New song dropped.
Well, a 4 track demo.
Sadly, this was not done on a 4-track cassette recorder, but with a laptop microphone. Still it's only four tracks.
Not entirely sure about the performance/vibes but we are figuring this song out.
SPOILERS WARNING this is a full review of the newest Monkey Island game.
Monkey Island is a game series that left a huge impression on me as a kid. Particularly the first two. The first game, I was with my dad inside the Software Etc. at the local mall when we both saw this box art and were blown away. I got it for Christmas that year and played through it on our x386 MS-DOS computer that had no sound card, so all the music was played through the PC speaker. I loved it, because the ska-style reggae suited the percussive nature of the PC speaker, and someday I hope to play through it again with that analog sound setup.
Of course I played through it again once we got a Sound Blaster compatible sound card. They issued a remaster a few years later, done with a new engine version, and made for VGA graphics cards. This allowed artists access to a full 256 colors! The resolution was still a tiny 320x240, but the additional colors allowed for full color scans of paintings, drawings, watercolors, etc. to be used directly for game art. The first game was designed with EGA in mind, and the artists involved had to use all kind of tricks in order to cram a maximum amount of art into a tiny space. One technique that I loved, and which was lost in all future remakes and remasters, was the vast use of negative space. The color palette for the first island, Melee Island, which is supposed to be a sort of Caribbean island at permanent twilight or sunset, they use black as the background and outlines of rocks and trees done in grey and two shades of blue. They ended up with a very minimalist look that was spellbinding. It brought to mind forests in the moonlight, and did so musing 4-6 colors. Getting lost in these magical areas was a huge part of these games.
So what have we now? There is a new game. Is it good? Yes. Has Monkey Island been ruined like every other piece of traditional pop culture over the past decade? Not really. Though there are a bunch of lame things about this game that feel very current. Things that I see a lot of modern creatives doing, lazy tricks, easy narratives, creatively coasting. Overall I enjoyed it. But there is a lot to criticize. This is going to be a full spoiler inclusive review, and I want to cover each part of the game.
STORY
This was perhaps the weakest part of the game. It begins leaning very heavily on the meta ending of Monkey Island 2, and introduces our lead Guybrush Threepwood, which makes no sense, because you also see a child, who was Guybrush Threepwood just one game earlier in the timeline. I mean this quite literally, because the game opens with a remake of the ending of the last game. Just like "The Last Jedi", it opens with a lie, with a retold scene that erases something we have already experienced, something we already invested 2+ hours (including viewing + discussion) of our lives in, because the filmmaker wants to "take it from there". Anyways, right away I am confused, and then Guybrush starts telling Guybrush (they call him Boybrush later which is... ugh... lame. This whole sideplot feels like the writer trying to emotionally manipulate the dads in the audience tbh.) a story, and it's all about the one time he tried to find the Secret of Monkey Island. This sort of becomes his White Whale, the quest for The Secret, and it drives the plot so much, as if writer Ron Gilbert is purposefully building it into an idol to be sacrificed for whatever point he wants to make. Oh boy. It is going to be another lecture. At this point, before the game has even begun, I can see the warning signs.
It is funny how close to "The Last Jedi" this game is. Finding the Secret was never even a thing in any of the games. The first game, you end up going to Monkey Island because that is where they took the governor Elaine, whom you have fallen in love with. The Secret ends up being that the giant monkey head opens up to reveal a mass of satanic catacombs underneath the island, and at the lava filled center, The Ghost Pirate LeChuck's spectral ship and crew reside. Monkey Island isn't even part of the 2nd game. The Secret was never a thing fans or Guybrush obsessed over, but with this game, we are pretending like that is his reason for living. And reason for rehashing so much of that first game.
So, you are basically replaying the first game, except now it's all a deconstructed, because postmodernism is a thing, and why bother writing an original story, when you can just do what you did in your 20s and be cynical about it, and then pat yourself on the back about how cynical you are. So we go back to Monkey Island, and there are these new kids in town, and they are these kind of goth pirates, into dark magic, and thus almost a threat to the Voodoo Lady (a sort of Obi Wan character to your clueless Guybrush) as well as LeChuck. They were cool, and I liked their metal version of the music, but unfortunately, it feels like the game forgets they exist halfway through. They are sort of working with LeChuck, then they start to rebel against him, then the ending kind of drops in out of nowhere.
