Game Review - Ben There, Dan That

It's funny that shortly after picking up Tales of Monkey Island I came across this game online. This is a much more true descendant of the classic monkey island games. And, I'll say this much, if there was a game made specifically for me, in that I would find it entertaining and enjoyable from beginning to end and laugh out loud every few minutes, well that would be this game. Let's break the game up into it's component parts for some deeper analysis.

Writing - This is some of the greatest writing I've ever seen in a game. For a short game it also manages some self referential humor. (Your companion in the game only performs a single action for which he is constantly ridiculed.) The dialog is entirely fresh and free of cliche and it constantly ridicules adventure gaming with a real palpable affection. The writing here is perfect. I can't fault it. I feel a real connection between the protagonists, the banter is funny and feels natural and every character you meet feels fleshed out and real.

Graphics - Now, I am actually going to compare the graphics of this game with that of Tales of Monkey Island and I know what you are thinking, how is it fair to compare the graphics of game that like, three people worked on, to that of a full budget game? Well, you're right, it's not fair but I still think that the graphics in this game are better than those in tales of monkey island. They're imaginative, fun to look at, set a great mood and are varied. There was always something fun to look at in this game whether it was super heroes with rubbish powers or dinosaurs with computers. The style is great and again I can't fault it because I never found myself not enjoying the visuals.

Additionally it had something that modern adventure games miss, custom animations! Nothing like a bit of physical humor in a game like this and good news, it's in there.

Puzzles - Man, I hate to gush so much about a game but the puzzles in this were great. I never found myself stuck but I'd like to think this is due to the lack of cheesy puzzles, the clear definition of all items and characters in the game and of course, my own lateral thinking mind. The puzzles were great.

Sound - It's a while since I have played an adventure game without voice acting so I found that a bit jarring at first but it wasn't game breaking. In general I prefer reading the subtitles anyway but some people mightn't like the effort. There was also no music to speak of and little in the way of sound effects. What music there was is well used but the game did seem bit quiet at times. Not so much a mark against it but it is something that could have been better.



Well, that's the major points covered. This game was funny, interesting and a real throw back to the days of the original monkey island games. I would consider it more monkey island than, for example, sam and max and for me that's a good thing. Tell tale, take notes from these guys. This is what people want when they ask for an adventure game.

The game can be downloaded free from their website: http://www.zombie-cow.com/ and I think every adventure gamer should give it a go.

90/100

Game Review - Tales of Monkey Island: Episode 2

Where's the review of episode 1? I didn't feel like doing one at the time, but it wasn't too different from the second installment anyway, anything I say about this one in general goes for the first as well.

So, where to begin, the not so long awaited sequel to the long awaited sequel to a legendary series of games which I thought would never see the light of day again. Let's get some things clear though, this is not the game I was hoping for. Strictly speaking it barely deserves to carry the name of monkey Island, but somehow scrapes it. Let's look at some of the elements that make up an adventure game.

Writing - It's unfortunate but probably the most important element of an adventure game is also this games major failing. The writing isn't clever and usually, it isn't funny. The writing is functional however and everything is conveyed in a smooth manner. Nothing remarkable here but nothing terrible either. Voice acting is perfectly adequate, but some of the characters in this game are so flat it must be a challenge to give them any personality.

Graphics - A real strong point, the visual design of this game is excellent. This installment also has some of the classiest transitions between screens that I've ever seen in a game. Particularly impressive is when the camera sweeps upwards from an area to show the entire world map. It's hard to fault what tell tale have achieved in the visual department.

Sound - They fetched back the composer from Monkey Island 3 I believe, and it shows. The music in this game is perfect. The mood in every area is set with perfectly fitting ambient music, close your eyes and you'll know this is a monkey island game.

Puzzles - This should be higher on the list really but the puzzles in this game are stretching it. Nothing here should challenge you, the only part that I thought was challenging me actually resulted from me missing an object in the game. Frankly the puzzles are unimaginative. Well, maybe that's a little harsh.


More Puzzles like this please.

It could be the case that Tell Tale didn't want to alienate new comers to the genre by beating them over the head with tough puzzles but still, I was disappointed by the second episode. I was expecting an increase in difficulty from the first episode but I feel this was actually easier. Additionally there was nothing like the chair puzzle from the first episode to liven things up. (That's where the count de fru fru straps you to the chair and you have to use the inventions in his lab to manufacture an escape in case you haven't played it.)

Well, all in all I enjoyed playing through it. It's an enjoyable game and the episodic nature of it meant their was a cliff hanger at the end, so I'll be playing the next one too. I would like to see the writing improve, after all there must be a world of writers out there who would die to write for a game like this (myself included), how hard could it be to find a few that were able to produce something both coherent and funny?

Get some humour, mix up the puzzles a little and there's not much else that could be improved. It comes recommended.

70/100

Why touchscreens Suck

This has been a point of contention between me and Alan for a while now and though there are other articles out there on the subject there's got to be room for one more.

So, why do touch screens suck?

1. Tactility

This is a major flaw that will never really be resolved with current LCD technology. There's no response to when you press the button, you can't tell without looking at the machine itself whether or not you have actually done what you intended to do. This of course is a big issue when it comes to skipping a song or whatever when the the mp3 players in your pocket or anything of that nature.

2. Smudges

Different screen surfaces can allay this weakness there's no avoiding grubby fingers on your viewing area. Even the fact that you have to obscure your view on a device in order to operate is counter intuitive. It just doesn't make sense.

3. Gimmicky Trash

Touch controls are such a gimmick they encourage developers to create gimmicky trash. It's not like phones are known for their quality third party software but touch controls definitely do not aid matters. Gimmick gives birth to further gimmick until we are drowned in useless, eye candy emptiness.

4. Tangential Technology

Finally, touch screens are a product of "Why not?" technology. What I mean by this is that there is no real need or benefit to a touch screen, the only reason it exists is that it is possible and it sounds good. It's tangential in that it isn't truly a part of any technology chain, it is not where technology is going. Why would anything that forces a user to place something between him and a screen be a step forward. Touch screen is just a dead end.

Now, I'm not saying that touch screen doesn't have it's applications. I see it put to good use in restaurant systems and such but for mobile devices it's just a false prophet. It falls short in what it promises and takes lot in exchange. So I would urge the world to join me in anticipation of the true successor to tactile buttons.

Whatever the hell that might be.