Tales of Monkey Island Episode 1 Review [PC]

Telltale games revives another LucasArts classic from the vaults and it’s a very admirable first effort.  Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Narwhal sees the return of the pirate Guybrush Threepwood and his undead nemisis, LeChuck.  The charm fans remembers from the original series is all here.  Telltale even went so far as bring back the original voice cast for the main characters, which shows their dedication to preserving the legacy of this series.

The game begins with the end of another chapter in Guybrush’s adventures.  He’s about to dispatch of the evil LeChuck once and for all but through an accidental spell casting, Guybrush ends up stranded on Flotsam Island while LeChuck escapes with Guybrush’s wife once again.  The player is tasked to find Guybrush a way off the island and further the ultimate goal of rescuing Elaine, Guybrush’s wife.

Tales looks like a more polished version of Sam and Max.  Character design is as you would imagine a 3D rendered version of the classic design while the colors and surroundings are spot on with the tone of the series.  Telltale did a great job at revitilazing the setting you remember from the old games with today’s graphical advances while not alienating fans of the series.  Those not ever having played the original will not be disappointed either as the engine holds up quite well for a 2009 adventure game.

Any adventure game is only as good as its puzzles and Tales of Monkey Island doesn’t disappoint.  There is a fine balance to be had here as Telltale undoubtedly wants to attract new players of the genre while not boring veterans of adventure games.  The are generally successful but there are puzzles that amount to trial and error and simple collection quests.

This being the first of five episodes, Telltale is easing players back into the groove of Monkey Island.  There’s nothing outlandishly different and there’s enough of a challenge at certain puzzles that will give the seasoned player slight pause.  There is a very helpful hint system in place for those that are stuck at points and kudos to Telltale for allowing players to actually disable the hint system completely (for the purists amongst you!)

But the one thing that Telltale did change was the control scheme.  A hybrid point and click and 3rd person adventure system was implemented, which is as confusing to use as it is to explain.  You can control the character by clicking on screen the location you would like him to travel but you must hold down the button for him to continue to move in that direction.  Think something similar to Diablo and you may have an idea.  Players can use the WASD keys to move Guybrush but the lack of any camera manipulation makes those controls awkward as well.  However, Telltale did not mess around with the original score.  All the memorable bars from the original series is here and the original voice cast for the main characters are back too.  This makes for a very familiar experience for fans and shows good faith on the developer’s part.

The complete adventure will last around 3-4 hours depending on your skills and speed, which is respectable for a downloadable episode.  But the fact that there is not piece-meal option for purchase does hamper the value slightly.  Currently, you have to purchase the entire “season” at the MSRP of $34.99 if you want to play the first episode.  In the past, you were able to purchase individual episodes but with Tales of Monkey Island, it’s all or nothing.  That’s asking for a lot of faith from fans to trust that the story will be worth a full season’s pass.  It’s not unlike asking you to buy the first season of the Battlestar Galactica remake on DVD based solely on the experience of the 1979 series.

Telltale does sweeten the package buy offering a free (shipping cost only) season DVD to all purchasers of the complete season once all the episodes have been released.  However, the collector’s DVD is only available through Telltale’s site and not through other digital distribution outlets such as Steam.

Overall, Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is a great adventure game for fans of the series and for newcomers interested in lighthearted, witty, and moderately challenging gameplay.  While it is slightly cost prohibitive, the promise of five episodes that each average 3-4 hours of gameplay makes the title a worthwhile investment.