The ending. Ugh. I get what he was doing, and I liked the idea of "turning out the lights", although it was very cheesy, and almost too sentimental for this series. They should have played "Closing Time" or something, I feel like I am watching an episode of the Office here. You are chasing LeChuck through the catacombs of Monkey Island (literally the ending from the first game) and then you end up going through a door and you are in the alleyway from the end of Monkey Island 2. Then the game goes back to you telling this as a story to your son(?) and there is a multi choice dialog option for what you tell your son the ending of the game is. It is utterly pretentious. These endings aren't lovingly animated or play out in any fashion other than a one-shot gag image following the credits. It feels really undercooked. You see all the characters from the game as cardboard cutouts, like it has all been a theme park side, and nothing matters. Oh boy. Nothing matters, any choice you make is valid.
It sucks because the earlier games were so magical. They weren't about storytelling or this Secret mystery that nobody has cared about in 30 years. They were just pirate adventures. Silly pirate adventures, but pirate adventures nontheless. A kind of tribute to the pulp fiction roots of Indiana Jones and Star Wars. The first two games had actual cool adventures in them. This one has some cool stuff in it, but a lot of navel gazing. Every time a creative makes something about meta, it feels like they are basking in self glory. I don't care about writers. I care about stories.
GRAPHICS
This is a tough one because the art style is absolutely generic corporate and the animation is trash. But then again I can see what they are going for, a kind of children's picture book style. The other games gave the impression of a grand serious cinematic adventure. This style works, and some of the backgrounds look very nice, but the characters faces, especially the main one, are terrible. Seriously, Guybrush looks so dumb I don't want to replay this game for a while.
GAMEPLAY
It's here where things get good. This game is made by one of the guys that invented this genre, and it includes all the quality of life improvements you could want. It plays like a dream. And it's fun to get lost in a graphic adventure again. A shame there isn't much story. And outside of essential objects you need for puzzles, most rooms are pretty empty. In the old games, half the fun was the responses you would get for trying the wrong thing. The gameplay is a bit too streamlined for that. Still, it's nice. A better story and this would have been wonderful.
OVERALL
7/10
The story is trash. I'm so sick of self important creators. It almost seems like an atheist trap. Like no serious Christian would make it all about them being the creator, because glory goes to God. But for an atheist, it is probably the height of intellectualism. The atheist sees themselves as God and creator of their world, however untrue that is, and think that their ability to create is some kind of mark that they are special and thus better than other people. The Christian would realize we are all made in God's image and thus humans are naturally creative. Ultimately IMO it comes down to a fundamentally flawed worldview.
Every creative is no longer interested in telling stories just smelling their own farts.
WORD TO WRITERS: META =/= SMART. META = LAZY. YOU = LAZY.
No franchise is safe.
Full review coming later.
