Rock, Paper, Shotgun

LeChuck Me: Monkey Island Returns

By Alec Meer on June 1st, 2009 at 5:31 pm.

Shock! Classic comedy-adventure Monkey Island is coming back – twice. First up, we’ve got a remake of the original Secret of Monkey Island, complete with new graphics and – ooh, controversial – voicework. Then, Telltale (who handled the recent, divisive Sam & Max comeback series) will work with Lucasarts on five new gamettes, to be known as Tales of Monkey Island. Blimey. Hell just froze over, pigs flew, and the pope did his business in the woods. Details and some footage below.

This is sure to be met with equal parts utter joy and utter dismay, depending on folks’ fandom/puritan balance. Clearly this is the tip of the iceberg, however – read the bit at the end of the below press release, in which Lucasarts claim to have other surprise resurrections of their olden franchises waiting in the wing. It’s like the last 15 years didn’t happen… No mention of Tim Schafer being involved, alas, but Ron Gilbert has been involved in, at the very least, a consultancy sense. To celebrate the announcement, he’s just posted a long making of piece for the original SOMI.

More details on the remake on its official site here, and on the Telltale games here.

Here’s a trailer for Telltale’s new series:

There’s also this making of docco for the remake, which features Ron Gilbert hisself, amongst other Lucasarts alumni:

Finally, a very long press release:

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif – June 1, 2009 – LucasArts today announced that the original hilarious pirate adventure is back, with two new projects underway based on the classic Monkey Island franchise. Beginning in just a few short weeks, Telltale will premiere the Tales of Monkey Island™ game series, delivering a completely new epic storyline and swashbuckling flair that will unfold across five monthly episodes on PC and WiiWare™. The Monkey Island celebration continues later in the summer when LucasArts publishes The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition, a completely re-imagined version of the first game in the series that adds updated high definition graphics, a re-mastered musical score, and full voiceover to the classic adventure game originally launched in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be made available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC.

Today’s announcement represents a new partnership between LucasArts and digital entertainment pioneers Telltale who are crafting new experiences for today’s audiences with engaging stories delivered through regular monthly episodes. Tales of Monkey Island is developed by Telltale, whose team includes designers and artists who worked on all of the previous Monkey Island games. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is being developed internally by LucasArts, the company that started it all with the original Monkey Island games.

“We couldn’t be any more excited about bringing Monkey Island to today’s gamers — both in our special edition of the original classic, and through our collaboration with Telltale on the episodic series,” said LucasArts’ President Darrell Rodriguez. “We can’t wait for Guybrush Threepwood and LeChuck to return to gamers’ screens.”

About Tales of Monkey Island
Telltale’s Tales of Monkey Island brings the adventures of pirate Guybrush Threepwood into a new era with an explosive storyline that becomes deeper and more entangled during the course of the five-episode saga. While battling his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush accidentally unleashes an insidious voodoo pox that threatens to transform the buccaneers of the Caribbean into unruly pirate monsters. Players will experience the humor, romance, and swashbuckling action the Monkey Island games are famous for and unravel an insidious plot which is revealed across the course of the series. Tales of Monkey Island is set to premiere on PC and WiiWare in the coming weeks.
“The Monkey Island series set the standard for storytelling and character development in games,” said Telltale CEO Dan Connors. “The next several months should be filled with all kinds of surprises as we continue the dramatic stories of Guybrush, Elaine and LeChuck. We are happy to be working with LucasArts to make this happen.”

Telltale has posted a video preview and screenshots today at http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland, and has opened up pre-orders at this site.

About The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
This summer, LucasArts will release The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition via Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 and for PCs.
Back by popular demand, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition faithfully re-imagines the internationally-acclaimed classic game (originally released in 1990) for original and new audiences alike. The development team at LucasArts is bringing the game into the modern era with all-new HD graphics, a re-mastered musical score, full voiceover, and an in-depth hint system has been added to help players through the game’s side-splitting puzzles. Purists will also delight in the ability to seamlessly switch between the updated HD graphics and the original’s classic look.
The game’s twisty plot leads hero, Guybrush Threepwood, on a hilarious quest throughout the fabled Monkey Island. Tales of pirate wealth attract Guybrush, who lands at the port of Mêlée with high hopes, no money and an insatiable desire to become a pirate. If the player is clever enough, Guybrush will win the confidence of Mêlée’s established pirates and soon find himself blown by the winds of fate toward Monkey Island — a storied isle whose name alone chills the bones of even the most bloodthirsty buccaneers.
More information about The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition can be found at the official website, www.MonkeyIslandSpecialEdition.com.
These efforts are just the start of LucasArts’ new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises. In addition to these new Monkey Island projects, LucasArts recently revealed that the classic adventure game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (originally released in 1992) is included as an unlockable bonus in the Wii™ version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, set to be released on June 9. Additional announcements are forthcoming.

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139 Comments »

  1. 01/06/2009 at 17:35 Nick says:

    That pic doesn’t look like Guybrush much =/

  2. 01/06/2009 at 17:36 Psychopomp says:

    OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

  3. 01/06/2009 at 17:37 Luomu says:

    High-def remake for PC and Xbox 360 but Tales of Monkey island for PC and Wiiware? What sense does this make?

    Well, maybe some technical sense. Telltale’s 3D engine is already proved on PC and Wii, while a new 2D game is maybe easier built for PC/360.

  4. 01/06/2009 at 17:38 Lobotomist says:

    Shave my legs and call me grandma!

  5. 01/06/2009 at 17:39 BlazerKnight says:

    Tim Schafer doesn’t seem to be involved.. but then we have the reputable Telltale Games.. yes, equal parts utter joy and utter dismay, indeed!

  6. 01/06/2009 at 17:41 Dracko says:

    Eh, could work.

    The Monkey Island series wasn’t all that funny past the first one, and really took a dip with the fourth iteration, and I can’t necessarily see it benefiting from yet another series of sequel being further removed from the core comedic conceit of the first one.

    Any word on who’s doing the voicework? Chances are there will be an option to mute it anyway.

  7. 01/06/2009 at 17:41 RLacey says:

    *squeels with joy*

  8. 01/06/2009 at 17:43 Smee says:

    As long as they get Dominic Armato, this could be really good.

