Sick of the 3D, amongst other things.

[Weasel Bomb]

Whilst the artwork was pretty impressive in EMI, the story lacked a bit (though better than most other games, still), there wasn't a whole ton of exploring or items to collection, you needn't be observant, and it seemed as if you were following a linear path when you walked. The 3-D made the game have harder control and does not fit the theme of adventure games.

 

Point and Click was where it was at, and animation, although more expensive, it is what made the 3rd installment more enjoyable, yet still sticking with the original style and overall "feel" of the games. The 4th has some of the same elements, and artwork that seems appropiate, but overall the graphics and lack of... anything... kill that.

 

Running into the same characters seemed alright conceptually, but the circumstances were a bit dull, and it was too many in one game.

 

The Curse of Monkey Island took FOREVER to figure out certain puzzles, especially with the Mega-Monkey. With animation, you have to actually scan the entire screen, and see if there is anything hidden. With the 3-D, the game basically pointed out anything that you had.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't have an overall negative view about any of the games, but being that the Monkey Island Series are one of the only video game series that I like/play, I'm a bit overcritical.

 

Also, LeChuck's not necessarily getting old, but it's obvious when he's disguised, and in 5 he should only be a secondary storyline/character.

 

5 needs new characters and new jokes. 3 was good because it was true to the original, but different.

 

4 was just a 3D simpler sequel to the first.

[Joshi]

all of your points have been taken into aco**** and thrown in with the rest that have said just about the exact same thing. EMI wasn't as good as the others, it was good in it's own terms, but compared with the others it was crap, and just about everyone that has played them all feels this. but the whole 'it being difficult to find things in COMI with the mouse' thing was a good point, it took me ages to find the bag of wooden nickeks at first with all the other junk, i think if that was done in the same way as emi, i would have found it faster. and they spent loadsa time on the graphics and not enough time on the plot, which was a sham because now, even if we use the sam graphics of emi, they already have the graphics so they can come up with a better storyline for mi5, but they have to carry on from emi, so that would be bad, but it's done now and we can't do anything about it.

[mercatfat]

3D is the standard for everything but portable gaming systems. 2D on PCs and modern consoles is now, sadly, a niche market. Get over it and get used to it. I had no trouble whatsoever with Grim or EMI 3D scheme.

[Weasel Bomb]

I disagree. Just because a paradigm's substandard, we don't have to grow accustomed to it. It may be the "standard," but does that mean that every company has to do it? LucasArts is one of the favorites, if not the favorite, amongst those who like the old adventure games.

 

Why change if they're bound to lose the adventure fanbase that'll grow sick of 3D?

 

Unless they're just going to stop with adventure games altogether.

 

Adventure games are definitely dying out. Every nail in the coffin seems to be 3D. King's Quest. Monkey Island. Leisure Suit Larry intended to, but never even made it. Grim Fandango, I doubt'll spawn a sequel.

[Captn' Squinky]

Yup. I agree, the three D approach, whilst original, lacked some of the previous games umft! (not sure how to spell but u get the idea). And the story sucked. But I have to say, and maybe this is a bit positive, that retroactively I liked the originals because from a stand point, as it got older the cruddiness made the atmosphere of the game, there was no nostalgia it was just the constraints and the whole rustiness of it amplified the experience.

I am miffed at MI4 for the story being so crap but you cannot compare to the first and second the whole composition can never be beaten. - what im trying to say is that MI4 is actually a fantastic game, in four years time from now, when the revolutionary graphic system looks worn and neolithic and there are no more monkeys to look forward to that even resemble the first (around the time when they are making MI27). Its all how you interperet it. Use your imagination. The first two are so damn good because they are so sketchy that you have to fill in about a million gaps, and then it becomes just an extended story out of your own mind, personolised.

If I said I liked to turn off the voice in MI3 & 4 so that my brain creates guybrush in a better way (a little more snide and sarcastic and less pathetic) would you think im crazy.

I love this game. Don't let the game creators dictate who the charaters are and. . . . **** did I even have a point.

sorry, Monkey Island Angst. Must have a monkey on my back.

 

 

Puttin back the Captain in the Squinky -

[Joshi]

the reason that MI1 & 2 were so brilliant (and 3 to an extent) was simply because of the graphics. ron gilbert and the others knew how far graphics could go and new that the graphics used weren't exactly that good, but could have never been better as that was it at that time. this type of grphics back then took a very short amount of programming and artwork and less time than todays 3D graphics and therefore, they could spend more time on the story and such (also, COMI didn't take as long as EFMI and so there was a good story to that too)

 

but then, suddenly LEC see's that graphics have gotten better and after the sucess of Grim Fandango, they thought that a monkey island game should really be next in the 3D areana. but this required a lot of work, so much work and money in fact that they had to cut down on such things as a good story as they spent less time on coming up with something like that. also, as good as they are, it would have taken a lot more work to make guybrush do things such as shove a dog down his pants (MI2 reference if you didn't notice). that is why the story was so crappy (still not a good excuse, but wait and see where i'm going with this)

 

now if LEC ever reads what we put down here, then they'll know that MI4 got negative feedback mainly because of the 3D and partly because of the story. if they listen and adhere to, then they should hopefully go back to the COMI graphics. if not, then they will probably stick with the EFMI graphics. but either way, becasue they already have the programming and artwork for both graphic fields, they'll spend less time on the graphics and hopefully more time on the story. well, that's what i think anyway.

