New Monkey Island is coming!!

[Gameguy]

I didn't see this coming at all, but it's actually happening. My computer isn't powerful enough to play it, but it's still exciting.
http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland

And there's going to be a remake of the original Secret of Monkey Island. I don't really like the new haircut of Guybrush though.
http://www.lucasarts.com/games/monkeyisland/

[Gozer]

I've been waiting to hear this news for quite some time. I don't have a pc that could run it either but I do own a wii. I'm just a little worried about the wii version after buying Sam and Max season 1. It just seems they could have done a better port visually. It had horrendously low res textures compared to the pc version. I'm not sure if it was wii hardware limitation or media size limitations. It just could have looked much better. I'm still glad I got to play season 1. I just hope Tales of Monkey Island won't suffer from the same problems.

This remake of Secret of Monkey actually excites me much more. The fact you can jump back and forth between classic and modern graphic styles on the fly is fantastic. I'll be buying this for live arcade. It's going to be weird playing Monkey Island with an analog stick.

[Jorpho]

Ron Gilbert offers commentary on his blog:
http://grumpygamer.com/

[Gapporin]

Well, they all did say they had a 5-game contract with LucasArts...

[Princess-Isabela]

yup, saw announcement earlier today.
unbelievable news, game looks great and they brought Dominic Armato back!(voice of Guybrush Treepwood from MI3+), day one purchase.

[NayusDante]

I'm definitely excited for this one, though Monkey Island isn't my first choice for a remade SCUMM adventure. As great as the humor is, the really memorable games for me were Day of the Tentacle, Maniac Mansion, Loom, The Dig, and Zak McKracken if I ever get around to finising it. I'd do anything for a real Maniac Mansion 3, especially if they bring back the original gang plus Hoagie and Laverne.

I haven't actually played any of the recent Sam & Max games, but I loved Hit the Road. That said, I think that the espisodic route is the best way to bring back SCUMM-style games. Monkey Island, if done right, might have a good chance in the commercial market with an episodic series.

I'll also be glad if they re-release MI2-3, since I only played the first one, and on floppy at that. If this does well, it might not be out of the question to see even more LucasArts properties remade and re-released. I have to say, Loom would be FREAKING AWESOME with guitar controller support. Screw Brutal Legend, I want to see Bobbin Threadbare rock out on a distaff.

[Famidrive-16]

I don't know what it was about the S&M Wii port... maybe it was just my console, but there were frame skips every now and then, heavily distorted audio, and the dialouge would cut out at times.

I've heard that their Wii port of StrongBad is much better though, so who knows.

[Gozer]

I don't know what it was about the S&M Wii port... maybe it was just my console, but there were frame skips every now and then, heavily distorted audio, and the dialouge would cut out at times.

I've heard that their Wii port of StrongBad is much better though, so who knows.

It's not just you. I've experienced all that as well.

I just hope Telltale puts a little more work in Tales of Monkey Island. The 40MB limit on wii ware titles has me worried though.

[shopkins]

I'm excited about this. I'd love to have new Monkey Island games to play. I even liked Escape.

Hearing that Sam and Max wasn't that well done on the Wii is kind of disappointing. I think I'll hold out for the 360 version that has been announced.

[Lord_Magus]

This is great news - huge fan of old LucasArts adventures here, if you can't tell from my avatar :)

Although I must say, there's something a bit off in some of those screenshots. I always welcome graphical updates for older games, but here it seems they've changed the style of them considerably (especially for the characters) which I'm not sure yet if its a good thing or not.

[NayusDante]

Although I must say, there's something a bit off in some of those screenshots. I always welcome graphical updates for older games, but here it seems they've changed the style of them considerably (especially for the characters) which I'm not sure yet if its a good thing or not.

There was a distinct look to the early SCUMM games, and Monkey Island shared a lot visually with Indy 3. This is DEFINITELY too cartoonish. I'd expect this style for Maniac Mansion, not Mokey Island. As it's been said, Monkey Island's humor was helped by the fact that it didn't have a really cartoonish art style.