  9. 01/06/2009 at 17:44 Bigfoot_King says:

    never got to play the original since it was before my gaming started yet this is one game i’ve always wanted to play

  10. 01/06/2009 at 17:44 Blather Blob says:

    That video on the Telltale site left me pretty cold, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m really excited about the remake though!

  11. 01/06/2009 at 17:45 Freelancepolice says:

    “Smee says:

    As long as they get Dominic Armato, this could be really good.
    ”

    quoted for truth. Glad these will coexist as seperate entities. Please bring MI2 and 3 to XBLA as well…. but not 4

  12. 01/06/2009 at 17:46 RLacey says:

    ^ they do have Armato onboard. For both the remake and the new series.

  13. 01/06/2009 at 17:47 The Hammer says:

    Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

    Excellent news!

  14. 01/06/2009 at 17:47 Nick says:

    Huh, just watched the making of video.. “we even did sketches of him with a beard..” what, like in Monkey Island 2? Revolutionary.

  15. 01/06/2009 at 17:48 James G says:

    This gets a nervous grin, although oddly I’m a bit more excited by the High Def remake, rather than Telltale’s attempts. Perhaps this does indicate that all fans of a game really want is the same game made over and over again.

    I’d have prefered a certain ‘Deathspank’ developer been given the reins for ‘tales’ but it seems that he at least got a chance to speak to the devs: http://grumpygamer.com/8280380 (He also gives a bit of insight into his recent re-play of Monkey Island)

    Monkey Island was in many way a formative game of mine. I began a long running love of the graphic adventure, and was something that firmly cemented me in the computer, rather than the console, side of things. I still remember eagerly clutching my copy of Monkey Island II on the Amiga, as I poured over the box-art.

  16. 01/06/2009 at 17:48 demonarm says:

    WTF

    This, gentlemen, has me overwhelmed. It bloody better be good, too.

  17. 01/06/2009 at 17:51 Danfishblue says:

    Not really into adventure games.

    I’ve never been good with puzzles since I always try logical things like kick the door down or use the key on door instead of doing crazy things like combining the key with a 2×4, the cat and the moon to create a time machine.

  18. 01/06/2009 at 17:54 Ginger Yellow says:

    “This gets a nervous grin, although oddly I’m a bit more excited by the High Def remake, rather than Telltale’s attempts”

    Likewise, although I’m willing to give Telltale the benefit of the doubt for now. I really, really liked the Strong Bad games. Their others, not so much.

    Any more word on the precise nature of Gilbert’s involvement? I thought he and LucasArts weren’t on the best of terms these days.

  19. 01/06/2009 at 17:54 RLacey says:

    I wonder if this is the gaming equivalent of another Star Wars film – if the new games aren’t superb there’ll be hell to pay…

  20. 01/06/2009 at 17:55 Tonamel says:

    What Psychopomp said.

    Also, OMG.

  21. 01/06/2009 at 17:55 Stupoider says:

    Wow! And only a matter of days after I finished the first 3 games. <3 I love you, RPS.

    I was hoping they would go back to the cartoony look of Monkey Island 3, though. :(

  22. 01/06/2009 at 17:55 Sal says:

    loading DOSBox as i type…oh yeah, i think i wet myself.

    Side note: Does this mean lucas will re-lunch older games too? Like, um, X-wing?

  23. 01/06/2009 at 17:57 MrMud says:

    monkey island is great, but honestly telltale are a little uneven in their stuff. Some things like Abe Lincoln must die is great but other stuff, not quite so much.

  24. 01/06/2009 at 17:58 James G says:

    @Ginger Yellow

    From his blog I got the impression that it was mainly just courtesy chats with the devs, and a bit of informal advice.

  25. 01/06/2009 at 17:59 Guto says:

    OMG! Monkey Island is easily my favorite series of all-time, and Telltale is the best adventure game company since LucasArts stopped making ‘em, so I’m pretty excited for these new releases =D

  26. 01/06/2009 at 18:00 CMaster says:

    I’m nervous that the new games would be as unfunny as the 4th one. Also, while moneky island was great, isn’t it honestly time to retire Guybrush now? He’s rich, sucessful and getting towards middle age.

    @Sal – ScummVM is a much better way to play the MI series (and all old Lucasarts adventures) than DOSBox.

  27. 01/06/2009 at 18:04 Cooper says:

    A remake of the original. Maybe, now, I might be bothered to play it… Yes, that’s right. I’ve never played it. Green pen letters to the usual address.

  28. 01/06/2009 at 18:05 rocketman71 says:

    Nice about the remake, not so sure about Telltale’s new series.

    Also.. PC and.. Wii Ware?!?!

  29. 01/06/2009 at 18:06 IvanHoeHo says:

    Exicted! But let’s hope that the engine’s actually capable of facial expressions by the time of release.

  30. 01/06/2009 at 18:06 Sisyfos says:

    I’m amazed about how faithful the special edition is to the original. The fact that you can switch seamlessly back and forth between the old and the new game is really cool.

  31. 01/06/2009 at 18:13 Tworak says:

    Well, then… nice.

  32. 01/06/2009 at 18:14 Serondal says:

    waiting for new version of Grim Fandango

    BTW Telltale made a series of Strong Bad adventure games which were EXTREMLY funny and true to the series. I wouldn’t be to worried that whatever the produce won’t be funny based on this track record along. Then again it may just be that Strongbad is funnier than Monkey Island ;)

    Personally love the pictures in the closet.

  33. 01/06/2009 at 18:15 Nick says:

    “Also.. PC and.. Wii Ware?!?!”

    That has happened with Strong Bad as well. Not sure about Sam & Max.

  34. 01/06/2009 at 18:18 Xercies says:

    Am I 7 years old again?

    Man I had a great grin on my face for that trailer but like everyone else I’m more excited about the remake(god damn I hate being a hypocrite) then the telltale one. I’ve heard not so many good things about Sam and Max so am a bit wary. Also without Tim on it how can it possibly still have Monkey Island humour?

