Telltale's Monkey Island

[Radiant]

I'm sure some people here have played Talltale's Tales Of Monkey Island? I'm wondering if they are any good and if people like them. I've just looked over the first game and its first impression isn't good; I don't like the interface of click-hold-and-drag-the-mouse to walk, nor that I tend to miss part of the dialog when clicking for the next line, nor that whenever dialogue is called for, Guybrush just says a standard line regardless of which line you click on. So does it get better after the first impression? Is this worth getting into if I'm fan of MI1 and MI2, but not really the later games?

[Anian]

Not a fan of CoMI? What's wrong with you!? 

The interface will stay the same and you'll see the progression TT have made with controlling a story within an episode style production (they've really almost perfected it with Walking dead for instance). There are some annoying things, I remember there's a maze you have navigate through at one point and the click & pull gets reeeally annoying.
It kind of lacks the warmth of the first MI games and the story is again with fighting Le Chuck and saving Elaine. I guess it's not bad overall but not overly memorable either.

[AGA]

You can use the keyboard to move Guybrush.

As a series it's well worth playing, I think.  Some weaker parts, but as a whole it works well.

[Jared]

I absolutely loved it, but I should say COMI is my favourite of the series. I also was a bit 'meh' after Episode 1, but the series in my opinion really leaps up in quality with each episode. What I really enjoyed was that it did a lot with the characters - Elaine, LeChuck, Guybrush, the Voodoo Lady all have quite a lot of character development and a lot to do through the series and I thought the new cast - Morgan and Le Singe particularly - was just as strong. Also, I don't remember it being very interesting in Episode 1 but the puzzle design is just great - that said, I think it's one of Telltale's strengths. So I guess if you're not a fan of their Sam and Max games or any of their others you mightn't be too impressed with TOMI.

In my opinion TOMI is Monkey Island 5, and a real triumph. All five episodes combine to make one strong, lengthy and fulfilling adventure game. And I went into it fairly hostile once I saw one of the guys who made Escape was onboard. 

[Snarky]

I found the UI so terrible that I gave up on it completely. It felt like an insult to me, to force something like that on players.

[Khris]

I also really liked it, the dialog thing gets better in later episodes.

Like the others said, it really suffers from console port UI cancer though, so yes, play it with WASD and Shift to run, iirc. Not perfect, but good enough.

[CaptainD]

I really liked it on the whole, the walking controls were awful though - much less annoying using the keyboard than mouse though.  I liked the fact that Guybrush and Elaine had a much gentler relationship than in the other games (still funny though!) and the many little nods to the original games.

[Ghost]

I liked MI1 and I loved MI2, after that, the games really felt weaker and more convulted to me. TOMI has some nice bits- the already mentioned little nods to the earlier games are often worthwhile- but I never found them as good as the "true first two games".
I too found the UI awkward, but I got used to it quickly- not the worst thing in the world.

That's all pretty subjective though; some friends and collegues of mine just love the series with: their episodic format, their tendency to put a theme or spin into each episode, their bite-sized...er, SIZE, their charming and cartoony graphics... it's almost as if TellTale succeeded in making adventure games hip enough for the "new crowd"... Since the games aren't that expensive anymore I'd suggest you go and give them a try

[Azure]

I enjoyed it, some great moments but it's not as well designed as MI1 or MI2. The comparisons with COMI are apt I think, since the excellent music and voice over go a long way.

[AGA]

I've spent much of the last six weeks playing through Telltale's back catalogue.  I played Sam and Max series one and two when they were new, and bought all the rest as they were released, but hadn't got around to actually playing any of the newer ones until now.

I think the episodic format is great; having games in nice, bitesized chunks, that you can complete in a few hours after a day at work works really well.  It also means that if one of the episodes has a weaker plot, or an annoying character or whatever, then you're not stuck with it for a whole full length game.  Series also mean you can have more complicated story arcs than a single individual game, as elements and characters from multiple apparently unconnected episodes can be woven into the full story.  You also have the benefit of each episode having a different team of designers and writers, which while it can make the quality hit and miss, also can lead to some excellent work shining through.

Sam and Max: the Devil's Playhouse episode two (The Tomb of Sammun-Mak) is probably ones of my favourite bits of adventure gaming ever, and who knows if it would have been that good if it was made as a full length, less concentrated, game.

[Ali]

I agree with everything AGA says. Particularly with regard to the episodes of Devil's Playhouse.

I really enjoyed Tales of Monkey Island. It's not as strong as the first three but it's leagues ahead of Escape From... Even if it lacks the precise feel of the originals, it's a pleasant and amusing game in the vein of Monkey Island. Admittedly, the interface is not good, and the puzzles are less challenging than they could/should be, but it didn't stop me enjoying the series.

[MiteWiseacreLives!]

I played through them on the Wii... and that took dedication! The controls and load times were a bit painfull (then I saw screenshots from other platforms, I was outraged!) But the game kept pulling me back in, I actually had lots of fun and it made me laugh, I am a big monkey island fan though. The anticipation for the next episode to arrive was a big part of the addictive quality. Good enough for me to accept it as a real MI game, I just wish it wasn't so glitchy and clunky (although the pc version probably runs fine).

[Eggie]

I looooooooooooooooooooooved Tales Of Monkey Island. It gets off to a rough start but in my opinion Episodes 4 and 5 are up there with the best moments in the whole franchise.

[PuNKKoMmANDO77]

Tales of Monkey Island is one of the worst things happened to the graphic adventure genre, Telltale can't make good game, terrible characters, dialogues and puzzle.

[Igor Hardy]

I really enjoyed Tales. For the characters, the humor and bringing the Monkey Island feel back to the series after the terrible EfMI. The episodic format allowed for a lot of interesting conversations, twists and special moments that would be probably left on the cutting room's floor had it been a smaller team of writers creating a single, focused, bigger game.

On the other hand the overarching plot is pretty disappointing, as they've clearly didn't have a very clear idea where they were going. A lot of cliffhangers and deus ex machinas.