The Secret of Monkey Island Returns!

Is great to be back to the Blog world... First my apologies for not updating it, as you know blogger remains blocked in China, I'm still around Beijing but I had to use some "technologies" to access and finally update my almost forgotten blog! so let's get started...

For those like me that somewhere in the 90s had the awesome experience of playing one of the greatest PC adventures ever made, "The secret of Monkey Island", the news about a remastered version of the original game is just astonishing!! Ohh yeah, the very first version completely washed, remastered beautifully to our eyes and ears was released on this July by Lucas Arts!

The original game itself remains mercifully untouched, which means that most of the secrets, tips, dialogs, still the same. The development team at LucasArts is bringing the game into the modern era with an all new re-imagined contemporary art style, a re-mastered musical score, full voiceover, and an in-depth hint system to help players through the game’s side-splitting puzzles. Purists will also delight in the ability to seamlessly switch between the updated hand-drawn re-imagining and the original classic version.

The game starts off with the same main naive but enthusiastic protagonist "Guybrush Threepwood" stating "I want to be a pirate!", and he is soon off to prove himself to the old pirate captains. During the perilous pirate trials, he meets the beautiful governor Elaine Marley, with whom he falls in love, unaware that the sinister ghost pirate LeChuck also has his eyes on her. When Elaine is kidnapped, Guybrush procures crew and ship to track LeChuck down, defeat him and rescue his love.

To illustrate a bit more about the new version and of course its differences with the old one, I'm posting these screen shots... Are you ready again for the adventure?

The Secret of Monkey Island
Returns!

BEIJING ASSASINSA watergun adventure that now Im involved too...

Two cars silently pulled up to the curb, rolling to a halt behind each other. The  lead driver motioned for the rear driver to cut the engine. Silence. Save for the rustling of the leaves blowing in the wind. Two hours pass by, the night is falling, and the two cars are still there... waiting, waiting for something. 

Suddenly, a car rounds the bend with headlights glaring, and pulls into the driveway adjacent to the two cars parked near the curb. The person inside the Honda civic is blissfully unaware of the two cars, happily blasting music and waiting for the garage door to open... 

The lead driver hand signals the party to move out. The armed party is an intimidating one as they take their place, ready to shoot the victim. But all hell breaks lo

ose in a single moment as one of the masked individuals gives away his position. The driver of the civic sees the assassins and puts the car into reverse, skids out of his driveway and onto the road. The leader of the group curses and quickly picks up his cell phone and speed-dials someone. Fortunately for him, he was expecting such a turn in events, and as the driver of the civic rounds the bend, two cars skid to a halt, blocking his way to the main road, and freedom. Panicked, he gets out of the car and starts sprinting for his life. In hot pursuit, the armed group sprints after the victim. Rushing through neighboring houses, through backyards, over shrubs, and in between trees, the chase is soon proving tiring to the victim. Eventually, the group corners the victim against the wall of a house. Surrounded, the armed party waits for their leader, forming a semi circle around the victim. Appropriately, the group parts for their leader as he strides forward towards the victim. The masked assassin raises his gun up to the victim and pulls the trigger...

No, nobody dies in this story. In fact, it is actually part of a game called Assassin. For those of you who have never heard of Assassin, it is an exciting, fast paced game involving the use of squirt guns, or any water projectile. The objective of the game is to obviously "assassinate" someone with the use of water. Variations of the games exist, and members of the game usually involve a few people, to hundreds of participants, all playing individually or in groups. 

Basically, there is a master list of people that are in the game. The host or the person with the master list assigns people a certain target/person that they have to assassinate. This includes getting water on them in some form, whether you use the traditional water gun, dump a bucket of water on them, or spray them with a water bottle. Once you get your target, you officially get a "kill" which counts towards the ending of the game, and typically a prize of some sort. Now, I will explain the technicalities of the game.

Yes, there are rules to this game. Rules differ from game to game, but the most basic include...

1. An honor system:
   Just admit it if someone got you. You probably want witnesses when you do assassinate someone, because the host usually asks for evidence if there's a dispute and gives the kill to whoever has the stronger case. 
   
   
2. Safe zones:
   Typically, the game has safe zones where the target can usually find safe haven. This usually includes schools, school parking lots, work places, and such. Houses are also safe zones, but if the target unexpectedly invites the assassin in, then the kill is good. Garages are fair game no matter what. The target does not have to invite the assassin into the garage, that's just lame.
    
3. One week: 
   The assassin has one week to make an attempt or assassinate their target, otherwise they get put on a bounty list, which I will explain later next.
   
   
4. Bounty list:
   People are put on this list when they don't make a kill or a kill attempt within a week. Anyone on the bounty list can be killed by anyone in the game, whether they have been previously eliminated, or are still in the game.
    
5. Immunity:
   If you get your assassin wet before you're shot yourself, then you are immune from getting assassinated that day until 12:00 that night. 
   
   
6. Body guards:
   Body guards are allowed in the game as long as the target is there to see his/her assassin get killed. Same rules apply to body guards as they can be killed too. Once they are eliminated, they cannot guard their employer until midnight of that day.
   
   
7. Hitman:
   Hired assassins are usually out in a game as it is seen as a cheap way to assassinate someone. Somebody could just hire a hundred assassins to go kill someone. Obviously unfairm but possible. 
   
   
8. Vacations:
   You basically commit suicide when you go on vacation.
   
   
9. Police:
   No causing trouble with the police, its common sense.
    
10. Have fun!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed reading this, so get out there and start up a game of your own! There are many strategies to this game, many of them ridiculously fun to plan out and put into action. Check out an article titled "The Art of Assassin," which involves fun strategies and advice for the game, as well as tips to becoming the ultimate assassin! 

Be safe!!

Read some more about the game and some more wicked stories.

BEIJING ASSASINS
A watergun adventure that now Im involved too...

ESTO ES PIXEL ART!! Por Leung Chu Hang de Pixelians

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ESTO ES PIXEL ART!!
Por Leung Chu Hang de Pixelians