  35. 01/06/2009 at 18:21 OUTRAGEOUS says:

    this is outrageous, the remake looks like absolute shit. I’m not even taking the sequel in consideration.

    The first monkey island is fine as it is. The remake is unnecessary and shit-looking.

    RAGE

  36. 01/06/2009 at 18:22 JohnArr says:

    LeChuck sounded shit. If they can get Armato they can get whoever played LeChuck in COMI. Unless he’s dead now, er.

  37. 01/06/2009 at 18:23 SuperNashwan says:

    Seeing that I don’t think the original is diminished in any way because of its dated graphics, and the voice acting in that ‘making of’ was pretty Saturday-morning-cartoon, I can’t say this excites me in the least. As for the episodic series, it’s just not going to be Monkey Island without the same people writing the jokes, is it?

  38. 01/06/2009 at 18:23 Thirith says:

    I always liked the second Monkey Island game better than the first. Including the ending. I think I’m pretty much in a minority with this, though.

  39. 01/06/2009 at 18:23 Downloads_Plz says:

    Oh my God.

    x1000

  40. 01/06/2009 at 18:26 Fede says:

    Oh, cool, we should get more remakes :D

    Hopefully also Telltale will do a good work, but if they don’t we still have the remake :P

  41. 01/06/2009 at 18:26 skizelo says:

    It’s a shame that Ron Gilbert’s not on board: it would be nice to see the beginning he planned after LeChuck’s Revenge’s finale. And to insure that the game’s, you know, good.
    And it’s good to see LucasArts doing something with the gold in its back-catalog, and I hope they continue the trend with games I don’t own already (like Dig and Zak McKracken). Don’t really know why they’re gilding it with new graphics, but hey, a re-release is a re-release.
    And Thirth, I prefer the second one as well. It’s a thing of beauty in every aspect.

  42. 01/06/2009 at 18:28 Pani says:

    I was hoping they’d use cell-shaded for future monkey islands, after seeing Wind Waker I always thought that cell shading was born for monkey island.
    Ah well, I’m just pumped they’re doing another game. This is a definite purchase for me!

  43. 01/06/2009 at 18:32 JohnArr says:

    Earl Boen! That’s the chap. Find him and hire him please Telltale or I’ll assume you’re actively trying to poo all over the brand.

  44. 01/06/2009 at 18:35 two_cents says:

    The remake does look awful indeed. I never liked the look and feel of Monkey Island 3 (and 4, then), when they made the character much younger, much “lol-ish”, cartoon-ish. He seemed decently an adult in 1 & 2, and it added to the fun. Adult as in “let’s play an adult, with a beard, and all”. I have nothing against making a remake, but they chose to keep the “Monkey Island 3 character”, and I think it is a deep mistake.

  45. 01/06/2009 at 18:37 Markoff Chaney says:

    Excellent comments, James G, and mirrored pretty heavily here as well. I look forward to the remake not because I feel Secret needs to be remade but I think it can be a good way to introduce some people to a franchise that helped define a genre. Here’s to hoping that the Telltale games follow the StrongBad mold, as I enjoyed them quite a bit more than the Sam and Maxes. I’m also hoping the execution is as good as the idea.

  46. 01/06/2009 at 18:38 ...hmm... says:

    cool, this is like them reissuing epic olden albums and then kids getting into it and reviving the music scene or something.
    didnt that happen with ska several times?

  47. 01/06/2009 at 18:41 cali746 says:

    Aaaargh!

    They removed the “Play loom” badge on the pirate’s jacket in the bar… Call me “fanatic” but it worries me for the spirit behind the special edition.

  48. 01/06/2009 at 18:44 Dr. Nerfball says:

    Umm… yeah, not sure i’m okay with this. If it’s good then all is fine and well, if it’s not, then I shall weep for all of todays younglings who gain the impression that Monkey island was “meh, a’ight” or whatever they say in this day and age.

    In other news: God damnit Telltale! Don’t destory what few happy memories remain of my teenage years!

  49. 01/06/2009 at 18:45 Smurfy says:

    So will the originals finally be on GOG now?

  50. 01/06/2009 at 18:46 Sabre says:

    Cool! Excuse me whilst I preorder immediately.

    I hope they remake LeChuck’s Revenge as well. Curse of Monkey Island has graphics and artistic direction that can easily stand the test of time and thus only ever needs updates to keep it compatible (thank you ScummVM), but Monkey Island 2 is in the same boat as Monkey Island 1, and deserves similar treatment.

    The new voices are strange, but I have no doubt we will get used to them; same deal with the transition between the three sets of voices used between Sam & Max Hit the Road, the cartoon series and the Telltale series. Its good they got Dominic Armato in though. He is Guybrush.

    Nevertheless, it is absolutely fantastic to see Telltale and LucasArts co-operating. The two could go really far together if they pool their resources.

    Now, can LucasArts be persuaded to reinstate Sam & Max: Freelance Police from their vaults of despair….

  51. 01/06/2009 at 18:47 Dain says:

    Murray.

    Murray.

    Murray.

    Murray.

    Please?

    That is all.

    Also yay for the return of the Guybrush beard.

  52. 01/06/2009 at 18:47 Dzamir says:

    OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

  53. 01/06/2009 at 18:48 aukondk says:

    Looking forward to the remake certainly, but where does this leave the fanmade speech project? They’ve just passed the 25% mark. I guess that could be for the peeps that don’t like the new ui
    Interesting that the HD stuff just sits on top of the original game engine, only difference is the UI, you can even flick between the old and new gfx if you wanna stay retro.

    I’m a bit meh about the Telltale games, perhaps MI4 has just made me a bit jaded about new MI stories

  54. 01/06/2009 at 18:50 pkt-zer0 says:

    Ugh, hideous 3D. Will they never learn?

    The remake looks fairly decent, though.

  55. 01/06/2009 at 18:51 subedii says:

    I propose that “OUTRAGEOUS” fights like a dairy farmer.

  56. 01/06/2009 at 18:52 clovus says:

    When the Wii first came out I was hoping it would create an Adventure Game Renaissance. The Wii-mote finally makes the point-and-click gameplay work on a console. AGs seem like the natural step from the casual “Party” games that most Wii owners enjoy. Good AGs don’t require twitch skills or even fast thinking. It just seemed like the Wii was perfect.

