Sam and Max are tone deaf

Graphic adventure games live and die on the written word. That’s it. The games can be ugly. They can be janky. They can feature some of the more annoying controls in gaming (GRIM FANDANGO!!!) but as long as they are written wonderfully and have excellent stories, they can get by with a whole heck of a lot.

During my break from updating this website, I went and played some adventure games. Specifically, I played for the first time Sam and Max Seasons 2 and 3, The Dig, and I went and replayed Monkey Island 2 and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Here are some micro-reviews along with what I learned about the genre overall.

Let’s begin with the goods. Monkey Island 2 is an undisputed masterpiece (at least, undisputed by non-idiots). It’s funny, charming, and features clever puzzles without the need of any frustration. Now that Dom Armato has gone and recorded voice for the new special editions, much of the jokes come alive due to the talkie aspect of these re-imaginations. I still maintain that the correct order of Monkey Island games remains 3>2>1>Tales>$, but the fact is that the gap between 3 and 2 is much shorter now that we have vocalized acting on all the characters (even though I don’t think Wally is voiced correctly, but whatever).

Sam and Max Season 2 is also great. The first season was clunky as hell to control, the puzzles simple and lame, and the written dialogue and story forgettable at best, obnoxious at worst. Season 2 is a wonderful refinement, fixing the graphic/control/setting issues and increasing the pace of the story, the jokes, and the characters. Sequels should only exist if they improve, not continue, a story. Sam and Max Season 2 probably inches past the original 1993 classic Sam and Max Hit the Road for the best entry in the series.

Lastly, I wrote earlier in another blog entry about Fate of Atlantis, so I won’t go much more into it except to say that I understand, replaying it, that the issues people have with the voice dialogue are more valid than I previously gave credence to; yes, some of the voice actors are plain bad, and the sound quality fluctuates greatly at time.

Now, let us examine the bad (or, rather the “not as good”). The Dig was envisioned by Steven Spielberg as a game because the movie budget would be too great. They got homophobe asshole Orson Scott Card (his books aren’t that good, people) to write much of the dialogue, and veteran Loom designer Brian Moriarty to head production. Well, things aren’t that simple, and after many tonal changes, along with complete rewritings and the eventual departure of Moriarty, the game was released in a bastardized form. Perhaps this is the problem with the game. As a LucasArts graphical adventure, it just isn’t that good. The main issue is the tone. The game takes itself too seriously (which happens to be my major trepidation regarding the new Tron movie and The Expendables). If the game wants to be serious, that’s fine, but it damn well better have a good story, good dialogue, and a good scenario. None of these things exist in the finished product. A major character dies (and gets resurected), and I don’t care about either situations because the writing is flat, emotionally bankrupt, and dead (deader than the character). I guess there is a reason I never played this LA game, and why I probably never will again. To think, this came out after the great, but short, Full Throttle.

Then, there’s Sam and Max Season 3. I guess I should write that I haven’t finished the 5th part because it hasn’t been released yet, but my faults with the season lay outside of this minor technicality. To begin, the tone is all over the map. Graphic Adventure games don’t need to be only funny or only serious. However, when you mix the two poorly, it’s a travesty. This is the problem with the last 2 chapters of the Tales of Monkey Island game. You cannot simply go “LOOK AT ME, I AM SERIOUS! THIS IS SERIOUS AND IMPORTANT!” and shoehorn in a serious plot development. Killing Morgan LeFlay was dumb, not just for a story plot device, but because it tried unsuccessfully to manipulate the player into feeling sad and caring for an already beloved character. Well, the idiots behind that decision decided to do the same in Season 3 of Sam and Max. This time, they kill Max (briefly) in Episode 3. Filled with anger, Sam goes on a rampage smacking and beating characters. While it is sort of sweet that you see the extent of how Sam loved his partner Max, that relationship was already established, and underlining it and highlighting with with the brightest magic marker available by killing off Max doesn’t make it any better, and in fact makes it worse. It’s clumsy, and amateur. Whoever keeps doing these things should stop, watch a movie where no one dies, and realize that it’s okay to establish emotional connections with characters through good writing and not death or troubled situations. Even the joke of having Sam recite “Noir” dialogue (an actual choice in the game) is ruined because he’s suddenly punching and slapping people, which is out of his character. It’s a mess.

It’s a sticky situation. LA created a world where Adventure Games were full of whimsy and comedy. Then, they tried to undue this with The Dig and, to a lesser extent, Full Throttle. We, as a creative society, think that “serious” material is better and more deserving of praise than anything which we deem “light”. Heavy Rain isn’t a good story just because it is serious. The Dig isn’t better than Monkey Island because it is serious, created by a brilliant filmmaker, and written by an author. Tales of Monkey Island, and Season 3 of Sam and Max, get drugged down because they are striving to be taken seriously. Well, stop striving for that.

