Shadow of the Colossus is the unlikely inspiration for this, the fourth game starring generically tribal platforming star Tak. This time, the loinclothed bonehead has accidentally released four giant ‘Grosstrosities’ upon the world, and it’s up to him to bring these lumbering maniacs to heel.
Nostalgia? Please. As great as the original Secret of Monkey Island is, it’s a new adventure we’ve all been craving. Even though Tales is the first of the series not made by LucasArts (although Telltale have no shortage of people who worked on them, such as Dave Grossman and Mike Stemmle), make no mistake: it’s officially the fifth game in the series, not some farmed-out spin-off.
Thank goodness, the first one wasn’t a fluke. Telltale’s episodic Monkey Island revamp kicked off on a splendid high, and this second episode is easily up to the first’s satisfying standard. Strong puzzles, funny writing and a fantastic new villain in the form of Morgan Le Flay, a sexy pirate hunter who’s simultaneously Guybrush Threepwood’s biggest fan and greatest threat in ages.
Previously, on Monkey Island: Voodoo pox! Human LeChuck! Magical sea-sponges! At this point in the series, it’s almost like reviewing a TV show rather than a game. The basic structure, the characters, the overall plot – you’re not going to jump into Guybrush’s world at this point. So the question is more how well this episode continues the series, than how it might stand alone. In short... it’s strange.
And so, on to the fourth episode of Tales do we go, with the series progressing nicely. The end is nearing though and Telltale should now, surely, have begun to move on from merely being good to reminding us why we all loved the Monkey Island games in the first place. Whether they manage this is open to debate, sadly.
The end is here, the series that could so easily have been a thundering disaster has turned out to be a pleasant surprise, on the whole. Despite having perhaps some of the lowest lows of any major Telltale series, it also has the highest highs, averaging out somewhere in the “ah, that was nice” zone when you finish all five episodes.
|
Dawn of the New World is a tale of two realms caught in a parasitic balancing act that threatens to destroy both worlds forever. Fitting then that the gameplay suffers from the same abrasive dichotomy, where half the ideas succeed while the other half sucks the life out of the whole project.
|
|
The credits list betrays their terrible secret. Many years from now, members of the Target: Terror development team will recount that fateful evening in the summer of 2004 when Target: Terror’s boss, Eugene Jarvis (of Narc and Cruis’n USA fame), sent down the order: Dave - bring in your bright red boiler suit; Gina - go get those PVC hotpants you wore to the Christmas party. And all of you - bring your sunglasses. The next day
GamesRadar is the premiere source for everything that matters in the world of video games. Casual or core, console or handheld - whatever systems you own or whatever genres you love, GamesRadar is there to filter out what's worth your time and to help you get even more from your games. We deliver the best advice, the most in-depth features, expert reviews, and the essential guides for all the top games.
RSS