    However, I don’t think that’s happened. I’m not sure how well “Zack and Wiki” have done, but there really haven’t been a bunch of good AGs for the Wii. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine that these new Monkey Island episodes will start the revolution.

    I am excited to be able to play an updated version of the original Monkey Island though. I think my first Monkey Island was 3. I somehow just missed the whole Monkey Island thing. I guess the Sierra “Quests” just took up too much time and what little money I had.

  57. 01/06/2009 at 18:55 Stupoider says:

    @Subedii: How appropriate, you fight like a.. what was it now.. horse? No.. sheep? Nooo.. to hell with it! I am rubber, you are glue!

  59. 01/06/2009 at 18:58 jalf says:

    So they’re actually admitting they dropped the ball over the last 15 years? This could be good.

    And yeah, I just found the piece on grumpygamer.com too before coming here. Was a nice read.

  60. 01/06/2009 at 18:59 Vandelay says:

    I thought I was the one in minority with preferring the first over the second. But I’m certain I am in a very select group of people who think the third is the best (possibly because it was the first one I played.) I actually thought the majority of the fourth was ok, except for the infuriating Monkey Kombat sections.

    A continuation by Tell Tale I’m skeptical about. Never liked the look of the new Sam and Max games (played Abe Lincoln Must Die and thought it was ok, but it was supposed to be the best by a long way,) Wallace & Gromit didn’t have Peter Sallis and I hadn’t heard of Strong Bad until Telltale start making games from them. I get this horrible feeling from their games that they are exceptionally easy, with Dreamfall-esque puzzles and lacking the quality story. I can’t really imagine this being any different.

    The remake on the other hand could be promising. It looks exactly like the original, just with the voice actors that were used later in the series. I can’t really see how anyone can complain about that.

  61. 01/06/2009 at 18:59 Carra says:

    I remember that Lucasarts said that they won’t release another adventure this decade. They lied!

    But seeing how I like these new Sam & Max seasons and I loved the first two Monkey Island games I’ll get my hopes up.

  62. 01/06/2009 at 19:03 subedii says:

    @ Stupoider: I’m shaking, I’m shaking!

  63. 01/06/2009 at 19:09 Serondal says:

    @Vandelay I’ve watched Strong Bad E-mails since they first started putting them up and I can tell you the adventure games they released are SPOT ON the origonal content with perfect voice acting (of course they used the origonal actors so that isn’t much) the jokes were perfect, the game wasn’t too easy or too hard, it was just right so you could enjoy the story without getting stuck for an hour trying to figure out a puzzle that made no sense any way. The graphics weren’t mind blowing but they fit the content perfectly along with several collection based objectives like finding cards and collecting them (Adam Sessler would love that ;P)

  64. 01/06/2009 at 19:10 MikeBiggs says:

    The games might (and I hope they will) be quite good.

    But if I’m honest I just want to see the original games sold on a decent download site! Bring on GOG!

    After all, surely LucasArts want to take our money?!

  65. 01/06/2009 at 19:12 Nayon says:

    I love the MI games but both the telltale game and the remake look pretty awful and low-budget to me. The graphics on the remake look like bad casual games and the voice acting is like bad american cartoons, while the new game has terrible animations. Unfortunate.

  66. 01/06/2009 at 19:15 VelvetFistIronGlove says:

    JohnArr says:

    Earl Boen! That’s the chap. Find him and hire him please Telltale or I’ll assume you’re actively trying to poo all over the brand.

    Earl Boen? Did he do the voice of LeChuck in CoMI? I only know him as the psychiatrist from the (and the only character other than Arnie to appear in all 3) Terminator films.

    I’m really excited about the remake, not so much for the graphics as for the musical update (I really want high quality MI music!), and I expect the speech will be quite good.

    I’ve also given Telltale the benefit of the doubt (and some money) and preordered their episodes. While Sam & Max were a bit pants, I enjoyed the first two Wallace & Gromit episodes quite a bit, so I still have hope Telltale will not ruin The Legacy of Monkey Island™.

    The graphics on the remake look like bad casual games and the voice acting is like bad american cartoons, while the new game has terrible animations

    The graphics on the original Monkey Island games weren’t great by contemporary standards, the voice acting was non-existent, and it had terrible animations. They didn’t stop it being great.

  67. 01/06/2009 at 19:17 yxxxx says:

    Now this is news.

    Left for dead 2 is coming out November 17th

  68. 01/06/2009 at 19:17 Carra says:

    And why doesn’t Lucasarts sell their old adventure games in their shop? I’d love to spend a few bucks on Grim Fandango.

  69. 01/06/2009 at 19:19 Serondal says:

    I just wish someone would take over the Lesiure Suit Larry titles and start making good ones again. The old games were Adventure game with a bit of sex in them, now the new games are Sex games with a BIT of adventure in them, that formula doesn’t work ! I loved the one with Passioante Patty :P

  71. 01/06/2009 at 19:33 Reverend Speed says:

    NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH. SPEND MORE MONEY ON ANIMATION LUCAS IT’S WHAT YOU’RE GOOD FOR HOLY SHIT GUYS!!

  72. 01/06/2009 at 19:55 Bohan says:

    Incredible. I just ubercame.

  73. 01/06/2009 at 20:12 Spazmonkey says:

    From Ron Gilbert’s site:
    “This next year is going to be very interesting. Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schafer all have games coming out. Someone check the scriptures. Might be a good time to start hording canned goods.”

  74. 01/06/2009 at 20:16 Mika says:

    Monkey Island 1-3 are my favourite games of all time. But I can’t say I’m terribly excited about these new games.

    Telltale game seems to be about as unfunny as Escape and looks just about as crappy as well. And the remake also has hideous graphics. The voice acting seems to be quite decent at least.

  75. 01/06/2009 at 20:21 JKjoker says:

    nice, but the voice acting doesn’t sound as good as MI3′s greatness, i hope they work a little more on that, the excellent voice overs and sound turned a good game into a gem

  76. 01/06/2009 at 20:51 Rei Onryou says:

    Yay. Only good things can come from this. We need more insult sword fighting!

