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Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal
Release Date: July 7, 2009 (PC)
Reviewed On: PC
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: LucasArts
ESRB Rating: E 10+ - Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
PEGI Rating: Not Available
OFLC Rating: Not Available
It has been a long nine years since we have explored the Caribbean with our favorite pirate, the mighty Guybrush Threepwood. Guybrush is back in the fifth game of the series now developed by Telltale Games. Many of the former LucasArts developers that worked on the original Monkey Island now develop games at Telltale. In 2002, LucasArts declared that we would not see another adventure game out of Lucas until 2015. It looks like the year 2015 came a little bit early for adventure gaming fans. Telltale Games releases all of their new games in a series of “episodes” over time and releases a final box copy when all the episodes have launched; the Tales of Monkey Island are no exception. The first in the series that we are looking at is Launch of the Screaming Narwhal.
We're As Surprised As You Are Threepwood
In Launch of the Screaming Narwhal you once again find yourself coming to the rescue of Elaine, your lovely yet always nagging wife, who’s in the clutches of the evil pirate LeChuck. As the game begins, Guybrush arrives on his ship attempting to save Elaine as she has been tied up by LeChuck, who is about to perform a voodoo spell in an attempt to yet again try to marry the unwilling Elaine. With guidance from the Voodoo Lady you have a powerful enchanted cutlass that will put an end to LeChuck for good; but with Guybrush having as much luck as Gilligan, things are not going to work out according to plan as you will start to realize very quickly.
The story of Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is astonishingly pretty first-class considering how much I disliked the story of Escape from Monkey Island (the fourth game in the series). This was a major improvement to the game and the series overall. As the episode progressed, I found myself listening to the same type of witty jokes that I loved and enjoyed from the first three games. No good adventure game can be without interesting and difficult logic puzzles, and Launch of the Screaming Narwhal delivers this full force. Remember traversing through the Jungles of Melee Island in the first game? These same types of puzzles are back, and with the new 3D graphics they contain a nice twist and variety to them.
When You Manage To Solve This Puzzle You Will Need A Mental Break
Tales of Monkey Island is the first game in the series to go completely 3D. While Escape from Monkey Island contained primarily 3D models and surroundings, the movement and camera angles were very 2D. I was very skeptical of a completely 3D environment for an adventure game because I have played these styles of games in the past and could not enjoy them. I was however able to enjoy the gameplay in the 3D world of Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, which I never thought I would. I was disappointed though in the lack of detail in the characters themselves. Characters contained many jagged edges and blurry unattractive textures making them seem unfinished and rushed. In comparison, your surroundings in the small town and jungle look impressive; models are more detailed and the textures give the surroundings a more realistic and serious feeling. The ocean environments and skies while at sea look a little too bland and could use some improvements as well. Facial and body movement animations look fitting and are able to give those quirky Monkey Island jokes even more hilarity.
The cast of previous Monkey Island games have made a return with Dominic Armato once again voicing Guybrush, and yet again he does a great job capturing the funny and stupid dialogue which Threepwood has become renowned for. Earl Boen does not make a return as LeChuck, instead actor Adam Harrington takes on the role. Harrington does such a great and seamless job of voicing LeChuck that I did not notice the difference until doing some research. Also not returning is Leilani Jones who voiced The VooDoo Lady in the previous two games. Alison Ewing takes on the role this time and for her short involvement in Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, the portrayal is decent enough. The rest of the cast of random pirates and other misfits also do a great job for each of their characters. Players will probably quickly become annoyed by the outcast French Doctor Marquis de Singe; the voice portrayal matches the character type perfectly. The superior sounding jungle and Caribbean sounds return in Tales of Monkey Island, as does the unforgettable Monkey Island theme. After the first few minutes of gameplay, the opening credits roll and the Monkey Island theme begins to play. Just as it happened to me, a smile will appear on your face, welcoming you to what is hopefully a great gaming experience.
Armato & Harrington Fight It Out As Threewood & LeChuck
I cannot say that I enjoyed the controls of Tales of Monkey Island, in fact I despised them. Telltale for the first time is using a new control type by means of the mouse that is unlike anything seen in an adventure game before. Hopefully we won’t see this control type again after this game because it is difficult to manage and makes poor use of the mouse. Point-n-Click may seem outdated after all this time but why break something that works so well? Luckily you have an alternative WASD keyboard control option to move Guybrush around the world which gives it that third person action game feeling. The new mouse controls require you to hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse in the direction you want to move; when you release the button, movement will stop. Using the middle mouse button opens your inventory but not mine (By default the middle mouse button for this computer uses a Windows function for showing multiple open applications/windows). Just like in past games, often times you have to combine multiple objects to create some new tool to complete a puzzle. Unlike older games, however, your inventory now contains two “combine” slots where you place an item in and click the plus sign hoping a new object is created. I did not mind this new addition but it seemed to slow things down a bit. Without the point-n-click control option the game feels remote and not as enjoyable to control as older adventure games. Luckily, for the first time Guybrush can run by holding down the Shift key which helps speed up gameplay. In the past many adventure games felt too slow so this is a great addition to have been implemented.
Moving Around The New 3D Environment Can Be A Challenge At First
Launch of the Screaming Narwhal does it right and will make any adventure gamer proud to be a fan of the genre. The puns, the stupid yet hilarious dialogue, hair pulling puzzles and everything else is there to make the right chemistry for a great adventure game. If the new mouse control scheme was redesigned to better resemble the classic point-n-click controls and the graphics improved just a smidgen, then this would be the best adventure game in the last ten years. Telltale with the help of LucasArts have been able to give rebirth to a legendary gaming franchise. After playing Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, I am highly anticipating the future episodes in the Tales of Monkey Island.
Total Gaming Network Rating: 8.5/10
Tales of Monkey Island is a five part episodic game. This review and score only reflects episode one Launch of the Screaming Narwhal and the content within it.
~Kieran Manzi