Screenshots :.
Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 1
PC
Matt
09-07-2009
"Check it out."
"Behold the mighty root grog."
"Do you have swine flu?"
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I remember playing Monkey Island 4 way back in the immediate aftermath of me leaving sixth form, and given how bloody old I feel now that may as well have been 100 years ago. Still, a little puppy-eyed blubbing never hurt anyone, and in a move that was undoubtedly completely and solely to do with me Lucas Arts decided to let point-and-click revivalists Telltale Games have possibly their most treasured possession to play with. Woohoo.
Now, see, I was not always one-hundred percent convinced how much I was enjoying Telltale’s Sam and Max opening series, but I was more than willing to give them a chance with what is probably the series that I hold dearest to my heart. The flipside of this, of course, is that if they’d have gone and made a complete mess of things I would have had to book a plane ticket and run into their offices ranting and gesticulating like a drunk Jay on a Saturday afternoon when Spurs have lost, so I felt rather fearful as events kicked off.
Some four hours later after a mixed bunch of puzzles and familiar jokes and voices, I am left somewhat pleased. Not jumping from the rooftops, you understand, but optimistic about where this five-episode series is heading. From the odd nod and wink to previous games in the series to a selection of new quirky characters, it just had that Monkey Island ‘feel’ to it.
Of course, Tales of Monkey Island again proves that in most ways, point-and-click gaming hasn’t really needed to do too much to reinvent itself. Guybrush still carries remarkable amounts and sizes of objects around in his trousers, puzzling still relies on you finding various items and either combining them or using them in some oddball way, and progression is a strictly linear affair as you complete one puzzle, move onto the next with a selection of new items and so-on.
It works too, and the puzzle part of Launch of the Narwhal is commendably strong. Despite the solutions to a couple of the tasks being somewhat out of leftfield, they all followed their own curious logic and on occasion are genuinely amusing when solved (on of which prompts Guybrush himself to remark ‘I’ve just had a strange idea!’ before carrying out his task). It’s a pretty satisfying game to run through, and even though a few sections rely on my Achilles heel of map-reading (well, kind of), there was not one moment where I thought that I had been left something horridly obtuse to do.
Another thing to be pleased about is that Telltale have dodged around the Sam and Max issue of having a depressingly small amount of locations to explore, with a large jungle to wander around, a suspiciously familiar hut to gain entry to and a little seaside town to gad about in looking for clues and tools, amongst a few other places. You never really find yourself getting tired of your surroundings, which is a good sign that the developers have taken criticism on board and moved in the right direction.
The story is typically Monkey Island, with Guybrush making a complete hash of an attempt to save Elaine and thwart rival LeChuck and ending up getting washed ashore on an island upon which the winds always gust inward, hence preventing escape. All sorts of silliness occur and some of the moments that happen are really quite amusing, if a little short of a belly laugh. You also can’t overlook how important getting a familiar cast of voice actors in is to making the whole thing feel ‘right’; Guybrush Threepwood just wouldn’t be Guybrush Threepwood if he wasn’t being voiced by Dominic Armato. Following on from that, getting Michael Land to resume his musical score of the series is a seriously good thing too.
So, it’s looking good. The occasional moan does surface; some of the supporting characters are a bit lightweight and instantly forgettable, whilst graphically it varies between looking really quite pretty to rather bland in other areas. Still, it’s a good (if brief) point to start the series on, and with the promise of completely new environments and an advancement on an interesting and amusing storyline, the next few months should bring us Monkey Island fans some rich rewards. About bloody time too!
Now, see, I was not always one-hundred percent convinced how much I was enjoying Telltale’s Sam and Max opening series, but I was more than willing to give them a chance with what is probably the series that I hold dearest to my heart. The flipside of this, of course, is that if they’d have gone and made a complete mess of things I would have had to book a plane ticket and run into their offices ranting and gesticulating like a drunk Jay on a Saturday afternoon when Spurs have lost, so I felt rather fearful as events kicked off.
Some four hours later after a mixed bunch of puzzles and familiar jokes and voices, I am left somewhat pleased. Not jumping from the rooftops, you understand, but optimistic about where this five-episode series is heading. From the odd nod and wink to previous games in the series to a selection of new quirky characters, it just had that Monkey Island ‘feel’ to it.
Of course, Tales of Monkey Island again proves that in most ways, point-and-click gaming hasn’t really needed to do too much to reinvent itself. Guybrush still carries remarkable amounts and sizes of objects around in his trousers, puzzling still relies on you finding various items and either combining them or using them in some oddball way, and progression is a strictly linear affair as you complete one puzzle, move onto the next with a selection of new items and so-on.
It works too, and the puzzle part of Launch of the Narwhal is commendably strong. Despite the solutions to a couple of the tasks being somewhat out of leftfield, they all followed their own curious logic and on occasion are genuinely amusing when solved (on of which prompts Guybrush himself to remark ‘I’ve just had a strange idea!’ before carrying out his task). It’s a pretty satisfying game to run through, and even though a few sections rely on my Achilles heel of map-reading (well, kind of), there was not one moment where I thought that I had been left something horridly obtuse to do.
Another thing to be pleased about is that Telltale have dodged around the Sam and Max issue of having a depressingly small amount of locations to explore, with a large jungle to wander around, a suspiciously familiar hut to gain entry to and a little seaside town to gad about in looking for clues and tools, amongst a few other places. You never really find yourself getting tired of your surroundings, which is a good sign that the developers have taken criticism on board and moved in the right direction.
The story is typically Monkey Island, with Guybrush making a complete hash of an attempt to save Elaine and thwart rival LeChuck and ending up getting washed ashore on an island upon which the winds always gust inward, hence preventing escape. All sorts of silliness occur and some of the moments that happen are really quite amusing, if a little short of a belly laugh. You also can’t overlook how important getting a familiar cast of voice actors in is to making the whole thing feel ‘right’; Guybrush Threepwood just wouldn’t be Guybrush Threepwood if he wasn’t being voiced by Dominic Armato. Following on from that, getting Michael Land to resume his musical score of the series is a seriously good thing too.
So, it’s looking good. The occasional moan does surface; some of the supporting characters are a bit lightweight and instantly forgettable, whilst graphically it varies between looking really quite pretty to rather bland in other areas. Still, it’s a good (if brief) point to start the series on, and with the promise of completely new environments and an advancement on an interesting and amusing storyline, the next few months should bring us Monkey Island fans some rich rewards. About bloody time too!
7/10
