What DO you like about EMI?

[sith_master2000]

I've been in alot of threads about people saying how much they hate EMI. Well I've started this thread to find out what people do like about EMI. I like the story, the characters, the style, the game engine, and the graphics; the voice acting is also great.

[Skinkie]

I'll put four things I didn't like, the rest I actually don't really have a problem with. Engine, Graphics, Giant Monkey Robot, H.T. Marley = Herman. And the graphics weren't actually bad, but they just weren't as pretty as all the other games.

[Alien426]

There must have been some things I liked. I guess. There's a lot of repressed memories concerning that part of the series. Maybe the parts that were not as stupid as the Starbucks spoof, the prostheses shop and a lot of other stuff.

[Kryllith]

I liked making Guybrush say really mean things in the classroom to get expelled and watching the big, sensitive pirate's reactions. I also liked the whole Bill and Ted stitch in the swamp, messing the chess players up, quacking at Pegnose Pete, and the whole introduction to the ship's headpiece.

 

Kryllith

[smokes o' pot]

All I liked about the game was some of the gags, puzzles and the music. I didn't like most things in the game. Even now when I play it I just feel its lacking that sheen of brilliance that's associated with the Monkey Island series.

[sith_master2000]

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

All I liked about the game was some of the gags, puzzles and the music. I didn't like most things in the game. Even now when I play it I just feel its lacking that sheen of brilliance that's associated with the Monkey Island series.

Is that the only reason you don't like EMI? I don't understand why so many people hate it. If LEC heard all of these criticisms they wouldn't even bother to start MI5.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally posted by sith_master2000

If LEC heard all of these criticisms they wouldn't even bother to start MI5.

 

Actually, in LucasArts' eyes, EMI would be the best reason to make a Monkey Island 5. It sold well and got positive reviews. It should be clear by now that it's numbers that LucasArts understands, and not fan "criticism."

 

I think EMI is a great game, highly underrated for mostly silly reasons. The only things I really didn't care for in EMI was Monkey Kombat and the Herman Toothrot/H.T. Marley backstory explanation. Other than those two quibbles, I can find no real fault with the game. I think a lot of the bashers just didn't like the control system and the change to 3D graphics, and so use the excuse that it wasn't of the "creators' intentions," or whatever that means. If one can accept the new direction of the series with CMI, then I don't see why EMI should be such a difficult transition. I think if a lot of the people who dismissed this solid game would give it another go, they would find a lot to like about it (assuming they don't go out of their way to make sure that they won't enjoy the title. Their loss.).

 

Okay, EMI-haters, let's hear the arguments.

[sith_master2000]

Well your right about the Monkey Kombat thing not being good but I still think there are some people working at LEC that think that all the EMI bashers won't like MI5 because of some insignificant reason.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally posted by sith_master2000

Well your right about the Monkey Kombat thing not being good but I still think there are some people working at LEC that think that all the EMI bashers won't like MI5 because of some insignificant reason.

 

I suppose that's a possibility, or at least it would have been before Freelance Police was cancelled and destroyed any chance of a Monkey Island 5. But I'd still say that if LucasArts would make a fifth installement, it would be mostly based on sales figures. I don't think it's a secret to anyone that EMI wasn't completely well-received among fans, but the game did draw many new fans, something that we should all consider to be highly important.

 

"Insignificant reason" is right. I mean, if "die-hard fans" are going to label a Monkey Island game by Mike Stemmle and Sean Clark as too far off the series' path, then I shudder to think at what kind of reaction a Monkey Island game led by people who aren't adventure game veterans (the only people left at this point) would be like. I'm really interested in getting into a heated and bitter EMI discussion here, because a lot of the negative comments are rather petty.

[sith_master2000]

Originally posted by Udvarnoky

I'm really interested in getting into a heated and bitter EMI discussion here, because a lot of the negative comments are rather petty.

Of course they're petty, people can't think of a good reason to dislike EMI so they come up with these pathetic insults. Now that I think harder about it, LEC probably thinks as people like that are just try-hards trying to get attention.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally posted by sith_master2000

people like that are just try-hards trying to get attention.

