Monkey Island 5 and 6

[LMan]

While the general feel of the graphics are right on the dot, they some times feel a bit rushed/cheap, with lack in detail and depth - especially depth. The controls are better than MI 4, but still not great. The best way to get around is to use the keyboard and mouse combine. Whatever happened to simple point-and-click-controls? Oh, right. They went 3D. :/

That sucks.

One great thing is that they've got pretty much the same cast of actors to do the voices! By this point I couldn't imagine Guybrush being done by anyone else other than Dominic Armato.

As I said, I've only gotten a couple of hours into the game, but I don't regret spending the $35 it cost me to buy it.

That's cool. (Though the Justin Franklin guy who does Guybrush on that fan speech project does a pretty damn good job to the point where I'd say sufficient).

Another important question: does it actually make you LOL? A lot?

And: are they over-over-relying on anachronisms and in-jokes, like in MI4? In other words: does it feel pirate-caribbean and is the content original?

[Makke]

Ok, I finished it in roughly five hours. So the episodes are feeling a bit short imo, but there are some good puzzles.

Another important question: does it actually make you LOL? A lot?

Yes, there are a few LOL-moments, mainly from dialog and a few of Guybrush's comments. But frankly, so far I feel the dialog was sharper in MI3 - only comparing the talkie versions.

That said, I think the new characters are good, and I think all in all it'll be a fun adventure. Mind you, I've so far only played 1/5th of the game, so it's really too early to make any conclusion. I do hope the later episodes are a bit longer though.

And: are they over-over-relying on anachronisms and in-jokes, like in MI4? In other words: does it feel pirate-caribbean and is the content original?

So far they haven't relied that much on in-jokes, but there are a couple of the usual pop-culture references (which I personally like). I did spot a complete re-use of one joke - a wordplay also used in MI3:

In MI3, when Haggis wants to cut off all Captain Rottingham's hair because of lice, Rottingham says "Let's not be too rash!" to which Guybrush replies "A rash? That's a bad sign." (or something very similar). The same wordplay is used in MI5, with a slight alteration.

[LMan]

Aha okay, thanks for the insight.

I'll guess I'll check it out sooner or later.

[rogerxy]

I completely agree with you Makke. While the controls are not that great (I started to click where I wanted to go because that felt natural) the game feels pretty good so far. It can't be worse then MI4 and I didn't expect so either...
A few LOL-moments as you said and the puzzle is at a "normal" level I think. Thinking that Telltales Sam n Max-games weren't that hard compairing to the old Lucasarts-adventures I don't think that MI5 will be that either.

I feel pretty relieved now when I've played the first part. It was pretty much what I was expecting, not better and (thank god) not worse

[Jan Lund Thomsen]

Incidentally, Secret of Monkey Island:Special Edition was released on XBLA yesterday.

Haven't played the original in ages, so it's like meeting an old friend again. Especially if you switch over to the old gfx/interface.

[Max Levin]

A review for a few chuckles: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/ ... key-Island

[Makke]

A review for a few chuckles: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/ ... key-Island

The reviewer does make good points, and I agree with pretty much all of it. I still find Tales of Monkey Island enjoyable, but not as absorbing as Monkey Island 2 (or a lot of other adventure games for that matter).

And in all fairness, my aged and more experienced mind is a lot harder to impress than that of my 12-year-old self, who played Monkey Island 2 back in the day. So a fair comparison is impossible.

That said: Monkey Island 2 rules!!!