  77. 01/06/2009 at 20:58 VelvetFistIronGlove says:

    I’d rather not see any more insult sword-fighting. It was great in MI1, because it was completely unexpected. It was sensibly not repeated in MI2. MI3 introduced an unfunny, unchallenging variation, and MI4 just parroted that.

    Let’s see them come up with new, funny, jokes rather than just tired rehashes of MI in-jokes.

  78. 01/06/2009 at 21:20 Baris says:

    I wish there was a way to make all the hopelessly cynical posts disappear so that we can roll around in our joy without the people who hate everything bringing it down momentarily.

    Also, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Monkey Island!

  79. 01/06/2009 at 21:26 Igor Hardy says:

    That’s all excellent news on one hand, but… on the other, The Monkey Island Speech Project which I was part of for many months now becomes immediately pointless.

  80. 01/06/2009 at 21:52 pauleyc says:

    Three days of pain after endodontic therapy (aka Route Kanal), a crappy weekend and working late today – all a distant memory now…That remake looks absolutely brilliant.

  82. 01/06/2009 at 22:06 Jon K says:

    I am so incredibly thrilled for both of these. I wasn’t sure about the look of the new one until I saw the video, but it looks pretty damn good. The re-make is so faithful it’s OBSCENE, and the voices for both are perfect. Armato IS Guybrush.

    (While others have criticised the sequels, I thought MI2 was the best, with the first and third games joint second).

    While I have my concerns about an episodic Monkey Island, the fact that I thought this day would never come makes me absolutely THRILLED.

  83. 01/06/2009 at 22:07 Wulf says:

    The last great Monkey Island for me was Lechuck’s Revenge, as a fan of the series, I could just see what was lost from Curse of and onwards. The awesomeness of Threepwood was replaced by creepy blond turban-head kid, he of reverse aging.

    I really liked the Telltale video, so much. The LucasArts video goes on about how Guybrush ‘evolved’, but they just butchered his look over time, not evolved it. The Telltale approach is to basically say; okay, everything after II sucked, let’s toss all that ouut the window and try to create a stylised 3D version of our own based on II, ignoring the creepy turban kid that followed.

    And I say good for them.

    The Guybrush they present really feels like the Guybrush from the second game, he feels like the Gilbert Guybrush. Those Telltale guys really do care about their source material, and to me, that’s the most promising video of the two. Though having the original graphics of Monkey Island plus voice overs is nice, providing I can turn creepy turban-head kid off, like they claim.

  84. 01/06/2009 at 22:10 a says:

    I don’t know guys. Part of me wants to squeal with glee and part of me wants to mention Deus Ex, Fallout, Thief and hell, MI4. =(

  85. 01/06/2009 at 22:20 Pizen says:

    Let me be the first to say:

    Yes.

  86. 01/06/2009 at 22:21 Pod says:

    It looks worse than the original. The sprites seem to slide around now. Still, at least they left in the old art, so I’ll get to play the old game with Dominic Armatos voice and that. I wonder who’s voicing Elaine?

    Alsoalso: I’m very suprised Gilbert likes it. Then again, he has just been living off MI’s fame for the last 20 years and doesn’t skip a beat when the chance to bring it up arises.

  87. 01/06/2009 at 22:24 LionsPhil says:

    Well, Telltale continue to ruin everything that was once good about PC adventure gaming. That trailer was dreadful.

    As for remakes, insert Yahtzee here. And they seem to have blurred all the once-crisp-and-bright graphics, too.

    Also, this: “the voice acting doesn’t sound as good as MI3’s greatness…the excellent voice overs and sound turned a good game into a gem”

  88. 01/06/2009 at 22:40 sfury says:

    I’ve always wanted to play that! Instant switch between HD and olden version is pretty sweet feature too.

  89. 01/06/2009 at 22:55 Serondal says:

    Reminds me a bit of the Pirates remake they made years back. I figured they’d make the game realistic and awesome like Pirates Gold ! But the game ended up being cartoony and boring after a very short peroid of time. Then my brother stole it O.o but that is besides the point and not the developers fault.

  90. 01/06/2009 at 23:03 somnolentsurfer says:

    When I saw this I thought that was going to be the most exciting news of this E3 wrapped up. Then they announced L4D2, and now I can’t decide. I guess I trust Valve a bit more but, Monkey Island! I’d be preordering now if it was available on Steam, but I guess there’s not much chance of that from LucasArts? I’ll wait till the end of the show and see what happens…

    The remake looks awesome. I’ve not played any of Tell Tale’s games yet, but I’m confident that it has to be better than MI4.

    And, seconding a hope Murry!

  91. 01/06/2009 at 23:11 Pijama says:

    Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

  92. 01/06/2009 at 23:21 Golden says:

    Yeah. Praise be

    The best news since monkeys opted to turn into man

  93. 01/06/2009 at 23:45 Nero says:

    I hope the new Monkey Island doesn’t use the interface from Wallace & Gromit because I didn’t like it.

    Also, just bring the old games to GOG without the fancy new graphics..

  94. 01/06/2009 at 23:46 Monchberter says:

    More Lucasarts reboots?

    TIE Fighter please.

    Please
    Please
    Please

  95. 01/06/2009 at 23:56 Riaktion says:

    WOO HOO! Great news.

    Now can they deliver?.. I really really really really really really really really really hope so.

    Really.

  96. 02/06/2009 at 00:02 Bluepixie says:

    YEEEEEESSSSSS!!! *in true Napoleon Dynamite style*

  97. 02/06/2009 at 00:02 Serondal says:

    apes you mean

    Persoanlly I think they need to stick George Lucas in a room with the DCS team for a few months and have them make an extremly realistic Tie Fighter simulation based on the depths of his imagination. Would be INSANE to have Track-Ir and be able to look around the cockpit and actaully click the buttons with the mouse. Launch from INSIDE a star destroyer and have to go through all the start up stuff , delatch your tie fighter from it’s docking clamp, fly down through the opening in the bottom of the star destroyer and then engage your targets with extremly skill (As a tie fighter is aparently extremly easy to destroy)

  98. 02/06/2009 at 00:20 Robin says:

    Monkey Island SE: Not keen on the new art style (a bit German?), but being able to switch between new and original style at any time is excellent. The voice work also seems to fit much better than I had expected.

