Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal Review

By Kristan Reed Published 9 July, 2009

Tales of the expected.

Version tested: PC

The return of the Monkey Island series after a nine-year absence has provoked almost as much hand-wringing worry as it has celebration. With so much love for LucasArts' long-dormant series among adventure enthusiasts, the pressure for Telltale Games to get it right is, to say the least, intense.

Announced just one month ago, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal is the first of five episodes scheduled for the season, and launches this week, just ahead of next week's Xbox Live Arcade remake of the seminal 1990 classic, The Secret of Monkey Island. Four further episodes are scheduled to follow at monthly intervals.

Chapter 1 finds the 'mighty pirate' Guybrush Threepwood in familiar territory - onboard a pirate ship, trying to save his wife Elaine from the clutches of nefarious zombie pirate LeChuck. After a simple rescue attempt goes awry, Guybrush finds himself in an even bigger jam. Trapped on the interminably windy Flotsam Island, he and therefore you are tasked with not only finding a ship to make your escape, but with putting a stop to the powerful gusts buffeting the place.

Designed by LucasArts veteran Dave Grossman, it's no surprise at all to find that Tales of Monkey Island slips straight back into the old routine. With Michael Land's nostalgic score setting the tone majestically, and Dominic Armato returning as Guybrush, it doesn't take long for that old Monkey Island magic to flood back. With a familiar array of snappy one-liners, throwaway puns, ludicrous characters and daft puzzles that stay true to the formula, all the ingredients are there for another feel-good adventure.

But things don't quite get off to the flying start that you might wish for. The first element to get to grips with is a control system best described as "interesting". Rather than adopt the simple, traditional point-and-click interface of old, Tales of Monkey Island insists that you move Guybrush around by holding down the mouse button and dragging in the desired direction. It takes some getting used to, but fortunately Telltale also allows for direct movement control via the cursor keys or WASD if you prefer. I did.

'Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal' Screenshot 1

How do you like my Jimmy Hill beard?

In addition, the introductory section also suffers a little because of a lurching camera, caused by the swell of the ocean waves. With the entire playing area bobbing around rhythmically, it makes the routine process of finding hotspots rather more troubling than it ought to be, and in tandem with the quirky new control system it feels like Telltale almost set out to make you feel seasick. Fortunately once you reach dry land, normal service resumes, but it's nevertheless not the most seamless way to resume the series.

As you might hope, the gameplay hasn't really changed one bit, and Telltale has clearly focused on nailing the fundamentals. It's still a straightforward mixture of dialogue-tree japery and bizarre inventory-manipulation, and follows the adventure game lineage faithfully. With the inventory tucked away on the right-hand side, the screen is free of icons and clutter, so whenever you want to dive into your infinite pockets, you have three basic options. Firstly, the magnifying glass lets you examine objects more closely, while two separate inventory slots allow you to slot in each object and perform the good old adventure game ritual of attempting to combine them. In addition, you're also able to take items out of the inventory and, say, give them to another character, or try and use them on something in the game world.

One of the most important elements in any adventure game is the quality of the puzzle design, and this is one area Tales of Monkey Island gets bang-on time after time. In true Monkey Island fashion, the solutions are mostly absurd, but also bizarrely logical in their own sweet way. On at least a handful of occasions, there is as much comedy to be found in finding a crackpot solution to the problem at hand as the story and dialogue itself.

Most of the game's many puzzles present themselves as good old-fashioned object-manipulation, either finding an unexpected use for an otherwise innocuous item, or fashioning an entirely new one out of two unrelated ones. You know the drill (or rather monkey wrench). Happily, Telltale has also gone beyond the adventure game template on a number of occasions, notably on the map-based puzzles where the solutions are especially gratifying once the penny drops, and on a set-piece where Guybrush finds himself strapped to a doctor's chair. Sometimes, of course, you'll hit a brick wall, but the game's subtle built-in hint system (which you can turn off altogether if you prefer) does a decent job of guiding the way without ruining it for you.