 

I don't know if I would go that far. I think a lot of people are closely attached to these great games, and because of that are very protective of every little change. How else could you explain those who completely disregard CMI and EMI as additions to the Monkey Island series because they weren't led by Ron Gilbert? It's my feeling that some people were so intent upon not giving EMI a chance (for whatever reason: engine change, different style of humor, the locations) that they refused to judge the game on its on merits.

 

I used to dislike EMI more than I do now. It gets better and better; it grows on me every time I run through it.

[sith_master2000]

Well to be honest I prefer CMI and EMI to the prequels. My first MI game was Curse and my brother and I got hooked on it. Later that year at Christmas we got EMI and loved it. I set out on a journey to get MI1 & 2 and eventually did. I was disappointed in their graphics but that was because I didn't know they were from 90 & 91. So most people are the opposite of me. Maybe if they had got the games in the same order as I have they would like EMI better because it would be a new experiance to them so they couldn't complain about they humour or anything.

[Udvarnoky]

See, I may find the first two installments to be better than the third and fourth, but I'm not going to deny that CMI and EMI are great games. I suppose playing certain games first could sway one's opinion, but I honestly don't see how anyone can look at any of these games and say that one of them is bad or something that ruined the series. I think that CMI and EMI benefited from two excellent teams, each with their own unique style and brand of storytelling. They're all different, but not different enough that I could ever mistake them for belonging to another series.

[Alien426]

Alright Udvarnoky, you can stop pretending to be sith_master2000. We all know that there is not more than one person who liked EMI.

 

I won't go into details why I disliked EMI, that has been covered in various threads throughout LucasForums and other internet resources. It has mainly to do with style, writing and jokes. I usually compare it to the downfall of The Simpsons / Futurama.

 

Before I played CMI, I thought that it would suck because of its comic graphics. That's hard to imagine now, I guess. I was proven wrong. But EMI's suckiness has little to do with the engine (Grim Fandango was loved, duh).

 

Of course they're petty, people can't think of a good reason to dislike EMI so they come up with these pathetic insults. Now that I think harder about it, LEC probably thinks as people like that are just try-hards trying to get attention.

Now I'm sure your real name is listed here.

[smokes o' pot]

Originally posted by sith_master2000

Is that the only reason you don't like EMI? I don't understand why so many people hate it. If LEC heard all of these criticisms they wouldn't even bother to start MI5.

 

Yes the only reason I don't like the game is because it's not that good. You have to compare it to previous games and previous adventure games in general. Compared to Lucasarts other 3D attempt Grim Fandango EMI was a bad game.

 

The absence of an MI5 has nothing to do with my or anyone else's critisim of the game. If Lucasarts listened to the complaints and tried to make a better game then maybe sales would improve.

[sith_master2000]

Originally posted by Alien426

Alright Udvarnoky, you can stop pretending to be sith_master2000. We all know that there is not more than one person who liked EMI.

 

Now I'm sure your real name is listed here.

Alright, alright I know I owe everyone an appology, I just get a bit angry when people bag something that I think there's nothing wrong with, and no I didn't work on EMI, I just like it because it was the second MI game I ever played. Maybe if I had played 1 and 2 first I wouldn't like EMI who can say. Anyway sorry everyone for being a complete a**, and I take back all those mean things I said.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally posted by Alien426

I won't go into details why I disliked EMI, that has been covered in various threads throughout LucasForums and other internet resources. It has mainly to do with style, writing and jokes. I usually compare it to the downfall of The Simpsons / Futurama.

 

Well, I'd like to go into details again, even if this has been done countless times before,if for no other reason than to get some good discussion on this board. So let's expand upon what was so awful about the style, writing, and jokes.

 

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

Yes the only reason I don't like the game is because it's not that good.

 

Thanks for the insight, but why not offer some explanation for our opinions in this particular thread (even if you've done so already in another thread).

[smokes o' pot]

Okay here are some of my reasons. I really hated some of the obtuse puzzles. I found myself trying everything with everything sometimes just to progress. I felt the camera left alot to be desired, constantly confusing and disorintating me . I was a little dissapointed with the story. It was ok but it wasn't as clever or as layered as Monkey Island 2 or Grim.

