I want to support this, and I’ll probably buy it if the price’s good enough, since I still get to play it with old graphics and voices… But the new graphics are terrible compared to the original.

I like the 3D one’s artstyle, though. Much better than MI4 or even MI3′s.

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I don’t mind the graphics, as I recently replayed LOOM on my PC and absolutely enjoyed it. The thing is, being a graphic designer I pay much attention to a game’s aesthetics and keeping the graphics of the remake old-style just for the sake of older fans is sad. The main issue in all adventure games is the story, followed by the puzzles, and these games excelled in that area. Keeping the same story but creating a whole new interface, 3d or not, remaking some of the puzzles or changing some would still make it great.

Most would disagree but, as many mentioned, Grim Fandango is my favorite game (yeah, of all time) and I’d long dreamed of it being remade. Its interface had nothing to do with SCUMM, the arrow keys moved the character rather awkwardly, but the story and setting was brilliant. I wouldn’t mind if a remake had the same camera angles, actually I’d prefer it not to. Nor would they have to keep the same dialogue word for word; that’s hardly a remake.

Think of movie remakes; they usually fail, either by attempting to be true top the original or going too far off. Fans of the original always get frustrated, whatever approach the director had to the remake.

If Lucasarts plans to treat this game as a test for future remakes, I’m afraid they’ll continue with the lazy approach of what they did here. Especially since there are people in the development team that were fans of the original, I’d expect them to approach this remake with a bolder vision.

The character’s hairstyle is totally irrelevant to how the game stands in comparison with its predecessor. If any of us who played the original games as children or youngsters try to compare them, it’s rather unfair. Everything we experience at such young ages is bound to evoke a feeling of nostalgia now we’re older. Anyone understands then that such comparisons are always unfair.

I’d like to see this as an opportunity for younger gamers to try this genre. Before the sterile, dead worlds of BAD Myst rip-offs killed it (I’m a Myst fan, but it’s been done too many times). Grim Fandango, The Monkey Island Series, Loom, Legend of Kyrandia, Obsidian, even Myst; these games had great stories, character (not characters) and new concepts for their times. Does this old-school remake sell it to a new audience or was a redesign necessary?

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http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/6530/guybr.png

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There’s a hugely-inflated scan of the MI2 box art here: http://mojoart.mixnmojo.com/original-art/lechucks-revenge/cover-art/lechucks-revenge_box_front_6498x8190.jpg

Telltale’s new look for the kid is growing at me. It harks back to what he was in MI2: a kid trying to pass for a grown up. Just look at the tiny goatee, how he heroically juts out his weak chin, the “fearsome” frown and “stern” look in his eyes! By comparison, the Guybrush of MI4&5 looked like a permanently-surprised minor character from the Garfield comic strip.

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I actually didn’t like the SoMI version, he never seemed to really learn anything from his experiences, the MI2:LR version was a breath of fresh air compared to that.

Look at it like Princess Bride. The SoMI version is like the original stable-hand Wesley, a dork, didn’t really say anything really intelligent, and he was relatively incapable of forming proper sentences around the woman he loved.

The MI2 version was like the progression of Princess Bride, Guybrush had grown up, much like Wesley had, because he’d been exposed to the World of pirates for a time. He picked up wit, a sense of flair, and understanding of the dangers involved, and the rather cavalier attitude that intelligent pirates have.

This was perfect evolution.

Then in CMI, they regressed the age of Guybrush and took all the things he learned away from him, he was SoMI Guybrush again. That would be like having the Princess Bride II set at a time when Wesley was a dorky stable-hand, and it wouldn’t really be very interesting at all. Just like CMI really wasn’t really interesting at all, to me at least.

I found the CMI Guybrush to be a stunningly dull and uninteresting protagonist. There, I’ve said it, I feel better.

The Tales of Monkey Island Guybrush is like the one of Monkey Island 2. He has his flair, his wit, his cavalier attitude in the face of danger (and doesn’t become a snivelling manbaby when onfronted by Lechuck, a la CMI), and he feels more like a character that’s grown, rather than one that’s become stuck in time, and unable to progress.

This is kind of why I’m hoping LucasArts won’t tamper with Lechuck’s Revenge, and that Telltale will continue making series with that Guybrush, because that, for me, is the iconic Guybrush. The Guybrush we should’ve had in both CMI and EMI. I’d love to see a revisionist history that throws CMI andEMI out the window, to be frank.

I’m appreciative of Telltale seeing what I see anyway, and giving Guybrush a future, instead of leaving him stranded in the past as some bizarre form of fan-service.

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And there is a season of episodic games being made by TellTale. All new stuff. All in 3D, using their usual engine.

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Er, and yay to new Monkey Island games!

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http://spudvisionblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/dawn-of-monkey-island.html

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