Another area that Telltale succeeds in is the writing department. The story is, as you'd hope, classic Monkey Island nonsense, and it's impossible to overstate how instrumental Dominic Armato's performance as Guybrush is in getting the 'feel' just right. At its best, the script is generally sharp and witty, with some fantastic one-liners and moments of cackling silliness complemented by knowing nods to the past. For the most part, the fan service is excellent.

On the downside, Tales of Monkey Island suffers from the same syndrome which afflicted Telltale's Sam & Max games, where the lead characters were excellent, and had uniformly top-notch lines, while the supporting cast were a little forgettable, and sometimes just not that funny. For whatever reason, some if not most of the supporting cast of Tales of Monkey Island are hackneyed regional stereotypes: the eccentric Frenchman, the gruff Irishman, and so on. Next to the wry delivery of Guybrush, many of these characters feel somewhat two-dimensional, and it detracts somewhat from the overall quality.

Worse still, the visual representation of some of these characters feels like it was rushed, with at least three of the supporting cast based on the same basic character model. The graphical style, too, is an uneven mixture of excellent and extremely average. Sometimes, the environments feel elaborate and intricate, and other times comparatively bland - a factor not helped in the least, you feel, by an ageing 3D engine and an occasional lack of artistic inspiration.

'Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal' Screenshot 2

All these years on, I've still never tried Root Beer.

On the one hand, characters like Guybrush are superbly rendered, and wonderfully animated, and on the other, there are a host of completely anonymous supporting characters. It really does feel like a game that could have benefited from a few extra months of polish, and would have been improved no end if more love had been lavished on the supporting cast. Sad to say, but it feels like Telltale simply ran out of time and money and had to make do.

Not wishing to end the review on a downer, Telltale has at least learned one major lesson from its previous attempts at reinventing a LucasArts franchise: increasing the number of locations, and, in turn, making it feel much like the first part of a four-to-five-hour mini-adventure, rather than merely a standalone episode. Word is that future episodes of Tales of Monkey Island will avoid the rampant recycling that was present in previous Telltale adventures, so there's every reason to be excited by what's to come over the next four months.

Although it's not quite everything it could have been, Tales of Monkey Island marks a highly entertaining return to a much-loved series. Despite a rather forgettable supporting cast, Telltale makes up for it with consistently excellent puzzle design, and occasional flourishes of comedy genius. Adventure game fans might pull a face about one or two things that Telltale dropped the ball on, but overall no one can deny that it's great to have the series back.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (63) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ZuluHero #1 3 years ago

    well i just got the demo - so i'll be trying this over lunch :)

    Really looking forward to some old-school adventuring :)

  • JohnnyWashnGo #2 3 years ago

    Really not digging the look of this game... I would have preferred something a little more traditional, maybe hand drawn characters or something?

  • frostcircus #3 3 years ago

    My mum always tells me off when I say something is 'extremely average'

  • Les #4 3 years ago

    Am I the only one who just can't adjust to 3D Monkey Island?

    Might be nostalgia but I prefer the blocky pixel art of old... ;)

  • udat #5 3 years ago

    Yeah, there's more character in the Monkey Island 2 sprites than these 3d models. I am not sure why that is, perhaps because they make it easier for your imagination to fill in the blanks.

  • Pinewood_Groves #6 3 years ago

    Don't try root beer, it's horrible.

  • wellzy4eva #7 3 years ago

    Right, a question to anyone's whose played this game, how does it compare to previous games?

    Personally I loved Monkey Island 1 and 2, 3 (The best looking one by far) was only repetitive in the very long insult fighting bit and didn't like number 4 that much.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #8 3 years ago

    Pretty much what I was expecting, although the control system sounds weird. What's wrong with point & click?

    I'm waiting for the inevitable box set. I prefer physical copies that can sit on my shelf to all this digital tomfoolery.

  • spekkeh #9 3 years ago

    I only see PC reviews around the webs, but this one has a Wii icon as well. Is it exactly the same game? How does the wiimote fare?