I have to wonder... Will the pirate in the bar still have his "Ask me about LOOM" badge?

[Jorpho]

If you look at the game in motion, it becomes readily apparent that they didn't add any new frames of animation, but just "pasted" over the old ones. The whole effect is a bit jarring.


I have to wonder... Will the pirate in the bar still have his "Ask me about LOOM" badge?If he does, I hope he says something like "What? This? I got this coat off a dead man twenty years ago - I don't have a clue what LOOM is!"

[ubersaurus]

There was a distinct look to the early SCUMM games, and Monkey Island shared a lot visually with Indy 3. This is DEFINITELY too cartoonish. I'd expect this style for Maniac Mansion, not Mokey Island. As it's been said, Monkey Island's humor was helped by the fact that it didn't have a really cartoonish art style.

I have to wonder... Will the pirate in the bar still have his "Ask me about LOOM" badge?

Monkey Island got pretty cartoony looking in 3 and 4. I'd hardly call any further cartoony appearances a travesty, considering it's pretty much standard for the series.

[j_factor]

So aside from PC, the remake is on XBLA only, and the new one is on Wiiware only.

Retarded.

[unwinddesign]

So aside from PC, the remake is on XBLA only, and the new one is on Wiiware only.

Retarded.

What I was thinking. I'm all over the remake on the 360. Loved #4, only one I played. Would like to see where it all started in HD.

I'll probably snag the new game for PC. Definitely not on WiiWare. I hate Nintendo's purchasing system, I hate how the purchase is tied to the console instead of my gamertag, and I don't want to play some half-ass Wii rendition when I can play it at high resolution on PC.

[But I really wanted a 360 version. Damnit, WTF Telltale, you've already released some shit on XBLA...]

[Lord_Magus]

What I was thinking. I'm all over the remake on the 360. Loved #4, only one I played. Would like to see where it all started in HD.

Wow, you're probably the first person I've ever read to say that :O I mean, it's like someone having played only Mario Sunshine, or Metroid Fusion, or Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, or the CDi Zeldas from their respective series and enjoyed them (ok, that last one was a bit of a stretch :) )

Seriously though, if you liked the 4th one, which was without a doubt the weakest in the series *by far*, youre going to LOVE the others. Plus, if you managed to tolerate the MI4 controls, you should give Grim Fandango a go (also by LucasArts) - one of the most underappreciated gems in the history of gaming imo.

[NayusDante]

What's Grim Fandango go for these days? I've been meaning to try it since it came out, but it just kinda slipped by me.

[entryan]

I saw a snippet of this in a Game Informer a few weeks back, but in case someone hasn't heard, this was also with the Monkey Island announcements:


In addition to these new Monkey Island projects, LucasArts recently revealed that the classic adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (originally released in 1992) is included as an unlockable bonus in the Wii version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, set to be released on June 9.

It doesn't look to have any updates, aside from tweaked controls. It's still a pretty cool bonus - it already sold one friend on Staff of Kings.

[Poofta!]

this is great news, however i really dislike the graphical style of the new MI game (Tales of...). nevertheless these are all day 1 purchases for me as i am a huge fan of the series (and SCUMM games in general). definitely going the PC route, without a doubt.

on a side note, my favorite MI was a tie between 2 and 3. i played MI 1 after 2 so it seemed like a step back. i absolutely hated MI4, what crap that was, what is this fascination with 3d and console controls, most pc gamers (especially at that time) dont have gamepads and 2d art is always more beautiful and picturesque.

btw: grim fandango was very playable and overall one of the best LucasArts adventure games. Highly recommeded. shouldnt run you much over 10$ on ebay.

[Cornelius]

btw: grim fandango was very playable and overall one of the best LucasArts adventure games. Highly recommeded. shouldnt run you much over 10$ on ebay.

Definitely a great game. 10 on eBay would be a good deal. For a disc in sleeve copy about 20 would be more typical.

.... aaaaannnnd, it just so happens I have one for sale! It can be yours for just 5 easy payments of $8 each!

