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| The player looking over Guybrush's inventory on Flotsam Island. |
Guybrush Threepwood is attempting to rescue his wife Elaine from the dread pirate LeChuck again, when the voodoo cutlass he brought along to stop LeChuck backfires on him, causing a massive explosion that separates the three of them and releases the Pox of LeChuck on the Caribbean. Guybrush must find a way to reunite with his wife, and find a cure for the pox before it gets out of control.
Tales of Monkey Island was originally sold in an episodic format, but has since been collected and sold as a single game. In each episode Guybrush has to accomplish some task by collecting items, talking to people, and solving puzzles. There are five episodes total.
In each episode the player directs Guybrush as he talks to everyone in wherever he is in the episode and pick up every item he sees along the way. Then, when Guybrush is talking to someone, he will be directed to a puzzle that Guybrush has to overcome with an item he has collected. Usually it is more complicated than that.
The challenge in these puzzles is figuring out what unusual way the player is supposed to use an item. Usually it means taking an item and using it on something in a way that is unusual, but practical. The computer does the actual work; it is up to the player to figure out how in theory the item would be used. Technically it is possible to just click every item in Guybrush’s inventory on every object in the game until something happens and Guybrush can move on, but that would take forever. Except for one of two puzzles, none are really challenging as long as they are approached with a creative mind.
An additional challenge to this formula is that sometimes two items have to be combined to form a new tool. It is a mildly amusing addition, but not really memorable.
The Monkey Island series has always been known for its humor, based on pirates acting unusual, anachronisms, and clever dialogue, and Tales of Monkey Island keeps that tradition. Not all of the jokes are winners, but overall the game is funny. Same goes with the new characters, which range from funny to forgettable. Except for the new secondary villain, the Marquis de Singe; he is just annoying. The best new character is Guybrush’s new first mate Reginald van Winslow.
The story is okay. It is really steeped in the Monkey Island mythos, so anyone who has not played the other games in the series might not recognize the cast or understand a lot of what is being said. It also gets rather dark near the end, which is unusual for a Monkey Island game. And a character who has been part of the series since the beginning acts somewhat out of character for the sake of the plot, which might possibly upset some fans of the series.
A bigger problem though, is what comes from the game originally being sold in an episodic format. Instead of one long story, the game is told in five interlinked short stories, which lack the detail that would come from a bigger story. The same goes for the areas Guybrush visits, which are small and involve a lot of running back and forth in one area so they can fit into the episode. The worst of this is the third episode, which for the most part takes place in two rooms. Or Flotsam Island, which is visited two and a half times throughout the game and has this really long and annoying “run around the jungle maze” puzzle, and comes off as padding.
The game design is in 3D, and for the most part looks okay. Everyone moves at a quick rate with no clipping. Guybrush is easy enough to navigate around with the mouse. Character models could use a bit more detail though, and sometimes the designs are unusually pointy, especially Guybrush.
The voice acting is very entertaining and really helps sell the jokes. The lip sync between the voices and characters can be off at times. The limited number of facial movements the characters have does not help this.
Tales of Monkey Island is an unusual but enjoyable addition to the Monkey Island series which should be enjoyable to anyone who is a fan. The only real fault is the episodic presentation, which should be excised from future games.
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