 

I played the games in order so personally I was really dissapointed with the accents in the 3rd and 4th game but thats only because I imagined them differently. The gags in EMI were funny but they didnt have a tap on MI2 (Being a text adventure it allowed them to have way way WAY more dialouge) also you can go back to Monkey Island 2 and find new jokes everytime you play it. I didn't like the character models, I prefere the models from the first two games. I was dissapointed with the fact that even though the game was in 3D it didn't make it any better, if anything it made it harder to play. It was a 2D game in 3D. Play Broken Sword 3 if you want to see how to make a 3d adventure game.

 

Overall it was a decently enjoyable game but Lucasarts adventure games have to be compared to the stellar games they made in the 90's when nobody could touch them. I'm sure you don't agree with alot i've said but maybe you could go into detail as to why you thought the game was great.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

Okay here are some of my reasons. I really hated some of the obtuse puzzles. I found myself trying everything with everything sometimes just to progress.

 

I'll grant you that some puzzles were really weird and illogical, but I don't think any more so than the puzzles in the other games in the series.

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

I felt the camera left alot to be desired, constantly confusing and disorintating me

 

I can't help you there. I don't recall any camera angles that left me disoriented.

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

I was a little dissapointed with the story. It was ok but it wasn't as clever or as layered as Monkey Island 2 or Grim.

 

I liked the story a lot. No, it wasn't anything like Grim Fandango but this is Monkey Island for crying out loud. I'm not saying that a good, rich story has no place in the MI series, but it's not going to be the cinematic brilliance that was Grim's storyline. It more than well-served the game's purposes. The main villan being a greedy land developer bent on orderly consumerism in hopes of destroying fun-loving pirate living somehow seemed "right" for an MI game. Mix in the kinky voodoo talisman "The Ultimate Insult" and the demonic might of LeChuck and you've got yourself an interesting, funny, unique, and Monkey Island-like story. I was not disappointed in this area. The new villan and "corporate tourist industry" spin kept the series fresh, but at the same time I would not mistake it for anything other than a Monkey Island game.

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot I played the games in order so personally I was really dissapointed with the accents in the 3rd and 4th game but thats only because I imagined them differently.

 

I played the games in order as well, so I'm not going to sit here and tell you that every voice was exactly how I'd imagined it when I supplied the voices in my head for the characters for the first two games. But I can't deny that all the voices are excellent, and I've been extremely impressed by the voice talents featured in the 3rd and 4th games. I mean, it's not hard to see (or hear) that the voice team is extremely talented, especially when you compare them to a lot of other video game voices. Even if you were annoyed by the voices, though, I wouldn't say that's a good reason for not liking the game.

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

The gags in EMI were funny but they didnt have a tap on MI2 (Being a text adventure it allowed them to have way way WAY more dialouge) also you can go back to Monkey Island 2 and find new jokes everytime you play it.

 

Whether or not you liked the humor in EMI, everyone can see that the game went for a slightly different style of humor than the previous games (I'm going to attribute it to Stemmle and Clark - they gave the game Sam & Max humor without the demented edge). The jokes are a little less subtle, and the idea seemed to be to throw jokes in nearly every line. The comedy almost always worked for me, but I can understand some people not liking it as much as that in the previous installments, but again I don't think being slightly put off by the humor is enough to despise the game.

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

I didn't like the character models, I prefere the models from the first two games. I was dissapointed with the fact that even though the game was in 3D it didn't make it any better, if anything it made it harder to play. It was a 2D game in 3D. Play Broken Sword 3 if you want to see how to make a 3d adventure game.

 

Again, a matter of preference. When I look at some of the EMI character concept art, I can't help but think how kickass the characters would have looked in the style of the first three games. That said, I did like the way the characters in the games looked, pretty much consider them the best they could possibly look in the chosen engine. No complants from me on this.

 

The 3D engine is a major source of controversy. I've got to admit that I initally wanted the game to look like CMI, and, on the other hand, if it was going to be in 3D, I wanted it to be point 'n click (sort of like what Freelance Police was going to do). When I played the game though, I surprised at how quickly I got used to it. I never really had problems with Grim's engine (except for the damned elevators), and EMI improved it by adding text lines for items and making a much better inventory system. Monkey Island fans hold a lot of attachment to the games, and I can totally dig how some people found it difficult to accept the 3D engine, but it's just something you have to get over if you expect to enjoy the greatness that is EMI.

