This review was based on a review copy of the game and not a retail copy, generously furnished by Telltale Games.
Before we begin this review, I must admit that I have never before played a Monkey Island game. As such, I will be incapable of telling you if Tales of Monkey Island (hereinafter ToMI) lives up to its predecessors, if the humor or puzzles have changed, or anything of that nature. What I can tell you is that this first episode, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, is an excellent game in its own right and deserving of the consideration of all adventure game fans.
The adventure starts off at the end of some other adventure; Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate, attempts to defeat his nemesis LeChuck once and for all, but botches the whole thing. He ends up separated from his wife, Elaine, and stranded on Flotsam Island, where this first episode takes place. Also there’s some pretty nasty voodoo in his hand that he’d like to take care of, if he can manage that. This first episode focuses on his attempts to obtain a ship and leave the island so he can begin the process of saving the day; future episodes will continue this storyline, and your attempts to save the day, and your wife, and the world, etc.
If you’ve played any of Telltale’s previous offerings, you know what general gameplay elements to expect from ToMI. For the uninitiated, Tales of Monkey Island is done in the style of older adventure games; the main gameplay vehicle is puzzles, and they’re accompanied by exploration, item collection, and large amount of NPC dialogue, with nary an action sequence in sight. In return, Telltale offers humorous dialogue and the satisfaction of solving these obscure puzzles. Your controls are highly simple; you use the control stick to move around, and you use your Wii Remote to inspect your surroundings. You’re not going to be doing many different things in this game. For the life of me, though, I wasn’t able to figure out how to control when I was running.
Speaking of which, the puzzles included in ToMI will mostly feel familiar to Telltale fans; there’s a fair amount of trial and error involved, and the solutions are often rather obscure, but it’s rarely the case that you’re absolutely, frustratingly stuck. (Incidentally, there was one instance where I was completely stuck and unable to proceed, due to a bug, but I had a review build of the game; three weeks down the line, I’m fairly certain that the bug has been fixed.) There are other instances, though, that present new and interesting puzzles and situations, and they’re quite well done and appreciated; without spoiling anything, one puzzle where you’re stuck in a chair is quite satisfying. All in all, the game paces itself well, and whenever I felt like I wanted to see something new and interesting, that is precisely what I received.
These puzzles are accompanied by large amounts of dialogue with NPCs, filled to the brim with Telltale’s special brand of humor; I don’t really have a word to describe what it’s like, but if you played through any of the SBCG4AP episodes, you’ll know what I mean. The dialogue is accompanied by excellent vocal work that really pulls you in, including the vocal stylings of Tim Talbot, who voiced Oolong in the Dragon Ball series (and if you’re like me, you’ll recognize the connection right away). While many other video games seem to have difficulty with voice acting, Telltale pulls it off masterfully.
The music doesn’t really stand out, as seems to be typical for the Telltale offerings I’ve gotten my hands on, but considering how much talking is going to happen, this really isn’t much of a problem. More interesting are the visuals; the entire game has a slightly cartoony 3D look to it, but the environments are lush with color and detail, and the makeshift isle of Flotsam has a delightfully and appropriately haphazard look to it. Attention has clearly been paid to detail.
So once you’ve completed this three-to-four-hour adventure, what does Telltale do to bring you back in? The answer, sadly, is absolutely nothing. There are no collectibles of any kind, no alternate story paths to explore; once you’re done with this episode, you’re done. This is really the only place where ToMI lacks in comparison to previous Telltale offerings, and it’s a little disappointing.
Besides that minor gripe, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is an excellent start to what promises to be a hilarious and enticing adventure series. I don’t know if it lives up to previous games, but it’s an excellent title in its own right, and I give it a hearty Yay! If you enjoy the occasional, slower adventure game, hop on board the Screaming Narwhal and introduce yourself to the legend of Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate.