  • Sub-kamikaze #10 3 years ago

    I don't normally post in here, but could you revise the part referring to clues? I've done the maze section myself and was gleefully satisfied when I hit upon the answer. I think you're more or less giving them the answer a teeny bit.

  • Mox #11 3 years ago

    Root beer tastes and smells like TCP. I wonder if it also has antiseptic properties? Anyway, as Quark pointed out in Deep Space 9, if you drink enough of it, you start to like it.

  • Gl3n #12 3 years ago

    It's going to be a long month's wait until the next episode.. sigh..

  • Toothball #13 3 years ago

    I never played the original last time. I'll likely come back and give this series a look after I get through the XBLA one.

  • Red-Moose #14 3 years ago

    That'll do for me !

  • Domovoi #15 3 years ago

    Apparently they didn't do point & click because they wanted to have camera angles where you can't see the floor, and if there's no floor, there's nothing to click on so you can walk there.

    It makes sense, and the WASD + mouse cursor controls are a good alternative, but why did the introductory tutorial focus on that weird hula hoop instead of WASD?

  • Ninja_Tino #16 3 years ago

    Root beer is delicious!

  • adcworks #17 3 years ago

    i'll buy this when/if it comes out on xbla

  • Krusty #18 3 years ago

    Hmm, sounds both good and disappointing at the same time :/

    Think will give them the benefit of the doubt and grab it off Steam.
    Hope they lavish a bit more love on the later episodes though.

  • JetSetWilly #19 3 years ago

    Is there a Wii version of this? The article on the front page has the Wii icon next to the PC one.

  • Moribundman #20 3 years ago

    If you get it off Steam you miss out on the FREE DVD of all the eps plus bonus materials (I found that out the hard way with S&M season 1!) get it from Telltales site instead for that option.

    Just (bother to) get my S&M season 2 DVD this week and it's nice to have a box and some exclusive bonus bits.

  • MonkeyNut #21 3 years ago

    Does anyone know when the Wii version is out?

  • crazyhorse174 #22 3 years ago

    In the same way that book to film adaptions are never as good as you'd hoped (with a few exceptions), I think this series has actually suffered by adding voice overs. I appreciate that its the "done" thing these days, but I really think its taken away some of the charm of the series (that and I dont like the voice they've given Guybrish...).

    Its good to see MI back, but they shouldnt really be bringing it back just for the sake of it...although remakes and re-envisions seem to be big business these days.
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/09 @ 13:04

  • Moribundman #23 3 years ago

    @adcworks Yeah me too.

    I preordered the PC version because it has the same specs as Wallace and Gromit which works on my Laptop... Sadly this one doesn't seem to so far!! Lucky I intend to upgrade soon.

    Still, my main reason for ordering the PC preorder (other than the Steve Purcell slipcase) was for decent old skool mouse control like S&M. A little bothered by this new system which sounds like it'll work much better on the 360 or Wii.

    WHY didn't they launch it on XBLA as well? Surely it's easier to convert to than the Wii?!

  • Moribundman #24 3 years ago

    @crazyhorse174 I understand how you feel, but I think the majority of fans (myself included) took to Dominic Armato and consider him as much a part of Guybrush now as any aspect of the character...

    Anyway, can't you turn VO off and just play with subtitles like all Telltale games?

    (I remember getting annoyed with them all on the PC and switching subtitles OFF as soon as the game began!)

  • crazyhorse174 #25 3 years ago

    Its good to see MI back, but they shouldnt really be bringing it back just for the sake of it...although remakes and re-envisions seem to be big business these days.

    What does this even mean? It's not come back 'just for the sake of it' - it's come back because they've got a good game to share with us.

    What does it even mean? Well they're bringing back a much loved franchise and stomping all over it to make a quick buck, is what it means. How can it even be MI without Ron Gilbert being involved?