Plus, the forced “episodic” nature of Season 3 and Tales of Monkey Island are annoying, but I’ll write about that more in detail later.

Tales of Monkey Island, briefly

It's over. The last installment of Guybrush and company is over.

Chapter 1 was a breath of fresh air. After being in a Monkey Island drought since MI3 (MI4 was like drinking sand), the first episode, though not the greatest, was serviceable. It had some funny lines, satisfying moments, and new characters that were palatable. It was an above average hit that made the series get started on the right foot.

Looking back, I was probably a little harsh on Chapter 2. The repeating models were annoying, and the lack of environments was a drag. The merfolk turned out to be kind of funny in retrospect, especially after it turns out that the bland Wally replacement named Winslow is in a romantic relationship with one of them. LeChuck was fun, but underused since he was only in that 1 section on top of the cliffside.

Chapter 3 is still the best chapter in my opinion. Murray is a great character, and it was good having him be back with the original voice actor. All of the three new characters were fun as well, and the character models were different! The jokes were fun, the tone of the episode lighthearted and in congruous with the entire Monkey Island series, and it was a satisfying middle chapter in the arch of Tales of Monkey Island.

With that in mind, Chapter 4 couldn't be anything but a letdown, which it was. Stan was awful. The voice actor was not the appropriate choice considering that all of Stan's lines were spoken so slowly and without the gameshow/salesman inflections. With the fantastic return of Murray, Stan's return is just aggrivating. Moreover, the death of Morgan LeFlay was in poor taste and not appropriate for a Monkey Island game. This type of drama is not intended for the series. It was a mistake on the part of the writers. On the positive, the puzzles in this chapter were probably the best and most fun to solve.

And, lastly, we come to Chapter 5. Having to wrap up a story that has taken months to tell is a difficult task, and the chapter did its best. I don't want to spoil it too much since people are still playing or waiting for the disc release, but of course everything is returned to normal - sort of. Elaine and Guybrush are back together, but Morgan is still.... And that's probably the most frustrating thing with this series. The story is a mess. People play and enjoy the Monkey Island series for its puzzles and jokes, not for plot twists and cliffhangers.

If you make a good game, people will play the next one. It is that simple. However, Telltale thought they needed to make things convoluted and drawn out. Guybursh and Morgan didn't need to die in Chapter 4. The "final" ending of Chapter 5 doesn't need to set up the sequel. This is poor writing because it is not in tune with what Monkey Island is. Sure, people can note that MI2 had a strange, ambiguous ending, but it wasn't setting up for a sequel. Even if MI3 turned out what the originals wanted it to be, it wasn't ever going to be a direct sequel to MI2. Telltale made their ending short and brief to wrap up things hamfistedly with Guybrush and Elaine, but then it makes another turn to set up Sam and Max 2010 and another Tales of Monkey Island game.

Still, it's nice hearing Guybrush speak again. I just hope the storytelling isn't as cheap next time.

That's not the Guybrush you're looking for...

I knew it was going to happen. After the delicious Episode 3, the next chapter just couldn't hold up. And, it didn't.

After arriving on Flotsam Island, a nicely named island that is very boring, Guybrush is immediately arrested for various crimes. It's all very fun, and calling yourself as a witness while acting as your own lawyer is great. However, while Stan is in the chapter, it isn't Stan. Sure, he looks great, with the coat being perfectly recreated in 3D, but the voice is garbage. Stan talks way too slow, and his inflections aren't manic enough. I guess the voice actor is a staple of TellTale and was used previously in the Sam and Max games, but considering the voice is so underwhelming and bland, I don't remember who he played. This was a huge disappointment, especially since they got Murray for Episode Three and a certain big name for the end of this chapter. But, despite this being a huge letdown, it wasn't the biggest disappointment.

That dubious distinction goes to the handling of the Threepwood-Marley-LeFlay love triangle. Elaine is on the verge of insanity thanks to the Pox of LeChuck, and Morgan is justifiably morose for her betrayal of Guybrush. But, rather than explore this in greater depth, Morgan is killed off by some unknown assailant offscreen. Now, the circumstances of her death are purposefully murky, with the supposed killer not quite denying it, and the body of Morgan disappearing. However, it is still treated as a serious moment. A serious moment in a Monkey Island game. No. No. No. No. No. No.

As soon as this cutscene occurs, Guybrush is back to cracking jokes. His biggest fan just died in front of his very eyes, and he's making jokes about the doors in the room. That's jarring and wrong. You can't have a serious moment in the midst of an irreverent comedy, or at least without seriously altering the mood. Brutal Legend, for recent thought, has some great tragic elements in the midst of a comedy adventure, but Eddie Riggs isn't making jokes immediately after the sorrow. The death of Morgan, which shouldn't have been done, especially since it is a red herring and while be fully explained in the next episode, is a waste and a black mark on the series.

