[QFG]

Huh... I never gave the corporate satire in MI4 more than a passing thought. I agree that it's somehow outside the prevailing mood and atmosphere of the other three, but I still enjoy it every time on its own merits. If the others are all As, I'd give MI4 a solid B.

[Jake]

I think Jim Ward's "2015" statement has been grossly misinterpreted by fans. I think he was just waving his hands and producing a date that's very far into "the future," is all. He wasn't saying "we will give it exactly a ten year rest, and then make a new game," his point was, and his opinion continues to be "LucasArts needs to get away from its past and make a name for itself now, on its own steam, with creations made by its current staff... and then maybe once we've done that, we can start looking back again." Is that the best move to make? Who knows. I don't agree with that decision personally, but I'm very sure that that's more what he meant than "in 10 years we will make a new Monkey Island and Zak McKracken game! Mark your calendars, kids!"

[Maquisard]

Spend the six mill on acquiring Monkey Island rights!

[GoT]

all i can say is BRING on MI5 and i wish we could have more then a rumour!

[Ariel Type]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

I agree that a Monkey Island game out of current LucasArts would fill me with much skepticism, and I'd love to see Ron Gilbert helm the license again as much as anybody, but I don't understand this idea that nobody but Ron can make a good Monkey Island game. Surely CMI is proof to the contrary?

CMI was unoriginal and unfunny compared to the first MI games. Half of it was just a straight rip-off (like the insult swordfighting, old characters, all the ship-crew-map stuff), the story took a completely different direction. Graphically it was magnificent, but no way as good as MI 1-2.

[QFG]

I respectfully disagree

CMI = best of all the Monkey Islands.

[Bobske]

Originally Posted by Ariel Type

Half of it was just a straight rip-off (like the insult swordfighting, old characters, all the ship-crew-map stuff), the story took a completely different direction.

If it ain't broke...

IMHO, MI3 is the greatest LA adventure ever!

[ATMachine]

I might put in here that Monkey Island 2 was originally supposed to have insult swordfighting in it. In fact there were going to be three separate repertoires of insults, one for each of the islands in Part II. So it's a bit mistaken to accuse the CMI team of being unoriginal when the MI2 team almost did the same.

[EvilMulder]

Originally Posted by Ariel Type

CMI was unoriginal and unfunny compared to the first MI games.

I disagree. In fact, Murray alone would've made MI3 the funniest game I'd ever played. Add the 3 barber pirates on top of that, the whole snake scene, etc,...

Half of it was just a straight rip-off (like the insult swordfighting, old characters, all the ship-crew-map stuff),

The insult swordfighting was the single funniest element from MI2. They would've been fools not to feature it in some way in MI3. As Bobske said, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.
Bringing back old characters doesn't really cound as a rip-off. EVERY sequel of every game does it. It is in fact almost required to qualify as a sequel. And besides, MI3 added a bunch of new, unforgettable characters as well (the afore-mentioned murray and the barber pirate trio).
And ships, crews, and maps? Are you serious? Hello, it's a pirate game! How could you make a pirate game without them?

the story took a completely different direction.

True, I'll grant you this. There's a very abrupt leap between the ending of MI2 and the beginning of MI3. It is explained somewhat in the beginning animation of MI3, but the explanation isn't very good or believable.

Graphically it was magnificent, but no way as good as MI 1-2.

Graphically it was indeed magnificent, and every bit as good and better as MI 1-2.

[dazsin]

I think this rumour is to be taken with about 10000 tonnes of salt.

Still...at least its something! Fingers crossed

[Hammerite]

I love the atmosphere of Monkey Island 3!
Blood Island had a melancholic greatness to it (which for a comedy game, is sort of astounding).

[Ariel Type]

ATMachine

So it's a bit mistaken to accuse the CMI team of being unoriginal when the MI2 team almost did the same.

That's a strange logic. They might though of it, but they didn't implement it. You can say the same thing about giant robots from EfMI which most people dislike. It was actually supposed to be in MI1. Let's blame MI1 for such an awful idea (which I actually enjoyed)!

EvilMulder

In fact, Murray alone would've made MI3 the funniest game I'd ever played.

Murray was a great character indeed. But MI 1-2 have much more of such memorable characters - Stan, Wally, Voodoo lady, three pirates with a rat, Largo, Meethook, cannibals, Henry.. And what the 3rd part did to Guybrush and Elain? It just ruined the characters.

The insult swordfighting was the single funniest element from MI2.

It was feautured in MI1. And MI2 managed to be very funny without it.

Bringing back old characters doesn't really cound as a rip-off.

Yes, but many of them were just thrown there without a reason, like Voodoo lady, Wally (poor Wally) and cannibals.

