In Search of the Big Whoop

Lucasfilm Games’ adventure “Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge” once again pits wanna-be buccaneer Guybrush Threepwood against the nefarious minions of the archly evil and ghostly Pirate LeChuck.

We last saw these guys in “The Secret of Monkey Island.” That was a nonviolent, well-done game with a cute story, nice pictures, good programming and snappy dialogue. So is “Monkey 2.” Those were virtues in the original.

This time the antagonists are on a different island, but the game is pure sequelville.

Threepwood is in search of the legendary mega-treasure known as the Big Whoop. First, he must get past the local despot--a lowlife named Largo LaGrande--who, it turns out, knows how to resurrect LeChuck. So once LaGrande is dispatched, we--and Threepwood--are back where we were on “Monkey Island”: fighting the big Magilla on his own turf. (If this sounds like “Return of the Jedi,” hey, consider the source.)

“Monkey 2” features two nice technical developments: two levels of play and something the Lucas crowd is calling i MUSE sound.

Multiple play levels are quite common on simulations, but not in adventure games. Experienced players can take on the complicated level, but new ones will be able to make it through the easier level without too much frustration. Great idea.

To the technocrowd, i MUSE (Interactive Music and Sound Effects) is probably a lot more important. The multiple soundtrack program changes the music depending on the choices players make. So, just as the visuals change based on whether you go to the left or right, so does the music. Nice touch.

Monkey Island 2

Rating: ***

IBM & compatibles; 640K; hard disk required; sound system highly recommended. List: $59.95.

Computer games are rated on a five-star system, from one star for poor to five for excellent.