Look, a Three Headed Monkey!

So, with the release of Tales of Monkey Island around two days ago, I am a happy camper. I, as I believe many were, was skeptical of the new style of this iteration of the Monkey Island series, as the trailer failed to highlight the higher points of Episode 1, and left it looking like a sad attempt at a revival of the series.

However, this did not stop me from preordering it, mainly because it was Monkey Island, which has always had a special place in my heart, and I still wanted to play it. And as time went on, I became more and more enthusiastic for the day when the download link would appear in my games section of my Telltale account, and when if finally came, it was a speedy download, and a quick install. I launched the game, expecting the worst, and what I found was rather surprising.

The storyline of the current Monkey Island game is a tad different from the others. It starts out with what would usually would be the final encounter with LeChuck, undead voodoo pirate, where you need to impale him with the Cutlass of Kaflu in order to finally banish him once and for all.

As per usual, there's a mistake in the procedure, and Guybrush is left floating in the sea on a piece of driftwood. He washes up on Flotsam Island, where the winds always blow inwards (they really suck), and finds that his hand now has a mind of its own, punching him in the face, and terrorizing the locals. Some piratey antics ensue, and he finds that he has been infected with The Pox of LeChuck, which can only be cured by a giant voodoo sponge. Guybrush now finds himself split between finding Elaine, banishing LeChuck, and curing the pox, which will be done in further episodes.

The game is (was) incredibly good. It maintained the more sophisticated humor of the previous Monkey Island games, and also incorporated some modern day references that will, no doubt, be lost on the children of tomorrow. However, this, in my opinion, is great due to the fact that in many a year, it will only add to the nostalgia factor.

The game was not all wonderful though, as there were some slight disappointments.

Firstly, the control scheme has been changed, which results in it feeling less like a point and click adventure game for me. However, the new controls are not bad- they just take some getting used to. The other major downside for me was the length. Now, I've never played an episodic game before Monkey Island, so I'm not totally sure what the standard is for them, but Episode 1 gave me 3 to 4 hours of bliss. This was welcomed, but left me wanting more. What can I say? I love me some monkeys.

The only other minor change was in some voice-acting, namely LeChuck and Elaine, but both new voice actors do an excellent job (excluding LeChuck's pirate laugh), and really capture the Monkey Island feel.

All in all, it is an excellent addition to the Monkey Island series, and surpasses that of its direct predecessor, Escape from Monkey Island. I highly recommend that anyone on the edge of purchasing this game do so, as there is no doubt in my mind that is, and will continue to be, worth the $35 asking price for the full season.