Excited! Nostalgic MI fan discovers Tales of MI!

[wannabe_pirate]

I could counter that with the last part of MI2, lechuck was always too quick for me. Still I like the game, Although I will give the whole game of TMI a playthrough and reserve judgement until then. Perhaps the demo I played is just a blip, quality-wise.

 

I was just pointing out my particularly intense hatred and bitterness over that little piece of the game.

 

Also, on the subject of DOTT, is ebay the best route? I think its finally time for me to play it as well.

[SyntheticGerbil]

I always liked the storyline of EMI even if it got a little wacky there in some parts. I liked what it was saying.

 

I know the biggest complaint is that it's just not well suited to Monkey Island, and I agree in some ways, but I still had fun.

 

Really just the graphics tend to be so shudderingly bad and the textures so awfully low-res in parts, that I tend to cringe when looking at the game, even if a lot of it is fun or engaging.

 

Maybe graphics just matter to me more than most.

[LordTrilobite]

The story is what bothered me the most.

[KestrelPi]

What bothered me the most at the time is that the three previous MI games seemed like really state of the art productions, you knew that you were playing something which had been REALLY polished (even when CMI had some budget problems), and by contrast EMI felt a little bit cheap. Even TMI (given that I've criticized Telltale's model in the past for leaving too little room for polish) out-does it in this respect.

 

The other bit was that I just didn't find the writing as funny, at all. The first 3 seemed effortless in this regard but EMI seemed like it was trying desperately to be funny and failing most of the time. At the time I remember convincing myself that the writing was funnier with subtitles... I was trying anything to get it to make me laugh. (for the record I think TMI is much funnier, but could still use some more time in the writing-oven.)

[Rosefull]

Wow, why am I supposed to hate this game again? Seriously, I am having the time of my life playing EMI right now. Maybe it's just because my expectations were so horribly low, but it's actually pretty good. Some of these jokes are right on the mark for me (I'd start posting quotes if I wasn't too lazy).

 

It's also a lot (a LOT) weirder than I remember it being the first time. I totally forgot about that whole space-time-marsh-of-doom thing where you meet yourself from the future, and about the Scumm-Bar-turned-Hawaiian-sushi-bar debacle, and a bunch of other stuff. It amuses me greatly.

[Snugglecakes]

What bothered me the most at the time is that the three previous MI games seemed like really state of the art productions, you knew that you were playing something which had been REALLY polished (even when CMI had some budget problems), and by contrast EMI felt a little bit cheap. Even TMI (given that I've criticized Telltale's model in the past for leaving too little room for polish) out-does it in this respect.

 

The other bit was that I just didn't find the writing as funny, at all. The first 3 seemed effortless in this regard but EMI seemed like it was trying desperately to be funny and failing most of the time. At the time I remember convincing myself that the writing was funnier with subtitles... I was trying anything to get it to make me laugh. (for the record I think TMI is much funnier, but could still use some more time in the writing-oven.)

 

All of the above and that whole Jambalaya Starbuccaneers debacle. And on a personal note: direct control.

[LordTrilobite]

Monkey Combat and the robot monkey was a really stupid idea though.

[jp-30]

I can safely say that TMI has better controls. Well, the mouse+keyboard controls. DO NOT use the mouse-only controls which, baffingly, the game tutorial defaults to.

 

I prefer mouse-only on TMI, so.. to each their own.

[GriswoldFanDan]

hi everyone... wel I have been thinking about getting a new deskop pc for a while now and having experienced a poor quality of gaming experience when i first bought TMI and ran it on my laptop, i decided that was enough to make me go out and get one...

 

so i did

 

and TMI looks great!

 

let the adventures begin

 

My initial impressions are awesome awesome... much more involved in the atmosphere than in EMI and feels like CMI so far..

 

wandering aimlessly around floxam island

[The Tingler]

I prefer mouse-only on TMI, so.. to each their own.

Only because you always have to have a glass of sherry grasped in your withered claw-like hand.

[Rosefull]

Monkey Combat and the robot monkey was a really stupid idea though.

 

It was stupid, but in an almost epic/funny sense. Like, when I was in the middle of the giant robot battle, it hit me: "I'm in a giant monkey robot, battling with a voodoo-enchanted stone statue, in the ancient language of the monkeys, in a 17th-century pirate game. It made me laugh. I kind of enjoyed it, going into it knowing how silly it was.

[Gabez]

I nearly fell off my chair in wonder and amusement when the giant monkey head exploded to reveal a monkey robot. Mind you I was 13 at the time.

 

Looking back now, it's almost as if they were blowing up the sacred cow, which I admire, and which is neccesary to do if you're going to keep a series alive and developing. A lot of people at the time said things like "that's not Monkey Island," but I think now what is Monkey Island has become more fluid and a matter of creative interpretation.

 

I also didn't mind Monkey Kombat, and in fact rather enjoyed it. Mind you I was 13 at the time. Now the idea bores me a little.

[Rosefull]

I nearly fell off my chair in wonder and amusement when the giant monkey head exploded to reveal a monkey robot. Mind you I was 13 at the time.

 

Looking back now, it's almost as if they were blowing up the sacred cow, which I admire, and which is neccesary to do if you're going to keep a series alive and developing. A lot of people at the time said things like "that's not Monkey Island," but I think now what is Monkey Island has become more fluid and a matter of creative interpretation.

 

I also didn't mind Monkey Kombat, and in fact rather enjoyed it. Mind you I was 13 at the time. Now the idea bores me a little.