But the drama continues, as LaSinge is killed along with... Guybrush. Yes, Guybrush dies. Not fake dies. Not dies in a funny way. No "goodbye cruel adventure game!" He really dies. LeChuck stabs him, and he breaths his last breath while in the arms of Elaine. No No No No No No No.

The chapter, The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, certainly keeps to its name. The puzzles are a trial to finish due to their confusing and obtuse nature, and the series is prematurely executed with the clumsily handled drama. Chapter Three made me want to play the next chapter right away to see what is next. This chapter makes me want to play the next one just to get it over with.

Sure, the handling of Big Whoop in Curse of Monkey Island wasn't that great, and the "Toothrot is Elaine's father" nonsense in Escape From Monkey Island was garbage, but this was worse. The story handling in this chapter is the lowest the series has ever been. It'll take all of the Voodoo Lady's magic to save this.

Oh, and did I mention that the Voodoo Lady is now supposed to be a bad guy? Seriously, what the fuck?

In the belly of a manatee

Guybrush gets eaten, Morgan becomes an interesting character, a love triangle emerges, Winslow thankfully disappears for most of the chapter, and Murray returns. What a wonderful chapter.

After the Siege of Spinner City, I had some trepidation going into the next installment of Tales of Monkey Island. Were the same character designs going to appear once again? Was the audio quality going to be distorted? Will the story be filler? Would it be any funny? Thankfully, the chapter starts almost immediately with no real tutorial. I suppose TellTale finally realized those in the middle of a season aren't starting for the first time. Either way, the boat is swallowed by a manatee and the chapter begins. Ahoy!

In terms of puzzles, this chapter is in all likelihood the easiest. The puzzles are straightforward with no guesswork. which for an adventure game is always good. There's also no maze in this chapter, something that is annoying in all games and usually acts as padding to lengthen the game. The most difficult section is the encounter with the female manatee, but those used to insult swordfighting/armwrestling, and the horrid Monkey Kombat, shouldn't struggle too much. The "face-off" against Bullseye is fun and goofy showing once again the great character animation. I would have loved if the artstyle was hand drawn, 2D goodness like Curse of Monkey Island, but this 3D animation will suffice. At least it is better than the dismal Escape From Monkey Island.

As for the humor, this ranks up with the best of the entire franchise. All of the characters were fleshed out with interesting quirks, and the voice acting matched the script. There's a particular scene involving Morgan that is well written (for a video game), but if the voice acting was a little more obvious it would have been awkward. In fact, more than anyone, Morgan is getting to be an interesting character. It's never been greatly established why Elaine married Guybrush and why she loves him, but now that she's stranded with LeChuck, Morgan seems more fitting for Guybrush. Morgan isn't as demeaning as Elaine can be, and Morgan actually worships Guybrush. Hopefully this love triangle results in Elaine and Guybrush having a stronger foundation.

And then there's Murray! I'd rather not say much more except that he's as phenomenal as he was in Curse of Monkey Island. Hopefully more characters from the past return. Perhaps Stan as Guybrush's lawyer? Wally as the court aid? Who knows, but there's a lot to live up to now after this terrific episode.

Quick note: I love the color pallet of these games.

A hand in the bush is worth two in a series

So, Guybrush returned. Again.

Part two of the five part series Tales of Monkey Island was released last week. After slogging through the chapter, the new series has more or less fallen into its own rhythm. Many of the same problems still exist, such as the low quality voice acting, particularly on Elaine and sibilant consonants, along with the repeating stock characters and puzzle designs. Also, if my week old memory is correct, there are less combination puzzles in this adventure.

And that is really the fault of this chapter, the puzzles. Monkey Island has always had a bizarre sense of humor, and extending on the humor were puzzles that were equally bizarre. However, the Tales of Monkey island series, particularly this installment, are light on the thinking.

As a result, there is more of a reliance on the writing, which is competent enough to hold up the chapter. The main highlight of the chapter involves the character turn of LeChuck, who is now incredibly nice and stupid. In one particular instance, Guybrush must order LeChuck to solve a puzzle with poor results: "Now it looks like a cow. Do I need a cow?"The other highlight involves the awkward sexual tension between Guybrush and the mer-people. Never quite sure if they are man, woman, or both, Guybrush flirts as is flirted at by these folk on the Jerkbait Islands.

The first chapter had a lot going for it. It was long (about five hours) and was the first time people played a new Monkey Island game in nearly 10 years. Now that people have adjusted, chapter two doesn't quite give the same sense of awe. Hopefully chapter three picks up the pace. Moreover, it would be nice if Morgan LeFlay was used more, and maybe teamed up with Guybrush so that the dreadful captain character was gone. Only time will tell.

Go get'em, Guybrush!