Never spend more than $20 on a game
My recent review of Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge may have given you the distinct impression that I loved the game; and it’s true. I’ve been a Lucasarts adventure game junkie since the days of Maniac Mansion. These days are so long ago that they even predate my relationship (!!). What else is a man to do, but force his partner into playing the Greatest Game of All Time™?
The term co-op is a strained one that is argued back and forth on Co-Optimus, in my own editorial on what makes a game co-op I surmised that all games can be played in the spirit of cooperation. This was my train of thought when I decided to allow my partner to play Monkey Island 2, whilst I would observe and aid with my wisdom and knowledge. LeChuck's Revenge is a game close to my heart. I’ve completed it so many times that I know the puzzles inside out and many of the obnoxious replies that Guybrush Threepwood specializes in. This time I would have a new experience with the game, through my partner’s eyes. Or so the plan started.
Being in a relationship is not about being exactly the same; in lots of cases it is the differences that cause the sparks. I have a laid back attitude to life, whilst my partner likes to tackle things head on. I see the funny things in life, my partner allows me to think I am funny. Amongst my group of friends I have the reputation of coming out with some slightly outrageous remarks, this allows me to get a fun reaction and for my partner to practice her now well established eye roll. I built up my sense of humor through the different TV shows and films I watched as well as books that I read. One other influence was the likes of Monkey Islands, in some ways I aspire to be a bit like Guybrush (and my girlfriend Elaine?).
A chance encounter
For the review of Monkey Island 2 I played the game as I always do; Guybrush is the snarkiest most sarcastic pirate ever to sail the 7 seas. However, the game does give you several dialogue choices and in my partner’s playthrough she would constantly portray Guybrush as a sensitive soul looking for love and ‘Big Whoop’. After an hour, the pain of her playing this way became too much to bear and I wrestled the pad from her hand – give it to me and feel the wrath of Threepwood’s true nature. Several moments later, and a few choice blows to vital pressure points, I returned the controller. My partner was to have her day, successfully completing the game in her own style.
Monkey Island 2 proved an interesting co-op experience, not because it was true co-op, but because I could enjoy a game through someone else’s eyes. Did the way that my partner or I play the game fundamentally change anything? It led to different dialogue choices, but the game mechanics are built for this and the puzzles worked either way. The game was still brilliant even if hundreds of pithy diatribes were left forlorn. Seeing her enjoy some classic gaming moments for the first time helped me to remember how I felt installing the pile of disks back on my PC over 15 years ago. I was able to enjoy watching the game and she would look to me for advice, making the playthrough a cooperative experience.
Through our years together I have shared many experiences with my partner, but there will always be something special about sharing something great from your childhood be it a film, book or computer game. It even turns out that after a while my partner started to realize something; she had played parts of the game before, years earlier. In a strange way this connection between our childhoods was great news, perhaps after all it is the similarities, rather than the differences, that make a good co-op couple?