After a decade at sea, the quirky pirate Guybrush Threepwood has found his way to shore in Tales of Monkey Island, the latest installment in a highly stylized point-and-click adventure series that’s much loved for its zany banter. This episodic romp begins in the middle of its story as Guybrush accidentally resurrects his arch-nemesis, loses his wife, curses his hand, and releases a malicious pox across the oceans. Fans of this long-running series, which began in 1990, are probably already smiling at these typically goofball conundrums. They continue through five chapters as players guide the famous pirate through an ever-twisting plot to restore order to the Caribbean. Even the simplest tasks are never as straightforward as they seem, and hundreds of puzzles must be solved before Guybrush sails off into the sunset.
Chapter 3: Lair of the Leviathan takes place in the belly of an overfed manatee. Yes, really.
While hilarious wordplay is the calling card of this series, the dialogue here is hit or miss, ranging from eye-rolling clichés to pure comedic gold. Fortunately, Tales introduces updated graphics and controls that improve on its predecessors without spoling the series’ distinctive gameplay and visual flair.
Perhaps most importantly, Tales heralds itself as the most streamlined and least frustrating of the series. When the game senses that a player is stuck, Guybrush often insinuates what should be done next. Even so, the rationale behind certain puzzles seems entirely abstract. An early puzzle in the first chapter finds Guybrush rolling a cheese wheel from his inventory over prison walls. Later, players are required to pour molten pyrite from the crest of a cliff. Huh? Aside from a few exasperating exceptions like these in each chapter, the puzzles are usually coherent and enjoyable, and players will march through the majority of the game with a sense of direction and purpose.
The true question is whether a game such as Tales of Monkey Island is still relevant in today’s marketplace. In a time of open-world games with hundreds of ways to finish, Monkey Island’s singular completion style can be incredibly frustrating. Instead of rewarding players for ingenuity, the game dolls out its thrills when players think exactly like its creators. When this mindset fails, gamers are likely to take to the internet to solve their problems, diminishing the intended sense of achievement. On the other hand, when a confusing puzzle is presented, reflected on, and then completed, the result is a sense of accomplishment rarely felt in today’s games.
Newbies should at least try out the first chapter--available separately for $8.95--and vets should have no reservations about downloading the full five-chapter saga ($39.95). Even with its faults, Tales of Monkey Island is a treasure, hidden or not.
Tales of Monkey Island
COMPANY: Telltale Games
CONTACT: www.telltalegames.com
PRICE: $39.95 for five-chapter season
REQUIREMENTS: Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Mac OS 10.5 or later. Not recommended for Macs with integrated graphics.
Veteran fans won't be disappointed. Witty dialogue. Overarching narrative between episodes. Sense of accomplishment after solving difficult puzzles.
Some ridiculously far-fetched puzzles. Throw away secondary characters. Back-and-forth journeying gets redundant.
