Jack Keane review

Wemade a promise to ourselves and to you, dear reader, that we’d never do it. I’d never compare a point-and-clicker to The Secret of Monkey Island, or any other LucasArts adventure.

That would be lazy and obvious games journalism, and in any respect, LucasArts’ early ’90s output was so polished that it only leads to unfavourable comparisons. But then along comes a game like Jack Keane that practically comes with a ‘Wish You Were Here’ postcard of Monkey Island stapled to the box.

Consider the facts: a jittery hero in a flouncy white shirt, a female sidekick who’s tougher than she looks, an obligatory ‘scare a bird off’ puzzle, and an obsession with monkeys. This is a total own-brand version of Monkey Island. We’ve met more innovative sausages than this and if Keane couldn’t be bothered to be original, then why should we, eh? But here’s the caveat: if you don’t judge it against anything else, this is a decent little game.

Jack Keane comes from Deck 13, the German studio responsible for the likeable-ish Ankh adventures, and through research, collaborations with Telltale Games (of Sam & Max fame) and sheer hard graft, they’ve reached the point where they can put together a solid point-and-click game.