That's interesting, because I rememeber not liking Monkey Kombat very much when I first played it (I was around eight). But now, at seventeen, I LOVE this whole game a whole lot more. All the strange happenings seem so much funnier now. And I had fun with Monkey Kombat this time around, too. And I impressed my friends with the complicated charts I had to draw up for that and for the swamp scene.

[bakana]

I found that in EMI, where the writing was across the board a bit of a step-up from CMI, Monkey Kombat was a totally dropped ball.

 

They just rehashed insult sword-fighting, but eliminated its one redeeming quality (the funny, punny, well-written insults and retorts), and exacerbated its most irritating quality (rote collection and repetition).

 

Still, EMI is about as under-rated as CMI is over-rated.

[Rosefull]

CMI? Over-rated? Humbug, I say! Aside from the poor transition from MI2, I loved everything about CMI, pretty much. It remains probably my favorite in the series. Though I find it really hard to pick a favorite because I love them all in different ways for different reasons. But CMI is special to me.

[Jenni]

All of the above and that whole Jambalaya Starbuccaneers debacle. And on a personal note: direct control.

The plot of Ozzie Mandrell changing the pirate atmosphere was my favorite part of Escape from Monkey Island because it fit into the Monkey Island world so well. The series has always been deeply entwined with Disney theme parks.

 

As I stated in my editorial in the EMI Secret History article (I hope these are coming back some time soon! I miss them! ), at the turn of the century, Disney management was ruining their parks by allowing real life companies to come in and ruin the theme of the particular attraction (Starbucks and Planet Hollywood were added to Walt Disney World, hence the spoofs), and the attractions were being needlessly updated to themes that were completely different than they originally were (Tomorrowland being a prime example) like the change of the SCUMM Bar to the LUA Bar in the game.

 

Since Escape from Monkey Island came out in 2000, it was great satire of what was happening at Disney parks at the time.

[Kroms]

Yeah, I think CMI pretty much hits the nail on the head with every single joke and for the most part gets the tone right (Duck Island being a little controversial for those who took MI2 a bit more seriously than I do). Those were four insane writers/designers, and they seem to have had a lot of fun working on the thing. I miss them: I know Chuck Jordan is still around (let us not forget how good his games at Telltale have been, especially The Penal Zone), but I wish Chris Purvis, Larry Ahern or Jonathan Ackley could come back and make games again. (In case anyone's wondering, Ahern does contract stuff, works at Disney Imagineering in some capacity, and is trying to make a new game. Ackley does themepark stuff for Disney, and Purvis has disappeared off the planet.)

 

As for EMI: while the themepark stuff is certainly noble, I'm not sure they got the tone down. It also seems ironic that they were making fun of commercialization in the third sequel to a beloved franchise. Making fun of how Disney ruined their themeparks would work better in a joke. Or, you know, maybe in a whole new franchise.

 

I'd have liked to see what Mike Stemmle and Sean Clark could have whipped up together. And I'm still very curious as to what Vanishing Act (the Ahern/Ackley/Purvis project after CMI) was going to be. I hope they get to make it someday. I miss those guys. Their interviews are always funny too.

[SyntheticGerbil]

Duck Island being a little controversial for those who took MI2 a bit more seriously than I do).

 

Huh? What happened here?

 

I miss them: I know Chuck Jordan is still around (let us not forget how good his games at Telltale have been, especially The Penal Zone), but I wish Chris Purvis, Larry Ahern or Jonathan Ackley could come back and make games again.

 

I thought what happened is they made Insecticide (sans Jordan) and no one played it.

[The Tingler]

Insecticide was pretty good, but there were several mistakes made on it. Forcing it on to the DS for starters, and releasing the PC game as a two-parter... without a second part.

[SyntheticGerbil]

Yeah I haven't played the PC version yet, mostly because I know it won't end, but I mostly enjoyed the DS version.

 

It probably would have been a nicer game if I could see what was going on half of the time. I liked the adventure/shooting hybrid stuff, but I could see how that could get on the nerves of people in one camp or the other.

 

I've been wondering, but does this mean Ahern and Ackley are out of games basically? Besides helping out Autumn Moon somewhat at least?

[Kroms]

Neither Ackley nor Purvis had anything to do with Insecticide. Ahern did.

 

Ackley is out, I think, completely. I tracked him down for Mojo-related business a while ago and found him Disney Imagineering. As far as I could tell, he isn't returning. Whatever makes him happy, but I do love the stuff he did for games. He co-designed, co-wrote and co-directed The Curse of Monkey Island. That makes me miss him.

 

Purvis, I have no idea. The SCUMM Bar interviewed him ages ago (years and years ago) and he was doing a business MA then. That's the last I know of him.

 

Ahern does contract work, I think, and may or may not be working with Bill Tiller on AVS2. I hope he is. Tiller is an excellent artist and comes-up with interesting worlds, but his writing is, honestly, dreadful. Ahern's writing is excellent. They could probably make a great game together. I hope so.

[SyntheticGerbil]

Oops I guess I thought Ackley helped out with writing or something. I was completely wrong. I didn't mean to include Purvis, I was mostly just talking about those two. Mobygames says he last worked on a Myst or two though.

 

I feel like Bill Tiller's stories or writing ideas aren't that great either. As cool as he thinks his Monkey Island 4 idea was, it seemed dreadful to me. I thought Ahern was going to help with Vooju, but he wasn't credited for anything except special thanks.

[Snugglecakes]

By biggest gripe with EMI is summed up perfectly in this bit from this book :

 

"Strangely enough, Escape from Monkey Island suffers precisely from what it laughs at – commercialism"