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Real combat doesn’t happen in Escape. Real fighting would get people hurt, and that’s no fun. Instead, there’s a system of “Insult fill-in-the-blank”. Most “combats” are actually competitions where you and your opponent sling insults at each other. For example, early in the game you have an opportunity to engage in “insult arm-wrestling”. You arm-wrestle your opponent, and the two of you trade verbal barbs. Each insult has a correct counter-insult (kind of like paper, scissors, rock). Every time someone fails to respond properly to an insult, his arm tips closer to the table. Great fun.

This system is used for the major confrontations that occur in the game, which spices up the critical encounters. It also gives you a chance to read some very creative put-downs.

Graphics & Visuals:

The graphics for Escape are wonderful. The cartoony, slightly-exaggerated texture to the graphics helps establish the overall atmosphere of the game. Guybrush looks like a genuinely-nice-guy-with-serious-delusions-of-a-pirate’s life, Elaine is the wife-with-a-loving-but-moronic-husband, and so on. The game is drawn in such a way that you know this is the kind of universe where the Good Guys win, the Bad Guys lose, and you can usually tell what kind of person someone is by his or her appearance.

"Realistic"? No, of course not. But the graphics are consistent in supporting the story. Combined with the smooth interface, the graphics draw you into the game, and this keeps you engaged in the entertaining and humorous story.

On a more technical side, Escape’s graphics are excellently coded. Load times are kept to a bare minimum (if you choose to use the full install) and Guybrush moves as soon as you tell him to. The only downside I found was that, while visiting the harbor, both Guybrush and one of the ships in port seemed to blink in and out of existence. This was a minor annoyance (it was obvious which direction I should move Guybrush to), but having characters “blink” like that detracted from the otherwise highly immersive experience.

Music, Sound Effects, & Voice Acting:

Like the graphics, Escape’s musical score was excellent. The overall mood of the game was reinforced by the lighthearted main score. Likewise, when you entered a particular building, or encountered an obstacle, the music would change to help emphasize the nature of the new problem (not only did serious problems look more important than simple one, they also sounded more urgent).

Sounds effects were also excellently handled. There was no lag between seeing something onscreen and hearing it. The sounds, from canons to monkeys to people eating, all felt right. Enough variety was included in music and sound that I enjoyed listening to them both throughout the game—even after several hours of continuous play.

The voice acting was glorious. Everybody reacted and spoke in the way you expected him or her to. The conniving, greedy lawyers spoke as such, Elaine always sounded a little exasperated, and Guybrush also sounded eager, gallant, and slightly inept—exactly as he should.

One particularly nice touch is the fact that, when you look at something, Guybrush talks to himself, giving you a verbal “thought bubble”. This works very well as a means of giving you further information without breaking you out of the game.

Final Thoughts:

Escape is good, clean fun. The jokes are hilarious AND in good taste (which is getting rarer and rarer these days). The story is involving, well plotted, and paced slow enough that you can take your time, yet fast enough that you don’t get bogged down. Overall, Escape is a wonderful, enjoyable game.

If you like adventure games, comedy games, or just enjoy a good story, try Escape From Monkey Island.

Overall Score: 90%