The Monkey Island series (beginning in 1990) has long been considered a classic in the adventure game genre. Combining fun graphics with excellent dialog and all the mind melting puzzles one cares to shake a stick at. The newest entry into the Monkey Island series, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, is adventure gaming at its best. This game brings us back to the classic roots of adventure games and will keep you playing until the very end. Since this is the first entry it will be hard not to crave more when you are finished.
The updated graphics are the most obvious improvement. Unlike some of the older Monkey Island games this one is in 3D, instead of the traditional 2D. The overall look is a bit like a cartoon although its not overly exaggerated. Although, at first, if you have played the other Monkey Island games you may be a bit put off by the look of the game, but I found myself growing to like the new style as I progressed further into it. The game also sports a very colorful environment full of small details, many of which are important to solving the puzzles.
One of the things that remained true to its roots is the excellent dialog and voice acting. This game is full of puns, jokes, and sly wit that will have you laughing as you play. The script is well written so you don't find yourself tiring of the puns if you play the game for a long time. The voice acting is very well done and this really helps bring you into the game.
At first the controls seemed terrible and really clumsy. The instructions tell you to use your mouse to walk and int
eract and this control system is lousy. Thinking back to my gaming roots I decided to try the keyboard and hoped they had put in classic controls as well. I was not to be disappointed! You can use the arrow keys or WSAD to move around and only require the mouse to select objects in your environment. While still a little clumsy (switching between your inventory menu and the main screen is a little sticky) this arrangement works well and immediately changed my opinion of the game play.
The puzzles are satisfying and frankly can be quite tricky to figure out! During my play through I played with two other people and we found that this enhanced the experience of the game. Some of the puzzles took a few minutes and all 3 of us to piece together the answer. They are not too easy and sometimes involve out of the box thinking to solve. Also similar to the previous games you will find yourself clicking on and picking up anything and everything you can. Kleptomania runs rampant in this game!
One of the only real issues I had with this
game was the installation, and judging by their forums it seems I am not alone with this. The installation kept getting hung up on the last few files. These appeared to be the DirectX files. To get around this I manually installed the latest DirectX files and then told the installation not to look for them. This solved the problem and everything ran fine after that.
If you are a fan of the puzzle game genera, especially the classic Monkey Island style you will not be disappointed! If you are new to the series you will still enjoy all this game has to offer and may find yourself looking for the previous installment. Monkey Island also makes a great family game!
Pros: Good graphics, excellent writing and voice acting, challenging gameplay
Cons: Difficult installation, touchy controls
Notes: Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal from TellTale Games and LucasArts
Review copy of Episode 1 courtesy of TellTale Games
Episode 1 played by myself and 2 others and took approximately 4 hours to complete
OneNerdyGirl
said:
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It doesn't have co-op per say. We all just sat around the computer pointing at things and taking turns using the mouse. Old school co-op  |
Deadpixels
said:
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As a fan of the series since its debut with The Secret of Monkey Island, I'm very pleased to see the series revived with this latest entry into the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood. Hopefully this will pave the way for another entry into Lucas' other adventure classic, Maniac Mansion. Very nice review, thanks for sharing. |
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