 

Oh, and I've played Broken Sword 3. IMO EMI made the transition better (and it didn't have crates).

 

Originally posted by smokes o' pot Overall it was a decently enjoyable game but Lucasarts adventure games have to be compared to the stellar games they made in the 90's when nobody could touch them. I'm sure you don't agree with alot i've said but maybe you could go into detail as to why you thought the game was great.

 

Let me assure you that I am a highly protective, obsessive freak when it comes to the classics. I'm not trying to diminish the quality of the older games, but I think EMI is worthy addition to that line of classics. Also, it's not my goal to try to change your opinion, I just have to point out why I think a lot of EMI's so-called detractors are sometimes rather ridiculous.

[Skinkie]

I can't help you there. I don't recall any camera angles that left me disoriented.

 

Trying to manuver across that bridge in the Lua Bar drove me nuts, that's about it.

[smokes o' pot]

It's mearly my opinion. I didn't enjoy EMI as much as the others, the reasons I gave for this are all valid because I experienced them. you said some of my reasons were not a good enough reason to dislike the game, of course they are because they made me not like the game nearly as much as the others. They detracted from my gaming pleasure. It has nothing to do with me holding on to the past, or glorifying the other games. You sound strangely protective of this game so i'll stop bad mouthing it.

 

Oh and I never said I despised it. I said it was a "decently enjoyable game".

[sith_master2000]

Originally posted by smokes o' pot

Overall it was a decently enjoyable game but Lucasarts adventure games have to be compared to the stellar games they made in the 90's when nobody could touch them. I'm sure you don't agree with alot i've said but maybe you could go into detail as to why you thought the game was great.

Well the reason that I liked the game so much was because at the time when I got it, I'd only ever played adventure games in 2D like CMI or 3D like Indy Jones and Infernal Machine. When I played EMI it was really enjoyable for me. I loved the gags, Murray's return, Ozzie Mandrill was an Australian Bad guy because being on Aussie myself we don't get a lot of mentions, I liked Dominic Armarto as Guybrush, I liked the story and I liked the 3D engine. There were a few things that I didn't like, Monkey Kombat, at the end with LeChuck when he is so easy to "beat," and Lucre Island. So there are my reasons for liking and disliking EMI. Once again sorry to everyone for being an a**hole but as I said earlier I don't like it when people bag things that I like, eg. I'm sure everyone knows about the competion between Gamecube, X-box and PS 2, well I'm a Gamecube user myself and I sometimes get bagged because people claim it has baby-ish games eg Mario, but I like the Mario games, I find them fun and enjoyable like the MI series. People treating EMI badly reminds me of that and I get a little angry. Sorry everyone :( .

[Joshi]

I didn't read the above posts, so I'm just gonna point out the one thing I did like about EMI and be done with it and that's the fact that at some point, I knew it was gonna end.

 

There, no contraversy there.

 

EDIT

 

At some point I think I was on drugs and decided that decent spelling didn't really matter on my part.

 

It's been corrected now but to see what it was like before, just look at the next post as smokes o pot has kindly preserved my previous attempt at a post for all eternity (or until I get bored and edit that as well)

[smokes o' pot]

Originally posted by Joshi

I didn't read tha above some I'm just gonna point out the one think I did like about EMI and be done with it and that's the fact that at some point, I knew it was gonna end.

 

There, no contraversy there.

 

Lol

 

Sith_Master2000 I own a gamecube aswell. It pisses me off as well wen people say games like mario and zelda are for kids. These people are just ignorant. Can't wait for resi evil 4 to come out on it!

[xalax]

Well, well, well, this is my first post so i'm gonna do it quickly.

I think EMI is a good adventure game, but i don't like it as a Monkey, i'd prefer to omit it.

I didn't like the Monkey Combat and there were some puzzles with no sense, like the one in the blind man's palace , you know. And i really hate the end, it's hard to think you have to draw a Monkey Combat with Lechuk to win.

I prefer the 2D graphics in the Monkeys instead of the 3D, i'm not saying that i don't like 3D graphics but seeing what the guys of Lucas Arts made with EMI...

However, i DO like the story but i think it's a bit strange.

(Sorry about the gramatical mistakes, i'm not american)