In the Classic Mode, you get the old graphics and control scheme from the original and, this time around, the modern voice-overs. The Special Edition mode updates both the visuals and the interface, with beautifully redrawn backgrounds and characters, plus controls suited to this day and age.
 |  |
It's worth emphasizing how great these HD remakes of the old scenes look. The artists behind them are really talented and I was very pleased with the great work they've done for this blast from the past. Moreover, extra animations have been added to streamline the characters' movements, giving the title an overall better look.
The voice actors have done a great job across the board, accurately bringing to life the characters we remember so fondly. It is surprising how well Guybrush is portrayed, the voice being quite close to what I had imagined back when I played the original.
Veterans have nothing to worry about as both versions, classic and HD, are fun to play and nothing of great importance has been removed. The system that allowed the easy on-the-fly switch between modes in The Secret of Monkey Island is back in this one too, making it easy to compare and decide (or not) which iteration to play. The new artwork does a lot of a justice to the old and the new music also works great. The classic version works fine and brings back a lot of nice memories. The dancing monkey intro is unfortunately missing, but that's why YouTube was invented.
In classic mode, the game uses the interface from the past, while in HD mode, it is updated. The mouse/keyboard combo is obviously the faster way to control the title, but I am quite happy with what they've done with the Xbox 360 gamepad and Guybrush is almost as easy to command on a console as on the PC.
 |  |
Another great addition to the Special Edition of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge is the commentary of the three legendary original creators of the game: Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. In some of the scenes, a button prompt will appear, if the player presses that, a Mystery Science Theater rendition of the three will appear on screen and they will talk about whatever is going on at that point.
