Adventure Gamers - Forums

Egon - 21 September 2022 05:04 AM

Just wanted to say that this whole conversation sounds like grumpy grandpa’s “good ol’ days” winning… but then I noticed those are actually just St_Eddie’s posts.

Christ man, just let go of all of your prejudices and play the game. It’s almost like you don’t allow yourself to enjoy it, because you’d have to admit it’s not as bad as you thought it would be. And if you’ll really end up hating it… well, so be it. The world won’t end.

I am playing the game!  That’s literally what I’m basing my opinions upon.  As for wanting the game to be bad; this is literally the game I’ve been more excited for than any other in my life.  I’ve fantasised about this game for 30 years.  I would like nothing more than to love the game.  Prejudices have nothing to do with it.  As for the world not ending if I end up hating the game; when did I ever say or imply that it would?!

To be fair, I fully expected the Anti-Criticism Brigade to come out in full force when I made critical observations.  It’s all so horribly predictable.  Of course this wouldn’t have happened for a random adventure game but because it’s Ron Gilbert and Monkey Island, that somehow means that it’s above reproach and that it shouldn’t be held to the same standards as any other game.  You don’t see me trying to tell people who are loving the game that they’re wrong for doing so, therefore why you and others think it’s acceptable to try and shame me for giving my honest opinion is beyond me.

It’s not even as though I haven’t said positive things about my experience thus far…

St_Eddie - 19 September 2022 06:55 PM

My impressions thus far (I’m presently pretty much finished doing the quests in Melee Island…

THE GOOD POINTS…

* The art style still isn’t really my kind of thing (purely at a subjective level) but there’s no denying that when you see it all in motion and as a cohesive whole, it works very nicely. I particularly like the numerous close up shots of characters for dramatic or humorous emphasis/effect.

* The writing is on point, as is the voice acting.The music is sublime.

* I wasn’t totally sold on the opening at the carnival at first, but the more I reflect upon it and consider what the actual implications are, the more I appreciate it.  Basically, Guybrush’s kids are playing at the Big Whoop carnival and recreating their Father’s adventures, via make believe.  The opening of this game is not a continuation of the ending of MI2.  It’s two kids recreating those events.

The explanation for Big Whoop within The Curse of Monkey Island is still 100% canonical and Big Whoop was indeed a carnival built by LeChuck to turn guests into his skeletal crew of the damned, but in the years since, the carnival has been turned into a genuine vacation spot within the pirate Caribbean (this is actually supported by the post-credits ending to The Curse of Monkey Island, where a Father and Son are visiting the carvival and talking about the rumour of LeChuck being frozen somewhere below the park - a la Walt Disney in cyro).

This theory is further backed up by the kids going off script from the ending of MI2 in their recreation (by making the ripping off of LeChuck’s arm funny - which annoys Guybrush) and they are trying to find people to use as stand-ins for Guybrush’s real adventures (the two unsuspecting park guests being used as stand-in parents).  It’s also clearly still set within the pirate world, because the food is Scurvy Dogs and the seller takes payment in pieces of eight, demonstrating that is still the currency of the time and it’s not set in modern times.

St_Eddie - 19 September 2022 06:55 PM

It’s an adventure game where the hours fly by and you find yourself itching to jump back in after saving and quiting.

St_Eddie - 20 September 2022 11:37 AM

I’m currently playing through the section onboard LeChuck’s ship and I’m enjoying the game a lot more now…

St_Eddie - 20 September 2022 05:27 PM

Actually, I am kinda enjoying it.

It’s just that people like you aren’t happy unless everyone is praising the game as the best thing since sliced bread.  Just let people express their own opinions on the game, for goodness sakes.

Also, I reiterate; if you or anyone else doesn’t like what I have say, then just put me on ignore or simply don’t read my posts.  Problem solved.  What you can’t do is browbeat me into liking something I don’t like or silence me from giving my honest opinion about a game.

Got to side with St Eddie on this.

St Eddie has bought the game and given it ago. What annoyed me before were people hating on a game before it even came out.

I’m curious what Eddie’s opinion will be after they finish but Eddie has every right to express their opinion on their experience so far.

I personally love the game but i totally understand if this game isn’t for everyone.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 06:17 AM

Got to side with St Eddie on this.

St Eddie has bought the game and given it ago. What annoyed me before were people hating on a game before it even came out.

Thank you, Toymafia.  I’ll continue to post my thoughts on the game as I continue to play, but from here on out, I’ll ignore anyone who tries to shame me for doing so.  I suggest said people also ignore me or scroll past my posts if my opinions about a video game upset them so but if they don’t, then so be it.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 06:17 AM

I’m curious what Eddie’s opinion will be after they finish but Eddie has every right to express their opinion on their experience so far.

