Arrgh! Here we are, matey … back once again for the final episode of the first season of Tales of Monkey Island!

We have now reached the final episode of the series, so this is it … the end of the first season! It is hard to introduce the final episode without spoiling the end of the last one, so let’s just say that this chapter finds Threepwood over his head once again, but even more so than before! We already know from LeChuck that matters of life and death do nothing to stop the progress of a determined pirate, so Guybrush Threepwood will get an added ‘dimension’ to explore in this final entry.

This final episode mixes new and old settings effectively, but some of the areas feel like they really gave the artists full license to go wild – and to great effect! Some of the best designed areas in the whole series are in this episode, and the juxtaposition of the two main areas contrasts spectacularly.

Most of the other elements are similar in terms of balance and quality. The tone is darker here, allowing for more dark humor, which I enjoyed as a contrast to some of the more rampant silliness of earlier chapters. The writing, dialog, storytelling and voice-acting remain top-notch, and the character actors are really hitting on all cylinders at this point.

The addition of the new settings makes for some challenging puzzles, albeit ones that require occasional backtracking. There are some puzzles that are simple collection tasks, others that are multi-stage, and others still that focus on conversation choices. They are all logical and fun to solve. You even get some time-sensitive puzzles that push you a little bit and keep you on your toes as you approach the ending!

As for how this compares to the rest of the season, it is a tough call because it plays out very differently. In terms of overall quality it feels very balanced – other episodes have focused more on character or humor or puzzles, but here we get a good amount of all. Other than the first chapter, we have seen episodes move along the story arc, but here everything needs to be wrapped up. And the game does conclude nicely.

Now that I’ve completed this last episode, I just can’t wait for the NEXT season. How do I know there will be more? Well, I don’t – but I can always hope, and do you really think that the story ended conclusively? As I said before – If you haven’t already, grab the season pass and get ye to piratin’!

Pros:
+ Classic adventure game style
+ Applies everything TellTale has learned
+ Great jokes
+ Challenging puzzles, but not too hard
+ Great story and characters
+ Satisfying length

Cons:
– Having to wait for the next season to be announced!

Game Info:
Platform: PC
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Release Date: 12/8/09
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

Arrgh! Here we are, matey… back once again for the fourth episode of Tales of Monkey Island!

We have now reached the penultimate episode of the series, so we know things are building towards the climax. And as the title points out, this episode finds Guybrush Threepwood engaged in a legal battle for his life! This episode takes place back on Flotsam Island, as Morgan LeFlay delivers Guybrush into the hands of De Signe before he is carried off by the residents of the island to stand trial. You will have to work through a series of puzzles to get him free and continue the story.

While the setting has been used before, that doesn’t mean this episode is a retread. There are several new areas, and even the old areas have new things to reveal. The location makes perfect sense in the context of the story, and it actually helps to allow the emphasis to fall onto more thorough development of the story. Again, I can’t say much without revealing all of the fun details, but suffice it to say that while the trial is full of hilarity, there are some major plot developments and a build-up to a cliff-hanger that really gets you excited for the conclusion of this great season of episodic gaming.

The emphasis in this episode has shifted somewhat from rampant jokes and character development to puzzles and story development. All of your favorites from previous episodes return, and since each episode has explored them further than the last, this episode jumps right in assuming you already know what has happened. In that way it is somewhat different than the Sam & Max series – each episode referenced to prior ones, but was essentially self-contained. I have found that appreciating some of the jokes and story elements really required you to have played the rest of the series.

The puzzles in this episode best even those from the last episode. There has been a continuous improvement in terms of puzzles – you need to interact more with the environment, think things out more thoroughly, and yet the puzzles actually make more sense.

Let me be clear and say that of this season, this will not be the episode everyone remembers – it falls pretty squarely in the middle of the pack overall. It is the biggest episode, has great puzzles, and loads of development and character interaction and humor. But it isn’t the wittiest, or the most challenging, or the best written.

Now that I’ve completed this latest episode, I just can’t wait for the conclusion. Again, I state that I was concerned about how they would pull this all off again… but this proves that Sam & Max was no fluke – these guys really know how to make top-notch adventure games with great characters, humor and puzzles. And as I said before, if you haven’t already, grab the season pass and get ye to piratin’!

Pros:
+ Classic adventure game style
+ Applies everything Telltale has learned
+ Great jokes
+ Challenging puzzles, but not too hard
+ Great story and characters
+ Longest Episode

Cons:
– Having to wait for the season finale to arrive!

Game Info:
Platform: PC
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Release Date: 10/30/09
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

Arrgh! Here we are, matey… back once again for the third episode of Tales of Monkey Island!

As was true the last time, I can’t reveal too much about where things start without spoiling the second episode, but it really doesn’t matter for two reasons: as with each of the previous two episodes you begin at sea, and also immediately there is a major plot event that launches you in a direction that will dominate the remainder of the episode. This time, you are swallowed by a giant manatee!