  • konnsky #26 3 years ago

    i've got mixed emotions, to be honest, i was expecting the score to be a bit lower after reading the review.

    and sadly, i'm entirely on the side of those few people to whom the new look of the game doesn't appeal at all.

    maybe my perception of the new title is a little bit jaded, but "the secret of monkey island" & "the lure of the temptress" were the two best adventure games i've ever played.

    and that was back in the amiga days...

    /starting UAE

    edit: typos
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/09 @ 13:33

  • HSH25 #27 3 years ago

    I've only played half an hour or so (just looking around the island), but I have to say I think the review is a little on the harsh side. If the writing and puzzle design of a game like this are really good, then thats basically everything you want covered.

    I'll also say that despite not really liking the look of the game when it was first shown, 20 minutes in I was convinced, in places its just gorgeous, even at worst it looks good.

    Assuming it continues like this its at least a solid 8, perhaps even a 9.

  • Pac #28 3 years ago

    I also think the score is a little on the low side. I thought the puzzles and humour were great. Not sure how they could recreate the pixelated style of the originals now anyway.

    Biggest problem I had was getting it to match my LCD TV resolution. But there is a work around in the forums.

    Looking forward to part 2.

  • Darren #29 3 years ago

    "In addition, the introductory section also suffers a little because of a lurching camera, caused by the swell of the ocean waves. With the entire playing area bobbing around rhythmically, it makes the routine process of finding hotspots rather more troubling than it ought to be, and in tandem with the quirky new control system it feels like Telltale almost set out to make you feel seasick."

    I can't say that I even noticed this issue nevermind found it a nuisance. How odd.

    Re: the control system though... the lack of true point and click movement is a strange oversight in a game that traditionally could be played solely with the mouse. The left-button-click-plus-move control doesn't feel precise nor do the cursor keys particularly, although they're more preferable.

    The really peculiar thing about this game is that it supports the Xbox 360 controller for movement, it even lets you call up the menus with Start, navigate them with the D-pad, select options with A and exit them with B but, try as I did, I just could not get the in-game cursor to move with the analogue sticks or D-pad thus rendering the whole idea of controller support completely redundant in my opinion. Why only half support the controller? Do the developers expect peopel to move with the controller and point and click with the mouse or something? :?
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/09 @ 14:25

  • Starkadder #30 3 years ago

    What does it even mean? Well they're bringing back a much loved franchise and stomping all over it to make a quick buck, is what it means. How can it even be MI without Ron Gilbert being involved?
    Except they haven't "stomped all over it". This episode is actually a good game, and very much in keeping with the MI traditions. Have you actually played it? As for Ron Gilbert, he was involved, albeit only in a consultant capacity. Still, that's more than his involvement in MI3, and most people consider that a good MI game.

  • Gaol #31 3 years ago

    I was looking at this on Steam but coulld only see a season pack for £24.99.. if they had confidence in the product I could have bought the first episode standalone. Maybe I just missed it, I dunno.

    I ended up buying Braid instead.

  • Darren #32 3 years ago

    " ... notably on a map-based puzzle where using auditory clues guides the way..."

    That's a spoiler IMO.
    Edited by 1 at 09/07/09 @ 16:34

  • Darren #33 3 years ago

    Anyway, I think Tales of Monkey Island Chapter is great, easily deserving of 8.5 from me. It captures the Monkey Island flavour almost perfectly, the puzzles are fun, the dialogue is amusing and the audio/visuals are perfect. I couldn't have asked for more except perhaps the full game all in one go. Seems odd to sell the game in chapters when you can only purchase the complete package anyway, something that makes sense seeing as there's a story arc supposedly spanning all five chapters.

    I know from Kristian Reed's 5/10 Banjo-Kazooie review that he's very critical compared with myself so as soon as I saw his name at the top of the review I knew the game wouldn't get more than 7/10. Drat, I do hate it when I'm right!

  • Fodder #34 3 years ago

    @Darren If you download Xpadder, you can map the cursor to the right stick on the 360 pad. Plays pretty well this way. For me, it's much nicer than using the odd mouse controls or keyboard to move around.

