Having built on the success of their episodic Sam & Max, StrongBad and Wallace and Grommit adventure games, Telltale Games have revived possibly the most revered adventure game title in videogame history - Monkey Island.
Tales of Monkey Island - Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, is the fist of five episodes, which bring the title into the 21st century with 3D cinematic graphics, excellent sound and great character animations. Playing Tales of Monkey Island is like being in an interactive cartoon. This new game keep the same mix of puzzles and humor to take you through the story.
Controls are helpfully introduced in game, although it may take newcomers a while for the puzzle solving to click. You have an inventory, can add things to it, and are able to combine things. You interact with things by clicking on them, and move by holding the left mouse button and dragging it around. This is perhaps the worst thing about this new game. Moving feels imprecise, and the static camera angles change depending on your position in an environment, which is disconcerting. It would have been much better to move by pointing and clicking.
Despite the awkward controls, the game is carried by its high production values and humor. Tales of Monkey Island - Launch of the Screaming Narwhal will certainly please fans, and while the demo is far too short, it's enough to let you know if adventure games are for you!
Bringing back such well-loved games is a brave move, but it looks like this new series of Monkey Island should push all the right buttons, and it's certainly a very good looking game.
