monkey-island posts

Monkey Island via the CryEngine

by John Callaham Sep 22nd 2009 @ 9:00AM

LucasArts' decision to revive their Monkey Island adventure game series via a remake of the original Secret of Monkey Island and the all new Tales of Monkey Island (developed by Telltale Games) has certainly sparked a lot of interest in the original property. But what if the original art style of the first game was put into the highest tech game engine?

Thankfully we don't have to speculate. A German modder named Hannes Appell has created a level with Monkey Island's original 2D artwork and projected it into the CryEngine 2 3d game graphics engine. The result, as you can see in the above video, is pretty darn cool (even if the illusion is taken away somewhat by seeing Crysis's Nanosuit running around the level). You can check out another video which show the 2D-to-3D projection tech after the jump. Maybe LucasArts should get together with this guy.

Continue reading Monkey Island via the CryEngine

Filed under: Mods, Adventure, Video

DeathSpank trailer builds a legend

by Steven Wong Sep 8th 2009 @ 5:30PM

This trailer for DeathSpank, an upcoming hack-and-slash action RPG developed by famed game designer Ron Gilbert (Maniac Mansion, The Secret of Monkey Island), was shown at PAX 2009 and reveals quite a bit of gameplay. Complete with humor and plenty of monster stomping action, the upcoming episodic series is really living up to its "Monkey Island meets Diablo" description, especially with the final scene in the trailer.

There's currently no official release window, but we're hoping DeathSpank will come out some time in 2010. Also check out Big Download's DeathSpank impressions from PAX.

Download HD DeathSpank PAX 2009 Trailer (127 MB)
Check out all DeathSpank downloads

Gallery: DeathSpank

Filed under: Downloads, Action, RPG, Trailers

Download: Tales of Monkey Island Gameplay Trailer

by John Callaham Jul 1st 2009 @ 2:30PM

Telltale Games has sent over a minute video showing off gameplay from the first episode of Tales of Monkey Island, the upcoming downloadable adventure game series based on the classic LucasArts adventure game franchise. The first chapter in the series will be released on Tuesday, July 4

Download the Tales of Monkey Island gameplay trailer (146 MB) at Big Download

Gallery: Tales of Monkey Island

Filed under: Downloads, Adventure, Trailers

E3 2009: LucasArts returns to Monkey Island with two PC projects

by John Callaham Jun 1st 2009 @ 1:00PM

LucasArts got slammed by fans of its adventure games when the publisher decided to discontinue their adventure game line. Today LucasArts announced plans to return to one of their most popular adventure game series, Monkey Island. Our sister site Joystiq has posted up word that the the company will release Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition , a downloadable graphical revamp of the game. It will also have new voiceover tracks and a new musical score.

But that's not all. LucasArts has also teamed up with Telltale Games (made up of a number of former LucasArts adventure game creators) to release an all new five part downloadable episodic Tales of Monkey Island game. No release date for that game was announced.

Filed under: Downloads, Adventure

We Love The 90s (for PC Games) : 1990-1991

by John Callaham Apr 20th 2009 @ 4:00PM

PC gaming has been around since, well, PCs have existed. However the platform always seemed to get the short end of the attention stick compared to console game titles (with a few exceptions). That all changed in the 1990s as PC gaming entered a new golden age. With developments like shareware titles, CD-Rom games, Internet-based titles, Windows 95 and more powerful PCs, quite a few titles got a ton of attention and sales.

In this new multi-part feature we look back at that glorious decade of the 1990s as we focus on just some of the games that we loved to play (and in some cases still play) from that decade. Today we look back at a few of our favorite titles from 1990 and 1991:

Click on the image to the right to continue reading We Love the 90s (for PC Games)

Gallery: We Love The 90s (for PC Games): 1990-1991

Filed under: Features, Action, Adventure, RPG, Strategy

Monkey Island creator on reaching "lapsed gamers," unionizing industry

by Samuel Axon Jun 30th 2008 @ 9:00PM

Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert has been living mostly under the radar in recent years. He's worked on small games most people haven't heard of, and as a consultant to various projects. He recently worked on Penny Arcade Adventures. His public profile has been his Grumpy Gamer blog. But he's about to make a bit of a comeback with DeathSpank, an episodic Adventure/RPG hybrid under development at his new home, Hothead Games.

Gamasutra published a seven page interview with Gilbert today, and we assure you that every page is worth it. In the interview, Gilbert describes his new company's mission: reaching "lapsed gamers" -- people who used to be hardcore gamers but who today have trouble finding the time to play through 60-hour games. He argues that the episodic model is perfect for those users, and that people will warm up to it as they realize that episodic games are not one big game cut up into 10 pieces. Rather, they have their own, completely different narrative model.

Gilbert also suggests that the games industry will someday unionize in much the same way that the film industry did. That move will enable "individual creative people to assemble into teams to complete a project" (Gamasutra's words) as an alternative to the more restrictive studio model used today. If you have any interest in the future of the games industry, we really recommend you read the interview.

Filed under: Biz, Interviews, Adventure, RPG