RIP to the Queen
In her honor here is a Dust Bunnies cover of The Beatles song Her Majesty
Mar 1, 2007 Mar 4, 2007 Mar 15, 2007 Mar 18, 2007 Mar 27, 2007 Apr 4, 2007 Apr 5, 2007 Apr 7, 2007 Apr 11, 2007 Apr 14, 2007 Apr 18, 2007 Apr 20, 2007 Aug 8, 2008 Aug 12, 2008 Aug 16, 2008 Aug 17, 2008 Aug 20, 2008 Aug 21, 2008 Aug 22, 2008 Aug 25, 2008 Aug 29, 2008 Sep 2, 2008 Sep 6, 2008 Sep 19, 2008 Sep 28, 2008 Sep 30, 2008 Oct 1, 2008 Oct 9, 2008 Oct 16, 2008 Oct 21, 2008 Nov 1, 2008 Nov 12, 2008 Nov 13, 2008 Nov 18, 2008 Nov 19, 2008 Nov 22, 2008 Nov 29, 2008 Dec 2, 2008 Dec 8, 2008 Dec 9, 2008 Dec 19, 2008 Jan 5, 2009 Jan 8, 2009 Jan 14, 2009 Jan 16, 2009 Jan 17, 2009 Jan 18, 2009 Jan 21, 2009 Jan 24, 2009 Jan 25, 2009 Feb 2, 2009 Feb 4, 2009 Feb 8, 2009 Feb 9, 2009 Feb 11, 2009 Feb 15, 2009 Feb 16, 2009 Feb 19, 2009 Feb 21, 2009 Feb 23, 2009 Feb 24, 2009 Feb 25, 2009 Mar 1, 2009 Mar 2, 2009 Mar 5, 2009 Mar 12, 2009 Mar 14, 2009 Mar 16, 2009 Mar 19, 2009 Mar 20, 2009 Mar 23, 2009 Mar 26, 2009 Mar 29, 2009 Apr 1, 2009 Apr 2, 2009 Apr 7, 2009 Apr 8, 2009 Apr 11, 2009 Apr 13, 2009 Apr 15, 2009 Apr 20, 2009 Apr 22, 2009 Apr 23, 2009 Apr 25, 2009 Apr 29, 2009 May 3, 2009 May 13, 2009 May 16, 2009 May 18, 2009 May 21, 2009 May 22, 2009 May 23, 2009 May 26, 2009 May 27, 2009 May 30, 2009 May 31, 2009 Jun 1, 2009 Jun 3, 2009 Jun 6, 2009 Jun 7, 2009 Jun 11, 2009 Jun 14, 2009 Jun 18, 2009 Jun 23, 2009 Jun 24, 2009 Jun 25, 2009 Jun 27, 2009 Jul 2, 2009 Jul 3, 2009 Jul 7, 2009 Jul 16, 2009 Jul 19, 2009 Jul 20, 2009 Jul 23, 2009 Jul 25, 2009 Jul 26, 2009 Jul 29, 2009 Aug 2, 2009 Aug 5, 2009 Aug 7, 2009 Aug 8, 2009 Aug 15, 2009 Aug 20, 2009 Aug 22, 2009 Aug 27, 2009 Sep 1, 2009 Sep 4, 2009 Sep 6, 2009 Sep 8, 2009 Sep 13, 2009 Sep 17, 2009 Sep 22, 2009 Sep 27, 2009 Sep 30, 2009 Oct 2, 2009 Oct 6, 2009 Oct 13, 2009 Oct 17, 2009 Oct 19, 2009 Oct 28, 2009 Oct 30, 2009 Nov 1, 2009 Nov 2, 2009 Nov 4, 2009 Nov 10, 2009 Nov 15, 2009 Nov 19, 2009 Nov 23, 2009 Nov 24, 2009 Nov 25, 2009 Nov 27, 2009 Nov 30, 2009 Dec 3, 2009 Dec 8, 2009 Dec 13, 2009 Dec 15, 2009 Dec 18, 2009 Dec 23, 2009 Dec 24, 2009 Jan 1, 2010 Jan 2, 2010 Jan 3, 2010 Jan 4, 2010 Jan 6, 2010 Jan 7, 2010 Jan 11, 2010 Jan 19, 2010 Jan 24, 2010 Jan 29, 2010 Jan 30, 2010 Jan 31, 2010 Feb 1, 2010 Feb 4, 2010 Feb 5, 2010 Feb 8, 2010 Feb 12, 2010 Feb 13, 2010 Feb 14, 2010 Feb 15, 2010 Feb 22, 2010 Feb 23, 2010 Feb 26, 2010 Feb 28, 2010 Mar 5, 2010 