    Xpadder: http://ww w.softpedia.com/get/System/Syst...

  • TheBiGW #35 3 years ago

    Count me as one of the people who thinks that 7/10 is too low. I wasn't a fan of the looks originally but after a while you do get used to it. Likewise for the control system. Get passed that and it's most definitely a Monkey Island game - great jokes, fun puzzles, genuine laugh out loud moments. Only criticism from me (other than the aformentioned) is that only episode 1 is available now. I want more!

  • HSH25 #36 3 years ago

    On the subject of buying the game, you can still get it from Telltale's website for $34.95 (which works out at under £23) and get a free episode of another game with it. Better price and more content than on Steam.

  • Gouache #37 3 years ago

    7 seems pretty harsh. I finished it just now, I'd peg it more as a 9.

    The Marquis was especially hilarious.

  • Darren #38 3 years ago

    @HSH25 - I paid £24.99 for Tales of Monkey Island on Steam and got Wallace and Gromit Episode 1 free so there's only a couple of quid in it... for a change (as I think Steam are a rip off normally for new releases). I already have Wallace & Gromit for the 360 but the PC version is nevertheless a very welcome bonus because it runs smoother, looks nicer and has superior controls to the clunky, juddery console version.

  • HSH25 #39 3 years ago

    If you buy it from Telltale you can choose which episode though (so you could have had the second one).

    Also theres the option of having it on a Collectors DVD at the end of the season for the cost of shipping.

    Obviously no use to you now, but other people might want to consider it.

  • morriss #40 3 years ago

    Totally disagree there. I'd've given it a 9. Maybe an 8 instead.

  • Oh-Bollox #41 3 years ago

    Nice Discworld ref, Kristan.

  • Darren #42 3 years ago

    @HSH25 - Well that's a good point but unfortunately for me I didn't know I could buy the game from anywhere else but Steam. Had I known I would probably have bought the game with Wallace & Gromit Episode 2 from Telltale. Still I know now so I can purchase future releases direct from them. Thanks all the same.

  • MrScruffier #43 3 years ago

    Could you people stop talking about the spoilers?? I've avoided reading the review so I wouldn't bump into any of them!!

  • Demiath #44 3 years ago

    Seems like a nice enough game (haven't played this or Telltale's other games yet but I know they've got some veteran genre developers on their payroll). Still, I would much rather have a Monkey Island 2 remake following relatively quickly after the XBLA release of MK1 than an original but slightly more generic game with unremarkable 3D graphics instead of gorgeous 2D sprites.

    Or, even better, convince Sierra to let Corey and Lori Ann Cole officially relaunch the Quest for Glory series (as they have stated that they would love to do). If nothing else, the unique QfG RPG/Adventure hybrid offers more innovative gameplay than the new episodic Monkey Island...

  • DUFFKING #45 3 years ago

    Someone seriously needs to edit out the spoiler in this review :/

  • miiiguel #46 3 years ago

    "Someone seriously needs to edit out the spoiler in this review :/ "

    Though, now it has been quoted 37 times in the comments section, as an ilustration of an "outrage"... so I say, nevermind...

  • Darren #47 3 years ago

    Well I've added spoiler tags to my quote so as not to actually spoil it for anyone who hasn't actually got that far in the game. You might want to do the same for your post, MrEd209?

    Apologies to anyone who hadn't read the review though who might have seen that... and shame on the reviewer for even mentioning that in the review in the first place!

  • X201 #48 3 years ago

    When is the Wii version available in the UK?

  • MrScruffier #49 3 years ago

    "Well I've added spoiler tags to my quote so as not to actually spoil it for anyone who hasn't actually got that far in the game."

    Cheers dude :)

  • curtlikesmeat #50 3 years ago

    I echo the Sierra love - WTB another Space Quest.

    Played the demo, it was alright. Since I'm not playing this for amazing gameplay I expected it to be quite funny, and it didn't have me rolling on the floor... still.... when there's a box version of all the episodes out I'll probably pick it up.

