Secret of Monkey Island,
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge and
The Curse of Monkey Island- all pointy-
clicky, there was a fourth Adventure MI
game, but it's the first three that will always
be remembered. All set in the time of
pirates and pillage and...LucasArts films.

Monkey Island follows Guybrush's love
affair with Caribbean Island Governor,
Elaine Marley, his constant battle with
undead pirate LeChuck-whose sole goal
seems to be to win Elaine for himself, and
Mr Threepwood's journey into full
piratehood.

So what's the secret of its success? Fun.
Guybrush is, put simply, the funniest games
character ever to grace a game series. Full
stop. The constant references to films or
other games in the series, the beautifully
crafted locations, the wonderously written
dialogue, the lead character's blind stupidity
and the way death is impossible (unless, of
course, you spend more than 10 minutes
underwater...) all adds up to an unbeaten,
and some may say unbeatable, formula.

LucasArts hit gold here. It's just a shame
they're now known more for their shameless
Star Wars rip-offs. Still, we try to remember
the good memories, don't we?