No, seriously, I have a copy in my 'to sell' box. PM me if you are serious about picking up a copy (discs in sleeve, maybe with manual... have to check my copy for that).

[unwinddesign]

Wow, you're probably the first person I've ever read to say that :O I mean, it's like someone having played only Mario Sunshine, or Metroid Fusion, or Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, or the CDi Zeldas from their respective series and enjoyed them (ok, that last one was a bit of a stretch :) )

Seriously though, if you liked the 4th one, which was without a doubt the weakest in the series *by far*, youre going to LOVE the others. Plus, if you managed to tolerate the MI4 controls, you should give Grim Fandango a go (also by LucasArts) - one of the most underappreciated gems in the history of gaming imo.

I really hated Grim Fandango, actually. Go figure.

[Ryaan1234]

Well, I'm pretty excited with both the remake and the new game. Personally, Curse of Monkey Island is my favorite, because I grew up playing that one. I can't count the numerous times I've beaten it. I remember back in the day when my computer had so much trouble playing Escape from Monkey Island. Maybe I'm blind, but where does it give the system requirements for the new one?

Also, not to be a Monkey Island nerd, but I remember the voodoo lady saying at one point that she had "signed for a strict four game deal." Continunity error!

Let's just hope that the new Monkey Island isn't as slow or glichy as the previous one. That and the controls were awful. Even though it had those faults, it's Monkey Island. So that was forgivable.

[Princess-Isabela]

I really hated Grim Fandango, actually. Go figure.

you have no soul!

[unwinddesign]

you have no soul!

I tried, but I couldn't complete one of the puzzles about halfway through and I didn't really find the game's sense of humor all that funny. So I gave up. I haven't played the game in years, it really might be more due to me only being 11 or 12 at the time than anything else...

Liked Monkey Island 4 much better (got it at the same time). The remake screenshots look amazing. I'm all over this, Day 1.

[Zing]

Have any of you actually played through Monkey Island 1 in the past year?

I did it about a year ago via SCUMM and it was a miserable experience. 15 years ago, I loved all of the Lucasarts adventure games (Loom, Sam & Max, Indiana Jones, Day of Tentacle, Monkey Island, Full Throttle, etc). I played the shit out of them.

Playing it today is just awful. The game is 100% linear. It's a hunt and click game where you slowly go from area to area hoping you happen to stumble across the one item you need to proceed in a different area. Repeat a dozen times. There isn't much thinking involved. Sure, there is still some decent humor but the gameplay is borderline broken. Not enjoyable at all.

[NayusDante]

Have any of you actually played through Monkey Island 1 in the past year?

I did it about a year ago via SCUMM and it was a miserable experience. 15 years ago, I loved all of the Lucasarts adventure games (Loom, Sam & Max, Indiana Jones, Day of Tentacle, Monkey Island, Full Throttle, etc). I played the shit out of them.

Playing it today is just awful. The game is 100% linear. It's a hunt and click game where you slowly go from area to area hoping you happen to stumble across the one item you need to proceed in a different area. Repeat a dozen times. There isn't much thinking involved. Sure, there is still some decent humor but the gameplay is borderline broken. Not enjoyable at all.

I've seen this argument applied to 90s adventure games a lot. It really depends on the person. For me, I still love these games when I replay them. In fact, I enjoyed Maniac Mansion more now that I'm 20 than when I was 6.

Monkey Island certainly is archaic by today's standards, but it's not as linear as Full Throttle. I replayed that one a few months back and it was probably the least amount of fun I've ever had with that game. It's great for the writing and animation, but as a game, it's nothing amazing. Same with The Dig, but to a lesser degree, and somewhat softened by its awesome design.

I think the formula worked best with Day of the Tentacle. You have three timezones to work with, so it's not nearly as linear as the others. There is a definite path you have to follow, but you can do things in the order you want. Out of all of them, DOTT has probably aged the best, and I'm surprised they don't remake it instead. I'm guessing that they're trying to cash in on the pirate interest that we had a few years ago, which we're still seeing a bit today.