    Tales of Monkey Island: Telltale are risking becoming a bit of a sausage machine. This just looks a bit… stilted, from the trailer, compared to the bouncy and snappy (at its best) direction and animation of Sam & Max & Wallace & Gromit (which is a sex farce I never want to see, btw).

  99. 02/06/2009 at 00:30 lumpi says:

    “divisive”?

    I thought everyone but the most bitter Lucas Arts fans out there agreed that Telltale did an amazing job with the new Sam&Max episodes. And that comes from a huge (and usually more critical) fan of the original.

  100. 02/06/2009 at 01:08 Finn says:

    Wow, RPS just turned into an aint it cool news talkback…..
    Lighten up fellas.

  101. 02/06/2009 at 01:32 Ozzie says:

    Huh. This news has me stumped! What should I think about it?

    We get both a sequel and a remake of the original Monkey Island. Personally, I’m more excited about the remake!
    Why? Well, the voices actually. They sound pretty good, it’s the first time I laughed at many of the lines in the game. I always thought Monkey Island was amusing, but the voices make me laugh out loud!!

    The graphics are pretty close to the originals, but sometimes they look too slick, too…casual, perhaps?
    The lightning isn’t always the best and some parts of the scenery look badly drawn, like out of an overly bright and cutesy child’s book. And the animations…..couldn’t they have spared some more frames? Doesn’t look as fluid as it should.
    But else, not bad! And a live recording of the soundtrack, not bad either!

    About the new Telltale games. Well…..I trust Telltale, but…..how much will it be Monkey Island? Every Monkey Island sequel after the second one botched the coherency and vision a bit more. The third one messed up the relationship between Guybrush and Elaine, didn’t wrap up the ending of the second part in any satisfying way at all and changed the style of the humor. It was a great game, but a bad sequel.
    The fourth one brought more continuity errors in the mix (the back story of Herman, pfff!) and basically rehashed a lot of the old jokes. I had fun with it the first time around and atmospherically it was more true to the first part, but it further watered down the concept of Monkey Island.

    And now with the Telltale episodes? I fear that except being a story about pirates, set in the Caribbeans with a hero called Guybrush, a wife called Elaine and a villain called LeChuck there won’t be much more left of the orginal vision.

    It may just be another pirate’s tale. It may be a great game, but I doubt it will be a proper sequel. It couldn’t even be without ignoring the third and fourth part. In this regard, it can only make it worse. So why make another sequel?

    If LucasArts wants to show us that they switched to the light side, then how about they make something totally new, original, you know?

    Phew, this all sounds more negative than I actually feel. I think I shouldn’t worry about it and I really love to see a remake of the first installment! So, let’s see how it all turns out!! :-D

  102. 02/06/2009 at 01:36 Ozzie says:

    Oh, and what’s up with Guybrush’s hair on the LucasArts page!?!?!?

  103. 02/06/2009 at 02:23 Wulf says:

    The more I watch the Telltale trailer, the more I like it, for me it’s really classic Guybrush and that makes me feel so happy I get shivers. I admit, it sounds like MI2 Guybrush, but that was my favourite one of the lot anyway. The lines just exude that one’s personality, especially the carbonated beverage and seahag lines.

    I’m putting my faith in Telltale for this, because by golly it looks good. I know you’re reading this, so don’t disappoint me, Telltale! D:< After the incredible job you did with Strongbad, and seeing this trailer, I have my hopes up and I don’t want them dashed against the rocks of shilling despair.

    P.S.: Telltale, if you give us a wanted poster to vandalise any way we choose, you’ll get bonus points!

  104. 02/06/2009 at 02:36 M.P. says:

    I am SO with two_cents on the art style of MI3 – I read a rumour that Purcell did the concept art for the new Guybrush right before he quit, and I always imagined he was trying to torpedo them as he was jumping ship! :p

    The remake’s new art style does seem weird… might be cause it’s just a grainy Youtube vid but it’s like looking at the original characters through the bottom of a whisky tumbler: the glass refracts all sorts of nice shades of flesh-tone at you, but you can’t actually see the features on their faces! Vaguely reminds me of Kings Quest V, which was the first game I ever saw running in VGA, and you could tell the designers went all out with their fancy new 256-colour capabilities, but it was still only 320×200 so there wasn’t space for them to have various shades of skin-tone on someone’s face and still be able to draw a nose and eyes for them! :)

    Bit concerned by them saying they’re re-recording all the music… surely the original was all MIDI, so how can they “re-”record it? Or did the CD version come with recorded music? Will it be as responsive to the game as the original? Always thought the way the iMuse system changed the music to suit the gameplay was ingenious in how much it achieved out of a humble MIDI chip. The swamp scene in MI2, where you have all those rhythm tracks being gradually added as you row towards the voodoo lady still impresses me even after seeing it for 10s of thousands of times, both for how well-directed it is and by the economy of 1 guy with a Sound Blaster doing what would’ve taken a hundred times longer in terms of man-hours if you’d used real musicians (plus a guy recording them on a multitracking device that back then would’ve cost hundreds of thousands of $$$).

  105. 02/06/2009 at 03:59 Caiman says:

    M.P., you’re talking about General MIDI in effect which tries to be a catch-all for all the different playback devices. While the instruments themselves can sound more realistic on better devices, there’s no real way of mixing it properly so you often end up with it sounding really terrible. I usually preferred the old Adlib soundcard version for this reason.

    Nowadays the swamp scene in MI2 could be done easily with different variations on the track. The limiting factor would be space, which isn’t an issue anymore. Some games will also simply layer audio tracks together for the same effect. Of course if you’re using a live band it’ll cost a lot more.

  106. 02/06/2009 at 04:31 Ozzie says:

    Nah, M.P.s complain is valid, but only in the context of the second part. Monkey Island 1 didn’t use iMuse (at least not the DOS version), it had its premiere in Monkey Island 2.
    And you can’t recreate the effects easily with live recordings. Depending on the situation/location the iMuse system made it possible to change and (de)activate MIDI instruments, play different melodies, jump to another musical segments and fade it in with an interlude or change the dynamics. The swamp is a good example, an even better one is Woodtick.
    It’s really fascinating just to walk around and listen to the musical changes, to the rhythmic, melodical and instrumental variations.