And ships, crews, and maps? Are you serious? Hello, it's a pirate game! How could you make a pirate game without them?

Not if it is a part of puzzle. In MI1 we were looking for a ship and a crew. In MI2 we were looking for a map. CMI just took the SAME old ideas for puzzle.

and every bit as good and better as MI 1-2

The humor was much simplier and dryer, there were very little memorable moments, the characters were a let down.. I didn't find it the same quality. It was still better than any of the todays adventures, but not even close to the original series.

[noknowncure]

Originally Posted by Ariel Type

MI 1-2 have much more of such memorable characters - Stan, Wally, Voodoo lady, three pirates with a rat, Largo, Meethook, cannibals, Henry.. And what the 3rd part did to Guybrush and Elain? It just ruined the characters.

What an ironic statement: memorable characters 'three pirates with a rat'.

Stan, the Voodoo lady and the memorable 'three pirates with a rat' were carry overs from the 1st monkey island. If they're allowed, it makes perfect sense to include some further familiar characters in CMI, particularly when you consider the gap between the release of the 2nd and 3rd games. Some of the characters are there because they're old favourites but they also serve as a reintroduction to the series.

Originally Posted by Ariel Type

The humor was much simplier and dryer, there were very little memorable moments, the characters were a let down. I didn't find it the same quality. It was still better than any of the todays adventures, but not even close to the original series.

You'll have to expand on those points if they're to work as fuel for discussion.

[GhostPirateLechuck]

I thought MI3 was brilliant. It wasn't quite as good as MI2 but it was quite funny.

[CrimsonBlue]

MI2 is the best adventure game ever created, imo, but CMI did a surprisingly good job as a follow-up. It had tons of atmosphere and character, and added even more memorable characters. The old characters were also pretty well represented. EMI, however, messed up most everything about Monkey Island, and the return of characters didn't work well at all, as most of them were very badly represented.

On topic, wasn't it Steve Purcell that sent in the concept designs? Steve Purcell isn't working for LucasArts anymore is he? Also, isn't there a chance that Telltale might have struck a deal with LucasArts? Maybe we'll see episodic content for Monkey Island.

Which, may I add, would be extremely welcome.

[LuigiHann]

Originally Posted by dazsin

Still...at least its something! Fingers crossed

No, it's definitely nothing. Might they make MI5? Sure, but this rumor is still meaningless. They just took an already-debunked rumor and paired it with entirely-unrelated artwork and called it a new rumor. Kind of depressing to see it continue to appear on blogs as news.

[cwapitm]

Originally Posted by Jake

I think Jim Ward's "2015" statement has been grossly misinterpreted by fans. I think he was just waving his hands and producing a date that's very far into "the future," is all. He wasn't saying "we will give it exactly a ten year rest, and then make a new game," his point was, and his opinion continues to be "LucasArts needs to get away from its past and make a name for itself now, on its own steam, with creations made by its current staff... and then maybe once we've done that, we can start looking back again." Is that the best move to make? Who knows. I don't agree with that decision personally, but I'm very sure that that's more what he meant than "in 10 years we will make a new Monkey Island and Zak McKracken game! Mark your calendars, kids!"

Yeah, I agree. I think he was just throwing a year out there to try to please fans.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by ATMachine

So it's a bit mistaken to accuse the CMI team of being unoriginal when the MI2 team almost did the same.

Almost doing it and then deciding not to is very different from doing it.

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by EvilMulder

I disagree. In fact, Murray alone would've made MI3 the funniest game I'd ever played. Add the 3 barber pirates on top of that, the whole snake scene, etc,...

The insult swordfighting was the single funniest element from MI2. They would've been fools not to feature it in some way in MI3. As Bobske said, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.

(I assume you meant it was one of the funniest elements in MI1, not MI2, as it didn't have insult sword fighting). One, we had seen it already what's the point of doing the same thing all over again? (OK, so sometimes there might be a reason for it.) And two, they broke it. It was simpler in MI1 and you could do it while you tended other matters. In MI3 it was a huge tedious segment and it was difficult - I almost gave up and these days when I play MI3, I download a savegame and skip over that part because it's so repetitive and dull.

And ships, crews, and maps? Are you serious? Hello, it's a pirate game! How could you make a pirate game without them?

Monkey Island 2?

I like all three* Monkey Island games and think that Monkey Island 3 was a very good game indeed. It was different from the first two, but I liked them a lot and for different reasons.

*That should tell you how I feel about the unmentionable Espace from Monkey Island. OK, so it wasn't really that bad.

[Squinky]

I liked CMI for its interactive musical number, and I'm saddened by how no other game has attempted anything of the sort since.

I also actually found EMI funny in parts (Guybrush's "sexy voice" in particular), though it definitely did feel like a very different game from the other three.