Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 3

1. Official Site
2. Platform: PC
3. Publisher: LucasArts
4. Developer: Telltale Games
5. Release Date: 09/29/09
6. Genre: Action/Adventure

by Ron Lenzi

Guybrush and the gang have returned for the next episode, Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 3: Lair of the Leviathan. This review is a little different than others in this series because I had not played the previous two chapters. I will admit to reading a summary of the previous episodes, but I was coming into this third chapter experiencing the new graphics, interface, and game play for the first time.

I played all previous Monkey Island titles when they were first released, and Chapter 3 was like returning home to your two dimensional hometown and finding everyone has evolved into the mysterious third dimension. It took me a few moments to acclimate to the controls, but I thought the new design fit in nicely. I especially liked how the screen was uncluttered with the interface, available by a slide out window to the right, or by clicking the middle mouse button.

Last Time on "Tales of Monkey Island"....

At the end of Chapter 2, the Screaming Narwhal was swallowed whole by a giant manatee. This creates the opportunity for a twisted Pinocchio scenario with the whale replaced by a monstrous sea cow. Once inside, the first direct control was given to me, and after finding out what Guybrush was going to accomplish, the “Chapter 3” title card came up. I liked this prologue idea, which gave a good introduction to the chapter and a feature I wasn’t expecting.

Filmed On Location

In all, there are four locations explored in Chapter 3. To list them would be spoilers, which is difficult to avoid in a game delivered in chapters. I can say these locations were varied and one of them was unexpected. The contrast in lighting and graphic variety between the locations was well executed and each location felt separate from the others. I didn’t anticipate the locations traveled to, which gave me a feeling of not knowing when the end of the chapter was coming up.

...And Danny Delk as Murray

Voice acting was excellent. Guybrush, Morgan, and Winslow voice their parts well and they make their characters come to life. This is the perfect time to talk about the grand re-entry of a very popular character making a return, Murray the evil skull. Hearing the gravelly-delivered insults of everyone’s favorite disembodied skull delivered by Danny Delk was an event many Monkey Island fans have been waiting years for. The reunion was great and the banter between Guybrush and Murray re-captured the relationship previously forged. Make sure to ‘examine’ Murray several times once he’s nestled in your inventory.

How Will Guybrush Solve This?

Of course, the main focus of the Monkey Island games are the quirky puzzles. Chapter 3 did not disappoint and I felt the difficulty landed squarely in the middle. Without going into detail, there were a couple of puzzles where I wandered around a bit wondering what to do next, and one particular end puzzle where I just didn’t ‘get’ some of the reasons given for the answers, but there wasn’t enough frustration to make me want to run to a walkthrough.

Out-Takes

There weren’t many negative aspects in the chapter. The main issue I had was with the graphics. At times characters and environments looked under-textured and the animation looked more puppet-like than desired. I’m sure if this was a full title instead of individual chapters, the production value would be higher, but it was noticeable. I also found some closed captioning mistakes, which, while not major, did distract from some dialogues.

I am not used to playing games in this episodic format, so the length of the game is difficult to comment on. I was able to play through this chapter in just under three and a half hours. It felt a little short, but if other chapters give the same time, it could make up for it. I’m not completely sold on the idea of episodic gaming yet. It was nice to know I was sitting down to play a game and would have an experience which would last for a certain period of time, but I’m still from the older mindset of having the entire game available and playing through it based on when I spend the time to do so.

We Won't Let You Miss One Episode

One issue that does come up is you are not able to purchase individual episodes any longer. Visiting the Tales of Monkey Island web site, the only option to purchase for the PC version is to buy the "Season Pass" for $34.95. If you're coming into the series right now, you only have the option to purchase all five chapters, instead of purchasing one chapter to see if you are interested in the rest. This goes against the concept of offering games in episodic content and I'm not sure why they removed this option.

Tune in Next Time....

Over-all, I enjoyed experiencing the setting and humor of the Monkey Island series again. After playing Chapter 3, I am interested in playing the first two and the next two to come. Those who have been trying to decide whether or not to get into this game can know it feels like a Monkey Island title and if you've played the previous ones before these new chapters, you’ll be able to capture that same feeling again.

Gaming Trend Score

85

1. Graphics: 80
2. Audio: 88
3. Controls: 88
4. Gameplay: 85
5. Value/Replay: 85
6. OVERALL:85