Monkey Island special edition (360, PC) is upon us!

I've heard so many podcasts about Lucasarts Adventure games lately :lol:, Telltale guys are mostly ex-Lucasarts employees, some were involved(not directly) with the remake, helping on various levels during course of production(pointers here and there) ;-)

 

No, more like the made for tv movie that tries to wrap everything up all pretty with a bow, but the box is empty.

But on the remake: the graphics are pushing me away from this too. I still have my cds, so I don't need the non-updated version. I just feel that the crappy graphics will scare people away and then the won't put out any more remakes. But I guess if this is the best they're going to do, I can do without remakes.

 

Actually, it seems like it's selling quite well. Also, a lot of people seem to like the new graphics. Pretty much all the critics praise the graphics. I probably would like them, too, if I could somehow forget about the original version and not compare it to the old art (well, and if Guybrush's design was totally different. I can't stand that, period).

Come now. This is just their first try. For $10, I still think it's a good package.

 

I played about with it for a bit last night, on the PC.

They've done a fine job. There's really no place for complaining about this one. Even if you don't like the new graphics, you're able to run such an old gem in its original form (press F10) without the need to resort to DOSBOX etc and without having to configure sound cards, display etc.

It is both a remake and a homage to the original and its priced at 10 USD. I can't believe some people can still complain.

 

it's the internet, and some people are acting like jerks.
finally beloved franchise is being resurrected and you see some people complain anyway, because they don't dig the graphics all that much(snobs/conservative types :110.
well, tough luck jimmy, there's plenty of enjoyment on top of that(arranged music, voices, etc...)
this is how remakes should be done.
you're getting original and remake for $10, there is no justification for complaints here, it's a fantastic package.
we need to spread good word out, if it sells well, Lucasarts may bring other classics back.

 

I m already hungry for some Loom, DotT, Maniac Mansion and... THE FLIGHT OF THE AMAZON QUEEN!! (incidentally made by a Greek)

I know the last one isn't LucasArts but I don't care, just remake the damn game already.

 

finished the game last night. Very good job!!

Also, please note the changed cameo in front of the Giant Monkey skull on Monkey Island. The Sam and Max idols have been replaced by a Tentacle from DotT (when you press F10/select on the XBOX controller to change from remake to original)..which leads me to believe we're in for another great remake!!! oh, and after the credits it says "Guybrush will be back!!" in flashing fonts. I can smell Revenge of LeChuck coming =)

 

I hope so, but it's much more probable it was changed because LucasArts lost the Sam & Max license a long time ago.

 

they didn't lose it, they just didn't renew it so TellTale games wisely took it up. Serves them right.

 

Holy mother of crap, the game has been released on the Iphone. I'm buying it right now.

 

Surely you don't buy this remake but merely "rent" it? I mean all versions have DRM and will essentially expire when their respective platform goes out of fashion, at which point you'll have to rent a recompiled edition of the same software again. Handy!

As for the remake's artwork, they could have got a cue from the third game, which fitted the MI universe pretty nicely.

 

Fate of Atlantis (I know you're hiding in Staff of Kings) and Day of the Tentacle (with Maniac Mansion computer game) would've been pretty sweet for some similar re-release treatment (actually, if they did Day of the Tentacle, I'd almost wish for them to not touch it at all, maybe just do a Maniac Mansion update that you could toggle modes in, like in Monkey Island, when you're playing it on the computer... actually... as far as this modern age of trophies and achievement driven gameplay goes (you know, those who wont play a game unless the trophies/achievements are "good"), I guess Maniac Mansion should be stand alone.

So personal favorites: Fate of Atlantis and Day of the Tentacle aside... I think the game that really needs some next gen HD visual magic is;

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. When I talk to people about old LucasArts adventure games, this always seems to be the title most people don't know well enough

As far as EULAs goes, that's how pretty much all software goes, even if it's delivered to you on a physical medium. You're not magically entitled to a replacement copy of your disc/cart/whatever if it breaks outside of whatever is covered by your local laws for products and consumer warranties (though, you can sometimes pay for a replacement upon showing of a valid receipt). Which technically means that most companies with their 6 month, 2 years, lifetime, or whatever, deals for re-downloading of the software that accompanies your license is a much better and lasting offer as far as the average consumer and potential need of replacements goes. And most digitally distributed content can be securely backed up for future use and activation, often in a much easier and encouraged/supported way (with instructions provided by the distributors on how to do so)

Physical stuff with boxes and stuff is sweet, though... (and transferring/trading a digitally distributed title is often impossible. So there goes the current age of renting, trading and thievery... sorta)

 

FMTowns version FTW!!!! Awesome game =)

Some lads actually worked on a sequel with pretty decent screenshots from what I saw, no idea where it went from there though.