I’m hoping that the game will fully win me over by the time I complete it.  I’ve just reached Monkey Island and the underwater scenes are beautiful; with all those sea creatures swimming by.  That’s one of the things I absolutely do love about the art direction; the sheer amount of movement in every scene, including those ants carrying leaves within the jungle!  It really brings the world to life.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 06:17 AM

I personally love the game but i totally understand if this game isn’t for everyone.

This right here is a reasonable stance to take and one which certain others would do well to follow suite on.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 06:17 AM

Got to side with St Eddie on this.

St Eddie has bought the game and given it ago. What annoyed me before were people hating on a game before it even came out.

I’m curious what Eddie’s opinion will be after they finish but Eddie has every right to express their opinion on their experience so far.

I personally love the game but i totally understand if this game isn’t for everyone.

I see what you’re saying in principle but even then I don’t agree with you. The game had trailers and behind the scenes and if people didn’t like what they saw even then they should be able to express that opinion. If something does not look good to you there’s no reason for you to spend $20 to $60 on a game if it does not interest you for obvious reasons. And you should be able to express that as long as you’re not lying.

For instance the new Little Mermaid trailer came out and I asked my wife if she’d be interested in seeing it and she said hell no it looks dreary and almost like a horror movie, she asked where are all the bright colors that were in the animated movie. Now the movie might be awesome but they didn’t sell her on the trailer so why would we go waste 50 bucks on a night out if she doesn’t like what she saw in the trailer. Same exact principal with video games. They release trailers to try to Market the game to people, but if the game does nothing for them they are allowed to say it.

As far as reviews go, it’s nice to have them but they matter little to me as a whole. I really only listen to three people that I trust as far as professional reviews go. I do trust a couple of people’s opinion on here like PlanetX, who just gave it a good review, so that makes me more interested, but my friend who I’ve known for years thought it was average at best. So as right now I’ll probably wait for it to go on a deep discount sale and then try it and there’s nothing wrong with me saying that. Plus I still do not like the art at all and that is fine too.

Jdawg445 - 21 September 2022 08:08 AM

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 06:17 AM

Got to side with St Eddie on this.

St Eddie has bought the game and given it ago. What annoyed me before were people hating on a game before it even came out.

I’m curious what Eddie’s opinion will be after they finish but Eddie has every right to express their opinion on their experience so far.

I personally love the game but i totally understand if this game isn’t for everyone.

I see what you’re saying in principle but even then I don’t agree with you. The game had trailers and behind the scenes and if people didn’t like what they saw even then they should be able to express that opinion. If something does not look good to you there’s no reason for you to spend $20 to $60 on a game if it does not interest you for obvious reasons. And you should be able to express that as long as you’re not lying.

For instance the new Little Mermaid trailer came out and I asked my wife if she’d be interested in seeing it and she said hell no it looks dreary and almost like a horror movie, she asked where are all the bright colors that were in the animated movie. Now the movie might be awesome but they didn’t sell her on the trailer so why would we go waste 50 bucks on a night out if she doesn’t like what she saw in the trailer. Same exact principal with video games. They release trailers to try to Market the game to people, but if the game does nothing for them they are allowed to say it.

As far as reviews go, it’s nice to have them but they matter little to me as a whole. I really only listen to three people that I trust as far as professional reviews go. I do trust a couple of people’s opinion on here like PlanetX, who just gave it a good review, so that makes me more interested, but my friend who I’ve known for years thought it was average at best. So as right now I’ll probably wait for it to go on a deep discount sale and then try it and there’s nothing wrong with me saying that. Plus I still do not like the art at all and that is fine too.

Hey jdawg,

That’s fair enough. Sorry i wasn’t taking a shot at you.

I agree that sometimes you can get a sense if something isn’t for you by a trailer. There have been plenty of movies i’ve skipped because of the trailer.

There have been times where trailers haven’t done the final product justice for me though.

I disagree on some stuff but I really don’t want to start up a argument about this again. I respect your opinion.

Anyway, I think you got the right idea, if your not sold on the trailers then wait for a price drop.

@St_Eddie it sounds we are around the same spot in the game again haha. I’ve been roughly doing a part a night.

NITPICK CORNER

LeChuck’s Diary kinda bothered me for two reasons…

1/ His bastardised phrase “I could care less”.  The correct phrase is “I could not care less”.  Take it away, John Cleese and Harlan Ellison.  Now, some may say that it’s in-character for LeChuck to use the incorrect grammar but that doesn’t tally with his impeccable spelling and grammar throughout the rest of his diary (something which also seems out of character, in of itself).