    On the other hand, Monkey Island 3 had also moments where musical pieces faded subtly into each other, like the rollercoaster ride or Barbery Coast, despite its digital, non-MIDI nature.

  107. 02/06/2009 at 04:56 Angel Dust says:

    The remake looks pretty good but I don’t really care for Telltale’s games (the puzzles are weak and the writing variable in it’s quality) that much so I’ll probably give the new one, barring superlative reviews from a few trusted sources, a miss.

  108. 02/06/2009 at 04:59 Quests says:

    “Perhaps this does indicate that all fans of a game really want is the same game made over and over again.”

    im a huge fan of the 1st tho I love the 2nd more, and i couldn’t care less about the remake(which btw shows really bad animations), i want the new episodes, as they’re made by true veterans with the brainstorming help of Gilbert.

  109. 02/06/2009 at 07:15 toejam316 says:

    I’m so hard for the remake of Secret. Not so much the new Travellers Tales series though – No Schafer = Not the same, and I’ve honestly not enjoyed their other games that much. I do hope I’m wrong about this though, and I love them just as much as the others.

  110. 02/06/2009 at 07:37 Nico says:

    Finally they’ve done it! AWESOME!!!!!! :)

  111. 02/06/2009 at 07:40 Pemptus says:

    Jesus. That theme song always brings a nostalgic tear to my eye.

  112. 02/06/2009 at 09:13 ripclaw says:

    I really hope the special edition will work out, I loved the original. Also, I hope they didn’t overdo it with the music “modernisation”.
    Not sure I have high hopes for the “Tales of…”, looking at the youtube clip, what immediately put me off was the lack of facial animation of the characters. Even if their lines were funny, if that face stays more or less static with a moving mouthpiece, there’s not much comedy to be had from that.

  113. 02/06/2009 at 09:21 MonktonGaz says:

    I’ll definitely be having a crack at this one. But no Tim Schafer? That just makes me elicit a “wtf”.

    Now all I need to be complete is a third Tentacle game. And Kelly Brook.

  114. 02/06/2009 at 09:22 Ian says:

    I hope the episodes are better/funnier than what was in the trailer.

    Love Monkey Island though. <3

    “Is it a really EVIL looking doorstop?”

  115. 02/06/2009 at 10:51 Dracko says:

    I find a lot of the charm of the original and the way it communicates its comedy was very much part of its time, and I don’t think the over-the-top voice acting or the brighter look will do a lot to help it. Hell, from what I’ve seen, it actually all looks rather detrimental to it.

  116. 02/06/2009 at 11:47 Richard says:

    I read this post with great trepidation.

    I LOVE Monkey Island. I play all the old Lucas Arts back-catalogue adventures about three times a year (ScummVM on a PDA: the only thing it gets used for!)

    As to the point of remaking these games. Well, if they are done with care and respect, maybe.

    I was heart broken when LucasArts said they were not going to be publishing anymore adventures. Grim Fandango was the pinacle of sophisticated gaming in my mind (OK forget the horrible 3d keyboard movement. 3d with mouse clicks, please!)

    However the remastered MI1 looks superb. I hated the idea of a MI1 remake but this looks like it will hit the spot. I’ll buy it just for Dominic Armato.

    I haven’t played Telltales’ Sam n Max as the reviews were never very good. I kind of buried my head in the sand and pretended they didn’t exist. Not had a look at Strongbad either. May do now though.

    I’m a little skeptical about the episodic “Tales” we’ll have to see.

    But… I’m SOOOO excited…

    I’d love to see the genre injected with the quality that it deserves. Not so sure about 3d though. Grim Fandango looked amazing but nothing that couldn’t have been done in 2d, I’m sure (actually I would love to see a retro 2d remake of that!).

    What I’d really like is a return to the simple 2d interfaces and story telling at the player’s own pace. That will always be gaming heaven for me.

  117. 02/06/2009 at 12:27 roryok says:

    I’m very excited about the remastered version, and hoping they follow through with an Mi2 update. As for the telltale series though, I never liked Mi4 – the 3d put me off…

  118. 02/06/2009 at 12:37 Horza says:

    Maybe it’s just me being nostalgic but judging from the screenshots I think the original looks more “lively” (can’t come up with a better word) than the remake? Facial expressions etc.

  119. 02/06/2009 at 12:44 Adan Ova says:

    wow

    I have the original CD of one of the Monkey Island games…

    I think I will play it next week…

  120. 02/06/2009 at 12:48 jalf says:

    CD? Which MI is that?

    Also, my brother just found our old Monkey Island floppies. And as a bonus, the Brutal Football floppies were in the box too!

    About the MI remake, I’m impressed at how close they’re sticking to the original. It must be tempting to change a few puzzles and such. Glad they know better than that.

    Also, whether or not the new MI games are any good, I think the significance of this announcement is that LucasArts have stopped pretending that the IP’s don’t exist. The fact that they’re willing to at least *try* to revive these IP’s is a huge improvement over the last decade.

  121. 02/06/2009 at 12:49 W.Yutani says:

    Again I’m excited, but not quite sure about the art style. At the very least Guybrush had a wonderful fresh faced innocence (or more likely naivety) in his original pixelated form. They’ve tried to make him look a bit too ‘piratey’ They’ve missed the flooring inspector side of him.

  122. 02/06/2009 at 13:04 Bob Bobson says:

    I love the Monkey Islands (except for 4), I think they are brilliant but this doesn’t excite me. The original Monkey Island run through the ScummVM gives me everything I want from Monkey Island so I won’t be interested in a remake and more than I would a straight rerelease.

  123. 02/06/2009 at 13:15 Supertonic says:

    I’m having a nerdgasm. I’d even run windows for this, such is my love of Monkey Island. Trust me, the game’s in safe hands with Telltale (lots of ex lucas guys there). Sam and Max were loads of fun, strong bad was cool, can’t say I’m overly impressed by wallace and gromit but overall their record is good. I’ll be giving them my money.