Whereas the first two episodes gave you considerable amounts of geography to explore, the third is much more limited: you are on a boat inside a giant manatee for the majority of the episode. Naturally that puts the emphasis on exploring the characters in the game, which is fairly risky for an adventure game. The results are astounding and make this absolutely the best episode yet!

The episode takes its time developing the characters and really allowing you to get into some depth with them in a way that rivals anything done in the Sam & Max series. You finally get to meet Coronado De Cava, and he is an interesting and hilarious character who was in search of La Esponja Grande when he ended up in similar circumstances. We also get to meet with De Cava’s crew, who are a wildly varied bunch with loads of funny stuff to say. The other main character we get to explore is Morgan LeFlay, who still has a penchant for violence, but is given tons of great lines and interactions throughout the episode… right up to the very end. There is also a return by a certain ‘head’ character from the earlier series, and he is given the full respect and disdain you would expect from Telltale!

The other great thing about Lair of the Leviathan is the puzzles. I had a hard time deciding whether the puzzles or character development were the best part of the episode, so I decided to call it a draw and be happy for such excellence on both fronts. Once again the puzzles have been tuned to be more direct, but conversely they aren’t as easy as some of the earlier episodes. I found myself working at a couple of puzzles for quite a while, and eventually finding the solutions felt very satisfying rather than frustrating. There were certain things that showed up as an evolution of earlier puzzles, which makes for a nice sense of both continuity and growth, and was very well done.

Unlike The Siege of Spinner Cay, I didn’t find this episode too short. Between spending loads of time getting to know every character I could, and working through all of the puzzles, this episode took me longer than any of the others, and never dragged a bit.

Now that I’ve completed this latest episode, I will state that The Siege of Spinner Cay is at the bottom of the episodes, and Lair of the Leviathan is at the top. It has gotten to the point that I have no idea how they will top this one – but knowing Telltale Games, I’m sure they will try! And with the wonderful cast of characters and the variety of settings and ongoing plot elements, it will be a wonderful ride seeing how the next episode turns out. And as I said before – If you haven’t already, grab the season pass and get ye to piratin’!

Pros:
+ Classic adventure game style
+ Applies everything TellTale has learned
+ Great jokes
+ Challenging puzzles, but not too hard
+ Great story and characters

Cons:
– Having to wait for the next part to arrive!

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PC, also available on Wii via WiiWare
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Release Date: 9/29/09
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

Arrgh! Here we are again, matey … back for another episode of Tales of Monkey Island! While I can’t tell you where things stand at the beginning of the tale without potentially spoiling the first episode for those who haven’t played yet, suffice it to say that you can expect the events that were set in motion at the start of the first episode will be in play for the entire season!

And what were those things? Everything will be familiar to anyone who knows even remotely of the series: Le Chuck, the villain, has kidnapped Elaine … again! It is up to you as Guybrush Threepwood, semi-competent pirate, to figure out how to rescue her. Of course, actually managing to do that is seldom as simple as it seems.

Once again we are launched into an opening scene filled with in-jokes, asides, clever witticisms and laugh out loud moments. And like before, it never stops throughout the entire episode. The writing and characterizations are top-notch, the jokes are spot-on, and there is plenty of good fun throughout.

After settling the cliffhanger from last time (where Threepwood is pinned to the wheel by a sword), the main game gets started. The setting this time is Spinner Cay, a village of merfolk. Guybrush also explores surrounding islands. This works well at providing a greater variety than in the previous Telltale games, and a non-centralized setting was a goal of the developers. It works very nicely at keeping the plot and challenges in motion.

I was once again astounded by the level of polish and attention to detail. The voice acting is again extremely well done, with every character building upon the personalities and characterizations introduced in the first episode. Telltale continues to grow their abilities to create engaging adventures with their toolset that encompass a wide array of situations and environments.

Since this is an adventure game, it is loaded from end to end with puzzles. While the first episode had some tasks that some gamers considered convoluted and obscure, all of the tasks this time around are fairly straightforward, and while the solutions are just as zany, the game provides a better integrated hint system in nearby characters and the environment.

My only negative comment is that while no one expects these episodes to provide an epic experience, this one actually *feels* short. It seemed to be over just as I was really excited for it to continue, and that is also part of the charm – you get another cliffhanger ending that makes you anticipate the arrival of the next chapter.

Since playing the first episode I’ve replayed some of the PC and iPhone ports of the original Monkey Island game and am just thrilled at how Telltale has taken that classic game and reinvented it in a way that brings out things from the original while making it modern and thoroughly their own. The value proposition for this game is easy, as each entry costs less than a movie ticket and delivers more laughs than most comedies while also providing some brain-teasing puzzles. If you haven’t already, grab the season pass and get ye to piratin’!