[UKDavid2002]

gawd all these long posts!!

 

 

[Joshi]

that's because we have a lot to say.

 

and god dammit (sorry) we just got over our pink elephant epidemic and someone comes and brings it back in again!

[Smuggle Bunny]

i think the 3d ruind the whole game (although the plot wasnt that good either),

the whole Monkey Island style was gone, one of the things that made me love MI was the artistic 2d style of CMI and i would love 2 c the next MI game in 2d again... * sigh *

[Fink & Bart]

The 3-d ruined it in two ways...

It lost it's Monkey Islandness and it also distracted the creators from the plot. The Secret of Monkey Island and Le Chuck's Revenge, Now those were Piraty graphics, Worthy Of the Monkey Island Series. The Curse Of Monkey Island changed the graphics but kept the 2-d. a little more cartoony but still Piraty. And then Escape from monkey Island. 3-D:mad: It took away from the plot is waht it did. also Guybrush is less everything is less Piraty. In MI5 they should change it back to 2-d.

[Darth Eggplant]

I saw the third Monkey Island in stores a long time ago, and it was in animated cartoon format, very similar to Psygnosis' second Discworld game Mortality Bytes. (which by the way was a mouse point and click and easy to play and had loads of latteral thinking puzzles *not nearly as bad as the first Discworld*) and I am a Grim player so I can make manny move with the key board easy enough; BUT and this is where I am ...well ...call me crazy. but I think Lucasarts should NOT make MI5 just yet. I have never played any of the MI series but the thing I do notice and the thing which is stopping me from starting to play it is the huge decrepancies between MI's. for instance yes many people have way cool buff computers that can handle 3D games but some don't so most computers can and will handle (Curse of..) is this right, the animated cartoon one. and better computers can run a 3D game; but and this is a huge BUT so don't go ballistic on me. the first 2 MI's may be very funny and they may have great puzzles, and great story lines, but they look Absolutely ****! I mean I downloaded and played a demo for the ancient MI and yes nostaligically I played Space Invaders; and Centepede and all those other old games, ANtari, NIntendo, Mattel Intelevision; but I do not now that we are in the 21st century the age of computer advancement past Y2K, I do not want to buy or play MI 1 or 2 because they look like crap. and I do not want to NOT play them because I would miss out on story line. NOW if some feel that the 4th MI was stale and lacked puzzles and plot and merely recycled stuff, that is a good sign that Lucasarts should hold back on creating another if they are losing their edge. INstead why not upgrade and redo the first 2 MI's and or all 4 and make them visually compatible. Now I know George is compulsive enough to do this because look at what he did with Star Wars and is still doing, I hear he is going to add Jar Jar to a future version of episode 4 and add Amidala to episode 6. so why not do this.

 

And because I am totally mad. I feel that everyone who is loyal to MI and has all the instalments and has registered their MI games with Lucasarts should be able to return all their MI's to Lucasarts and then receive new copies of MI all 1-4 (if and if only Lucasarts were to under take such a project.) I mean people like me who do not own MI would have to buy the new game or game set, so Lucasarts would still make money and it would give their employees something to do, and it would give them a break from the MI franchise so they could come at it fresh to do an MI 5 later in the future. *and then thye could re-invest some time and energy into making a GF2 which is only fair since you monkeys all have 4 games to play.* I say equal time to Manny vs Monkey.

and now I'll just go back to my dark room and take my little green pills.

[SamNMax]

I'm sorry, everybody. 2D isn't coming back, it's time to let go now. The future is now.

[skywalker15]

I like MI 3-D. The characters look better, to me anyways...

 

But they might add the old point click method, using the mouse for controls. I dont' know. I didn't mind using the keyboard, though...

 

So, when do you think they'll announce MI5? Few months? Few years? I can't wait.

[Joshi]

Darth Eggplant, i would consider you fo the minority group who wan't this done to mi1 & 2. most of us mi fans understand that for a start, when mi1 and 2 first came out, they were technically sound and were quite good for teh time. but now, like and old wine, they have aged and vintiged we think that changing the graphics wouldn't imrove it, just spoil it. the change in starwars and the change in mi is completely different. with starwars, quite frankly, you wouldn't be able to see any picture or hear any sound if george hadn't remastered it. and also, the whole Jabba the Hutt thing wouldn't have amde any sense if he was left a human in Ep4. but with MI, it was sound. it was also remastered a little, the CD version was given new sounds and music and slightly better graphics, but still managed to keep it's Monkey Islandness as much as possible the true fans among us couldn't really see mnokey island 1 or 2 as anything else than those shoddy graphics we first saw them in. guybrush wouldn't be the same, i seriously couldn't see the COMI guybrush do or say the stuff that SOMI or LCR guybrush did or said, it would make sense. granted, with most of us, they are all the same guybrush, but the comi guybrush has aged and evolved from the previousl noes, to keep him the same throughout would just be a bad idea.

 

quite frankly, i had a friend who didn't play monkey island because he was a graphics freak, but the whole point of a point 'n' click game is the story, not the graphics (this is where MI4 failed), if you wan't graphics, i'd suggest you steer away from that, but if you like mortality bytes, you'll love mi, even witht eh crap graphics.

 

but i will thank you, you have inspired me to go play SOMI just for fun.