  124. 02/06/2009 at 13:57 M.P. says:

    @Caiman: you can incorporate real recorded sounds into MIDI sequencers nowadays (although things like Logic are really multitrackers, not just sequencers) but you couldn’t back then. When you say “the old Adlib version”, do you mean in contrast to the later CD-version of the game? I only ever played the old MI1 so I don’t know what more the CD version did – did it have a recorded soundtrack played by real musicians as opposed to MIDI sounds?

    @ Ozzie: I’d forgotten about Woodtick! It really is the best example of what MIDI can achieve, and I remember thinking about how superior a method for making a properly context-sensitive VG soundtrack it is to having normal recorded music tracks when I was listening to that dude playing the MI2 theme tune on the piano (it was posted on RPS a few weeks ago). I was listening to the guy play the Woodtick theme and was half-expecting him to do the transitions from when you walked into different places, but then I realised how difficult these would be to do on a live instrument.

    It really is a shame that devs have pretty much abandoned MIDI composition in favour of huge orchestras. If Creative had half a brain it would give financial incentives to small devs to start doing that sort of thing again. MIDI chips on modern gaming soundcards aren’t that more advanced than they were back in MI days (MI2 sounds better on my Sound Blaster, but not by much) even though commercial applications of MIDI have really taken off – people these days can do with a Mac and the free bundled version of their sequencing software what 20 years ago you needed £5,000 worth of effects consoles to do. Games devs starting to use MIDI again on a big scale (not just small indie games, but the sort of AAA titles that would normally get a sweeping orchestral score) would give people an excuse to start buying high-end soundcards the way they spend on video cards (I’m sure 90% of people are happy with on-board sound even in a community like this).

    Rossignol’s EDGE article on game audio talked about some more of the cool things you can do with MIDI as opposed to static recorded tracks, but I didn’t feel he gave enough emphasis to how quickly most AAA devs dumped MIDI when CD technologies and the Playstation came about and allowed them to make “soaring symphonic scores” a back-of-the-box bullet point.

  125. 02/06/2009 at 14:01 Dragey says:

    I wasn’t keen on the recent Sam and Max episode style of gaming. I found it a bit too easy and didn’t waste enough of my life. I hope these Monkey Island ones live up to the extremely high standard everyone will be expecting, and dont fall where the new Sam and Max games did.

    Needless to say, despite my reserves, I dont think I have ever been so excited about anything in my entire life.

  126. 02/06/2009 at 15:19 Edweirdo says:

    I knew this would come back someday and I am very excited it has. I can’t wait to play it. However, I must admit, that while I loved Monkey Island and some of the other Lucas Arts games very much (Loom) it was Sierra’s Space Quest and King’s Quest that really got me into these types of games.

  127. 02/06/2009 at 16:11 Mike says:

    How appropriate, you fight like a cow.

  128. 02/06/2009 at 16:48 Guhndahb says:

    I hope Telltale can pull it off. I really like that gang and their dedication to the adventure genre, but their writing and puzzle design have never been close to the heyday of LucasArts. But that’s an awful lot to ask of any team. I’ll tolerate 3D if the writing is there.

    I haven’t played Strongbad yet but the Sam & Max chapters were okay. But I want a lot more than okay from Guybrush and co.

    @M.P.: Have you tried Virtual Canvas? It’s a software MIDI synth for PC that really blows Windows MIDI out of the water. I love playing my old DOS games through it.

    @Edweirdo: Same here. Kings Quest and Space Quest were the games that got me into the genre, and Sierra was even more important to me back in those days. But I admit the style of Lucasarts is of more interest to me these days…well unless I could have Gabriel Knight 4. :)

  129. 02/06/2009 at 17:37 Zkaka says:

    Wow. Just plain Wow.
    I feel like hugging someone.
    YAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  130. 02/06/2009 at 22:28 Super T says:

    i have an original 3.5 floppy demo of the first game that is for sale? any offers?

  131. 03/06/2009 at 01:37 MrSnoobs says:

    Magnificent, although Guybrush in the episodes of monkey island looks all wrong. That chinstrap HAS to go.

    Where’s my Day of the Tentacle remake?

  132. 03/06/2009 at 02:03 Meat Circus says:

    Can has a Monkey Island 2 Special Edition too please thankyou.

  133. 03/06/2009 at 16:16 Sabre says:

    Its odd that Earl Boen is voicing LeChuck in the Secret of Monkey Island remake, but from the trailer doesn’t appear to be doing the Tales of Monkey Island voicework. Perhaps the voice in the trailer is merely a placeholder, maybe they’ve not finished recording the lines.

  134. 04/06/2009 at 21:57 Adrian says:

    oh my god im really looking forward to the remake but i still think its the sadest thing ever that the first new monkey island game WITH 2d graphics is actually just a remake of the first one and for the second game they again use these ugle 3d graphics that totally ruined monkey island for me

  135. 07/06/2009 at 13:15 Unconvinced says:

    Sounds good, but TellTale games have ruined sam and max, and chances are they’re going to do the same to monkey island by applying their overpriced episodic gaming to it.

    Their hearts are in the right place, but face it, telltale games just can’t make good adventures games. (Probably because they keep splitting them up into episodes)

  136. 07/06/2009 at 15:13 Willem says:

    The TellTale Sam & Max games suck, and from the looks of it, so will the Monkey Island ones.

  137. 22/06/2009 at 21:17 Shazbut says:

    SEQUEL TO LOOM PLEASE GOD I WILL SELL MY FIRSTBORN

  138. 07/07/2009 at 16:29 Grog says:

    The only decent games TTG ever produced were the StrongBad games. However, it should be noted that the Bros. Chap were heavy contributors to the writing and puzzling of that series. The Chaps KNOW adventure games. The TTG writing staff haven’t a clue.

    I have ZERO (or ONE) hopes that this version of MONKEY ISLAND will satisfy a true adventure-gamer. They have failed in almost every attempt in the past.

    If I had not pirated their games, I’d feel quite the fool right now.

  139. 12/07/2009 at 05:00 Dude says:

    You guys are sort of dicks, huh?

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