After the wonderful playthrough of Sam N Max I’ve been itching to get into another Point N Click Adventure. My requirements were pretty high as I wanted that lovable charm and twisted sense of humor that was Sam N Max. After various failed attempts at getting my old copy of Full Throttle to work I had all but given up. Avast, Tales of Monkey Island of the port bough? Oh yes it was time for Guybrush Threepwood Mighty Pirate™! Though to my dismay Vista had to give me just a little bit of shit. After sitting there “patiently” and updating my flippin Direct X Drivers it was time to set sail. How does this game hold up against one of the most beloved Point N Click Adventure series.

Gameplay

Let me start by saying TellTale delivers again. I don’t know about you I really liked Sam & Max but I felt it was a bit hard to control with just Point N Click. With Tales of Monkey Island you use the Mouse to Point N Click and the WASD to move Guybrush around. I felt this worked really well with the genre. Almost an evolution of controls. Clicking on things constantly to move your character can be a bit annoying. Luckily they added both options, so you can still click for navigation if you would like. Giving you the best of both worlds. Next up is the inventory screen, I was really impressed how the whole package felt very user friendly. Essentially you have small screen that pops up to show you inventory. On the left hand side there is a combination area. Simply drag and drop items and click plus to combine. Felt really simple, you also have the ability to examine Items using the Magnifying Glass. This comes in handy especially when items contain other items. The overall gameplay is much like you’ve seen in other Monkey Island games. You guide Guybrush through many different puzzles and try to save the day while taking in the some odd humor.

Graphics

I have to be honest I wasn’t really to sure on how the art style was going to fit the Monkey Island series. Seeing Guybrush with facial hair made me a little concerned. I buckled down and booted up the game and was wowed by the transition to 3D. I’ve seen Monkey Island 4 and it’s attempt at 3D but it never felt right. Right off the bat though everything felt so alive with this version. From the awesome character models to the more the gorgeous backgrounds. Everything just looked right. I was also amazed with the Lip Syncing. All the character models seem to really be delivering their lines. With great facial and body expressions.

Sound

Again with the booting up of the game. Within a couple of minutes I was whistling away to the Theme Song. All the SFX sounded fantastic and really brought a nice atmosphere to the game. With the great lip syncing was a top notch voice acting. I really liked how the characters sounded especially with the combination of the expressions. It just gave this game that very alive feeling.

Overall

I think this is a great addition to the Monkey Island Series. From the Art Style to the Graphics this is a true Monkey Island game. If your looking for a great laugh and enjoy oddly styled humor this is your game.

Tags: Lucas Arts, monkey island, pc, Telltale Games