Review
Spring 2010
by Adam Eisentrout
As a revival to one of
the most beloved gaming series of all-
time, Tales of Monkey Island is a return to
the world of Guybrush Threepwood,
mighty pirate and universal klutz. The se-
ries has been on hiatus for nearly a decade
and has been revived by the folks over at
Telltale Games. The company has been
responsible for the revival of many point
and click adventure games, releasing them
in an episodic format. Tales of Monkey
Island is compiled of has five chapters,
Batman in action! Disturbing your reading!
launch of the Screaming Narwhal being
the first episode. Launch of the Screaming
Narwhal takes place several years after the
previous game. The evil demon pirate
Lechuck has once again kidnapped Guy-
brush’s wife, the former governor of the
~Tri-Island area, Elaine Marley. Guybrush,
equipped with the “Cursed Cutlass of
Kafln” comes to Flaine’s rescne hut hv
an explosion on the ship, sending him into
the ocean. Guybrush awakens on Flotsam
Island and is explained by the local deni-
zens that the island is cursed with winds
keep inhabitants from leaving, including
himself.
: As an introduction,
Launch of the Screaming Narwhal feels
less engaging and captivating as it should
be. My longtime status as a fan of the se-
ries may lead to being a tad bit biased but
it feels as though the newOne example
would be creators behind the series are
trying too hard in the writing department.
The writing sometimes feels forced and a
lot of jokes fall flat. a sequence in which a
pirate gives Guybrush a tube in the shape
of a “U”. The pirate then comments on the
popularity of a “U” tube on the youth of
today. Har har? Thankfully the episode’s
puzzles are. pretty clever and much more
thoughtfully designed. Graphically, the
game sports a new and cartoony art style
and is easv on the eves (and mast oranhic
Monkey Island and for the most part the
first episode is entertaining enough for a
recommendation. The creators have
mostly all the right ingredients but it
seems they are missing the most endearing
component of the past games: the writing.
It may be the first episode and being hope-
ful, the second episode will bring some
more quality writing to the table. (Launch
of the Screaming Narwhal is available for
the PC and Nintendo Wii.)