While we're at it, I think SIERRA owes us some Softporn/Larry remake-love (pun, I guess)

 

As long as bits are digitally locked you don't own them.. it's simple logic really. Nobody is obliged to keep the software available to the consumer forever. Your point about the average consumer is right, but as far as ownership goes there's no such thing with DRM. Let's take Monkey Island as an example. Your 20 year old diskettes are still physically present and you've probably made copies for safekeeping, whereas those XBLA downloads are good for the duration of the current iteration of the Live network. Another downside to DRM is that it hinders historical preservation. No collector or eBayer can sell you a playable digital DRM-infested game in a few decades time (years even, in the case of console networks). Pity how the music industry liberates its music whilst the videogaming industry restricts its products like there's no tomorrow.

 

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I can still backup XBLA titles to a Memory Unit, if I want to. They'll play as long as either the 360 they were purchased on lives or as long as, you pointed out, the LIVE network is operational (the demise of LIVE seems highly unlikely. Supposedly, Valve did at some point say if the unthinkable would happen, and Steam would be shut down, they'd kill off their protection system on all titles purchased via Steam. Something I'd say sounds like an impossible feat to pull off, but, well, still... who's to say MS couldn't have pulled off a similar thing, if developers/publishers agreed, if something should happen).

Digital Indiana Jones' Historical Preservation Crusade is no longer the same type of issue as it once was in this modern day and age. The only ones who have any reason to feel bothered or threatened by such things are pirates who can't get their pirated fix 'cause of some sort of DRM issue. And that's just a sign of these things working as intended. Just like the lock out chips, custom hardware and other things of the past. Not all titles stay available through their distribution channels, but the same can be said for physical copies too. There are many games that are only limited to, say, 30 000 copies in existence, a single batch (and god knows how many of those made it, or what about those Atari 2600 games that there are probably less copies of in the world than you can count on both hands?). What do you do when those 30 000 (in various conditions) are in the hands of various people and you want one in your collection? This problem is entirely eliminated when dealing with digital distribution, but also, possibly, replaced by limited availability (which means you, who didn't buy the title at some point, is part of the problem for its lack of availability. So why should you suddenly care now?). The archives that contains these "DRM infested" titles, at least in the case of the Virtual Console, PSN, Steam and 360, although tagged for your console/platform/whatever, still contains the very same data between all of them. It's like a book, where someone wrote their name on the first page. Or like a cartridge, which you can only "preserve" the data inside (if you have the right equipment).

Digital preservation is a stupid thing in general. Preservation is good, it's not that, but the whole 1:1 thing is laughably stupid at times. How do you 1:1 a non-digital presentation? You can't digitize it without loss. You can't replicate it without loss or alterations either. Sure, we "can" do 1:1 with most digital stuff, but why isn't it enough that the presentation itself is preserved (ie. files inside the cabinet). It's not like your rom sets can be played on their original consoles without the use of special equipment. Or that, in most previous generations, you could easily backup your titles. There will be methods for the "DRM infested" titles too, and people will have to face the fact that "archives" such as those found on PSN, WiiWare, Steam and XBLA are "containers", so it's the data inside them that will be "preserved" and not the entire container. And that data will surely be usable "somehow" in the future. Either through modified consoles, special hardware, or emulation.

As for the music industry and their "liberation"; it's something they had to do, as everyone were doing their own DRM schemes and copy protections, creating terrifying incompatibility issues between platforms that by law were entirely legal to use as playback devices for their music purchases, resulting in consumer rights groups putting pressure on them. There might be other factors that have helped them back up their case on this one too, such as the fact that music, as an artistic cultural medium, has a completely different position in the "system". (Taxes, public domain, cultural funding, translations, etc.)

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At the end of the day, what about rental movies? What about watching a movie in a cinema? What about coin up arcades? Do you preserve these days? Not comparing XBLA/PSN/WiiWare to the whole "should've been there" experience... or maybe I just did? Anyway, people seriously need to get their foot out of their asses as far as digital distribution and various DRMs go. If it's a good game, buy it if you want it. You don't have to buy everything. Why rob yourself of a solid experience just 'cause you're for some reason worried about the FUTURE. If the future is such a problem, at least make sure you had that experience, instead of going around bitching about something you obviously didn't care much for in the first place. Do people complain about festivals, live TV shows and limited editions too?
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