  • miiiguel #51 3 years ago

    "Why are you reading the comments on a review that you avoided reading so that you didn't read any spoilers? Isn't that, like, a bit obtuse? :p"

    To be fair, the guy's right, I know no one meant to be mean, but I probably wouldn't have paid much attention if some of you guys didn't post: "hey! look, that *is* a spoiler". Anyway, no worries.
    Edited by 2 at 09/07/09 @ 20:36

  • HarryPalmer #52 3 years ago

    I like the look of the Secret xbox live remake more than this.

  • InsoFox #53 3 years ago

    I thought 7 is a little harsh, too. 8 seems fair for this episode - room to grow - telltale's episodes tend to get better as a series goes on.

  • Aeterna #54 3 years ago

    @HarryPalmer:

    Wow, you really prefer that? I honestly can't think anyone could seriously mean that, I think the exact opposite.
    Did you look at the working game, instead of looking at small screenshots?

    Especially if you consider the size of the game, it looks very very nice on a high resolution.

  • space_ace #55 3 years ago

    very happy from my first 1/2 hour - yes, monkey island is back and it's real!

  • Thalanos #56 3 years ago

    Just finished. Good stuff. Certainly not one of the classics, but the story already seems better than MI4 and can to grow.

    One way i think it could be vastly improved: Telltale's puzzles have to be done in a fairly specific order as you walk through the story which takes away some of the feeling of freedom. The best Lucasarts games set up your goals and then just let you do random, funny, surreal things in any order which just 'happen' to slot together and solve your main problems. More of that please!!

    Oh.. and request for Murray too. In a buddy comedy capacity.

  • roz123 #57 3 years ago

    Great game, awful review.
    I cant believe he is moaning about the tutorial at the start. OK its wobbling up and down but its also telling you what to do in the top left corner.
    Aswell this game costs about £4. You get more then a fair amount of content for that amount of money. Nitpicking about characters being based on the same models and the graphics engine ageing are sad little swipes to justify the typical EG low score.

    Imo this is easily a 9/10
    Edited by 1 at 10/07/09 @ 10:56

  • CordableTuna #58 3 years ago

    Ahem. I may have said some nasty things in the internets about the look of the characters in the past. I'd just like to announce I was wrong. I played the game yesterday and it turned out it looks charming and most importantly, feels like Monkey Island.
    Thank you.

  • WinterSnowblind #59 3 years ago

    @curtlikesmeat
    No Box version. If you buy it from Telltale, they'll send you a DVD once it's all released, but that's as close as you're going to get.

    I also have to say 7 is incredibly harsh.. The game is awesome, a lot of the flaws can be ignored by the fact it's an episodic series, and not a full priced retail game. Expecting amazing graphics is a little silly, although I do think the game looked very nice, particularly the animations and the voice acting really brings it to life.

  • stephen #60 3 years ago

    Anyone notice the shrine to "Nor Treblig" in the voodoo lady's shack? :D

  • roz123 #61 3 years ago

    yeh, seen a turtle shell that looks like the thing you revive from "the dig" aswell

  • WinterSnowblind #62 3 years ago

    Speaking of references, again in the Voodoo shack, Jimmy Two Teeth is one of the dead animals hanging upside.
    Poor Jimmy.

  • badoli #63 3 years ago

    Sorry to rain on ur parade, boys, but i just come back from hating the demo. That game is nothing like the real thing. All i could see was a badly written game trying too hard to score on two of my most beloved games. The humor was not just far from the originality of the original, i would barely call it humor. The characters are awefully personlized (Why is Elaine such a wimp? She was so cool in the old games!) and the animations are very weak (What's wrong with Guybrush's arms? Has LeChuck broken them?). Speaking of broken: The user interface is unnecessary complicate. Why fixing something that's not broken? I have the feeling i make twice as much clicks as in the old games... Nah, this won't revive the ol' adventure games corpse, it's just more clear why it's dead...