Tales of Monkey Island

Telltale Games' spate of regularly updated, episodic games, like the Sam & Max revamp and the newer Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, has brought the seemingly outdated point-and-click adventure genre from fading obscurity back to... at least the modern consciousness, if not blockbuster success. Telltale is crafting a cache of gaming sitcoms, and I completely approve.

The company's latest adventurous outing revives the classic Monkey Island franchise with a fresh set of five episodes in Tales of Monkey Island. The first, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, keeps the same sporadic, pun-laden humor, and spot-on voice acting of the previous point-and-click adventures, but adds in improved mouse controls and updated graphics. For long-time Monkey Island fans, Narwhal is exactly what you've been waiting for.

Like almost every other Telltale and LucasArts adventure game, failure is not an option. Your choices never lead to an untimely death, and Tales' cartoony look makes it easy to immediately figure out what objects you can and can't interact with in order to proceed. And the developers added options that make getting around the game's Flotsam Island setting quick and painless; when you leave town, you can automatically warp to any point of interest in the surrounding jungle that you've previously visited.

An adjustable hint system also keeps the game fast-paced. If you want to go through the game completely on your own, you can turn it off, but if you'd like a little guidance when you get stuck, Tales throws in the occasional clue. The help should be more than adequate for those who might otherwise get frustrated with the leaps in logic you occasionally have to make to stay on track. And that lets you experience what's most important about the game: the writing.

Tales rewards you for watching carefully and paying attention to small details, without making you feel like you're playing through an overly scattershot adventure. But, while I was occasionally frustrated searching for an answer, as soon as I figured it out, the solution always felt completely obvious.

It's just one episode, so you can get through this first chapter in a single, three-hour sitting. With four monthly episodes on the way, though, it feels like just the right amount of piratey-goodness. But perhaps most importantly, Tales retains its timeless humor. The silly plot and horrible puns will be just as groan-inducing years from now as they are today. It may not have the immediate replay value of a multiplayer shooter, but like every Monkey Island game, after you've played through once, you'll want to revisit the game again sometime soon. Whether or not you've ever experienced Monkey Island's ridiculous puzzles and eccentric characters, this is a great opportunity to explore the reemerging world of adventure gaming.

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