2/ The way that LeChuck’s diary entries are displayed via simple text pasted on top of drawings of the pages.  This sort of thing bothers me in any game, but even more so in a prestige title such as this, which is all about characterisation, world building and atmosphere.  It would have been far better to have handwritten diary entries (the developers could even have made it so that when the player clicks on each entry, the player hears LeChuck’s voice reading the passages - à la Gabriel Knight 2).  Equally, the font used for the text is inappropriate for LeChuck’s character.  It looks to be the standard font used for all of the game’s text, said font being similar to comic sans. 

Spot the difference.  In terms of presentation, one says a lot about the character and the other actively betrays the character.

As it is, reading LeChuck’s Diary felt more like reading a random book in an Elder Scrolls game in terms of aesthetics.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 09:40 AM

@St_Eddie it sounds we are around the same spot in the game again haha. I’ve been roughly doing a part a night.

heh

I’ve just arrived back in Mêlée Island.  Curious to see if we’re still at the same place in the game?

Doom - 21 September 2022 11:23 AM

I’m just not a fan of this new interface as a whole, it feels lazy and claustrophobic. I thought it would be a mix of verb coin and verb list like in Larry 7, but it’s just one (sometimes two) options. And using one item on another or the environment rarely leads to any response at all, not even “that doesn’t work”, they just show you an “X”.

This has led to me lazily sweeping items across the screen and over hotspots when I’m stuck, in order to see if the “X” disappears for any of them.  One of the advantages of having to click on an item on a hotspot to see if it works is that it takes more time and thus discourages this kind of player response.

I’m allowed to be critical of a game which I paid money for, just as I’m allowed to express my genuine thoughts about a game which I’ve played, as are you and everyone else upon this forum.

Critique of entertainment is not a synonym for “whining”.

I’m gonna make this whole experience super easy for you. No where did I say criticism = whining, I said, that you crossed the line from criticism into whining. Look around, I’m not the only one who has noticed or even called out your negativity. It’s not that you simply don’t like something, it’s how you’re conveying that you don’t like something.

Watch this :

Me: I don’t particularly like the art style

Everyone : Cool

Me : Carries on

Now this is you :

You : I don’t like this

Everyone : Cool

You : I DONT LIKE THIS

Everyone : Ok..?

You : BUT I REALLY DONT LIKE THIS!!

Everyone : Eye rolls

You : MEMBER BERRIES UGH / SIGH / STOMPS FEET

and this isn’t even touching on how you’re actually communicating that you don’t like something. It’s funny, for someone who likes to give as much criticism as you do, you certainly don’t seem to be able to handle it very well.

As far as your suggestion for putting you on ignore, I will take you up on that.

Owskie - 21 September 2022 11:31 AM

It’s funny, for someone who likes to give as much criticism as you do, you certainly don’t seem to be able to handle it very well.

Actually, I think you’ll find that I’ve handled your insulting nonsense and unprovoked attacks with far more grace than you deserve.

Owskie - 21 September 2022 11:31 AM

As far as your suggestion for putting you on ignore, I will take you up on that.

Excellent.

@St_Eddie for a second I thought you were way ahead of me and then a few puzzles later I was on Part 4

Very intrigued what’s going to happen.

Hmm the diary thing i think i get. I think it would be cool if Le Chuck had a certain signature handwriting. It be fun to compare a Guybrush diary to LeChucks, both the handwriting and doodles.

Guybrush had a diary at the start of Curse, didn’t he? Love to be able to read that.

I do appreciate the doodles on the pages though. I think they give the diaries a nice touch.

Toymafia1988 - 21 September 2022 12:12 PM

I do appreciate the doodles on the pages though. I think they give the diaries a nice touch.

As do I, but LeChuck’s Diary had the same doodles as Guybrush’s scrapbook; cute little seagulls and ducks and whatnot.  I suspect that the developers just recycled the art for both.  Again, that leads to it seeming out of character for LeChuck.

I got stuck and unsure on how to progress any further when exploring Mêlée Island in Chapter 4, so I returned to my ship and set sail and… oh my goodness!

In other positive reactions, I ought to clarify that I’m cat sitting for my parents this week and as such have been playing the game (ever since launch) via plugging my PC into their upstairs TV.  The gaudy colours of the game were genuinely giving me a headache and so in desperation, I only just went into the TV’s picture settings and it turns out that my parents had the colour, saturation and contrast settings set WAY to high (almost at max for a couple of them)!  No wonder this game’s visuals were making me feel sick and I wasn’t gelling with the in-game world at all.  Now that I’ve sorted my parents’ TV out, it looks sooooo much better, it’s unreal and it’s actually pleasant to explore the environment now!

Here is something positive even though I’m not all that thrilled from what I’m hearing about the game I do hope this sells well and provides a nice jolt in the arm for the adventure game genre. kind of like telltale’s walking dead did years ago