Pros:
+ Classic adventure game style
+ Applies everything TellTale has learned
+ Great jokes
+ Challenging puzzles, but not too hard
+ Great story and characters

Cons:
– Feels a bit too short

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PC, also available for Wii via WiiWare
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Release Date: 8/20/09
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1

Before I can start to talk about Tales of Monkey Island, the five-part episodic adventure game made by Telltale Games in cooperation with LucasArts, I need to step into the way-back machine nearly twenty years and talk about one of the true classics of the adventure game genre, The Secret of Monkey Island.

The Secret of Monkey Island was released in 1990 by Lucasfilms Games (as LucasArts was then called), and used the SCUMM engine that Lucasfilms had developed as a means to more quickly develop adventure games. The game is largely the brain-child of Ron Gilbert, with the humorous script mostly written by Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, all of whom have gone on to have great careers in adventure gaming since. Originally intended as a more serious adventure in the vein of Maniac Mansion and Lucasfilm Games’ Indiana Jones games, the game took a turn towards comedy, which ended up as a great decision as it is the characters and humor that have kept the game a favorite through the years.

Fast forward to E3 2009 when LucasArts and Telltale announced they were producing a 5-part adventure called the Tales of Monkey Island, and LucasArts is re-releasing The Secret of Monkey Island in a special edition. That is, quite frankly, some pretty heady stuff for one major reason: LucasArts, long a favored developer among gamers, seemed to have devolved into a cash-cow milking machine in recent years, so getting all this great stuff coming from them was practically too much to ask!

So how did things turn out? In a word – great!

Since this is a 5-part episodic game similar to the Sam & Max games, I expect that much of the content will be the same from episode to episode. The impact of this is that much of the reviews will cover similar ground from episode to episode, with only new information added specific to each game. Of course, since this is the first one everything is new!

The background story will be familiar to anyone who knows even remotely of the series: Le Chuck, the villain, has kidnapped Elaine… again! It is up to you as Guybrush Threepwood, semi-competent pirate, to figure out how to rescue her. And you have the immediate opportunity to do so, but in true Threepwood form he completely messes it up and you find yourself in an even bigger mess without ship or Elaine.

The opening scene alone is filled with in-jokes, asides, clever witticisms and laugh out loud moments. And it only gets better as the episode progresses. Whereas some of the early episodes of Sam & Max felt like they were still feeling their way along, at this point Telltale really gets it – they are very sure of themselves as they work their way through this tale, keeping pacing even and always giving the player something to do. One thing that is different here – instead of fully encapsulated stories, you are working your way through a larger story arc a bit at a time. It feels different than the other games in that regard, as there isn’t the same sense of resolution.

Anyone who has played any of Telltale Games’ previous efforts (Sam & Max Season 1 & 2, Wallace & Grommit, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People) will no doubt feel at home with the visuals and basic control scheme. Adventure games have historically had 2D visuals with beautiful rendered or hand drawn backgrounds, but Telltale delivers a 3D adventure that really works. Rather than just pointing and clicking to move around and interact, you use the standard WASD keys to move – though in a very constrained space – and then click on objects to interact with them. Of course, Telltale also set things up so you can use the mouse exclusively for movement and interaction.

As this remains a traditional adventure game, it is essentially a story wrapped around a series of puzzles … or a ton of puzzles piled on a story … or maybe a story and puzzles made up for an excuse to tell a load of jokes. Whatever it is, there are loads of puzzles. Some are simple logic puzzles – decode an order, figure out how to accomplish a task, or whatever – but others are more complex. To accomplish these you need to make use of your inventory, which means picking up everything you find. Unlike some games, nobody cares what you take. So whenever you see something try to take it – it might just be useful!

Once you have items in your inventory, you will notice that you can actually combine them to make more useful – and sometimes hilariously named – items. These combined items are often keys to progressing the story. Fortunately the combinations make sense – if a bit convoluted at times! The game is good at avoiding the pixel-hunting and try everything approaches that are still present in many adventure games and continue to scare folks away from the genre.

Technically the game is every bit as wonderful as everything else Telltale has done. The visuals are very nice, but the audio is fantastic. Between the environmental sounds, the voice acting, and the various effects, you will be charmed with everything and everyone you encounter.

Being a fan of Telltale from their earlier work, I wasn’t overly apprehensive of how this one would work. But to an extent I was, because a failure might have scared LucasArts away from continuing their re-entry into the PC gaming business. Fortunately this is an excellent first entry into what will surely become yet another modern reinvention of a classic!

Pros:
+ Classic adventure game style
+ Applies everything Telltale has learned
+ Great jokes
+ Challenging puzzles, but not too hard
+ Great story and characters

Cons:
– … can’t think of anything!

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PC, also available for Wii via WiiWare
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Release Date: 7/7/09
Genre: Adventure
ESRB Rating: E
Players: 1