Mar 6, 2010 Mar 8, 2010 Mar 9, 2010 Mar 12, 2010 Mar 13, 2010 Mar 14, 2010 Mar 18, 2010 Mar 20, 2010 Mar 25, 2010 Mar 28, 2010 Mar 29, 2010 Mar 30, 2010 Apr 1, 2010 Apr 6, 2010 Apr 9, 2010 Apr 16, 2010 Apr 18, 2010 Apr 23, 2010 Apr 28, 2010 May 1, 2010 May 2, 2010 May 3, 2010 May 5, 2010 May 6, 2010 May 12, 2010 May 13, 2010 May 15, 2010 May 17, 2010 May 24, 2010 May 27, 2010 May 30, 2010 Jun 3, 2010 Jun 7, 2010 Jun 8, 2010 Jun 9, 2010 Jun 10, 2010 Jun 14, 2010 Jun 16, 2010 Jun 17, 2010 Jun 18, 2010 Jun 20, 2010 Jun 21, 2010 Jun 22, 2010 Jun 24, 2010 Jun 25, 2010 Jun 26, 2010 Jun 27, 2010 Jun 29, 2010 Jun 30, 2010 Jul 4, 2010 Jul 5, 2010 Jul 8, 2010 Jul 9, 2010 Jul 11, 2010 Jul 12, 2010 Jul 13, 2010 Jul 15, 2010 Jul 19, 2010 Jul 21, 2010 Jul 23, 2010 Jul 26, 2010 Jul 29, 2010 Jul 30, 2010 Aug 8, 2010 Aug 13, 2010 Aug 14, 2010 Aug 20, 2010 Aug 21, 2010 Aug 27, 2010 Sep 1, 2010 Sep 9, 2010 Sep 15, 2010 Sep 17, 2010 Sep 24, 2010 Sep 27, 2010 Oct 2, 2010 Oct 3, 2010 Oct 4, 2010 Oct 8, 2010 Oct 11, 2010 Oct 21, 2010 Oct 22, 2010 Oct 28, 2010 Oct 29, 2010 Nov 1, 2010 Nov 6, 2010 Nov 12, 2010 Nov 13, 2010 Nov 17, 2010 Nov 22, 2010 Nov 25, 2010 Nov 27, 2010 Dec 5, 2010 Dec 8, 2010 Dec 10, 2010 Dec 14, 2010 Dec 22, 2010 Dec 25, 2010 Jan 4, 2011 Jan 5, 2011 Jan 11, 2011 Jan 12, 2011 Jan 16, 2011 Jan 17, 2011 Jan 18, 2011 Jan 22, 2011 Jan 23, 2011 Jan 25, 2011 Jan 26, 2011 Feb 1, 2011 Feb 14, 2011 Feb 15, 2011 Feb 18, 2011 Feb 19, 2011 Feb 21, 2011 Feb 24, 2011 Mar 25, 2011 Mar 26, 2011 Mar 27, 2011 Mar 28, 2011 Mar 31, 2011 Apr 4, 2011 Apr 8, 2011 Apr 14, 2011 Apr 19, 2011 Apr 20, 2011 Apr 24, 2011 May 7, 2011 May 16, 2011 May 17, 2011 May 19, 2011 May 20, 2011 May 22, 2011 May 23, 2011 May 24, 2011 Jun 1, 2011 Jun 14, 2011 Jun 16, 2011 Jun 23, 2011 Jun 29, 2011 Jul 16, 2011 Aug 5, 2011 Aug 9, 2011 Aug 10, 2011 Aug 11, 2011 Aug 19, 2011 Aug 20, 2011 Aug 24, 2011 Aug 25, 2011 Sep 6, 2011 Sep 11, 2011 Sep 20, 2011 Sep 28, 2011 Oct 12, 2011 Nov 6, 2011 Dec 1, 2011 Dec 3, 2011 Dec 9, 2011 Dec 21, 2011 Jan 3, 2012 Jan 4, 2012 Jan 10, 2012 Jan 11, 2012 Jan 21, 2012 Jan 23, 2012 Jan 25, 2012 Feb 1, 2012 Feb 6, 2012 Feb 13, 2012 Feb 14, 2012 Feb 17, 2012 Feb 22, 2012 Feb 24, 2012 Feb 27, 2012 Feb 29, 2012 Mar 5, 2012 Mar 8, 2012 Mar 11, 2012 Mar 17, 2012 Mar 22, 2012 Mar 27, 2012 Mar 31, 2012 Apr 4, 2012 Apr 6, 2012 Apr 8, 2012 Apr 10, 2012 Apr 13, 2012 Apr 17, 2012 May 4, 2012 May 6, 2012 May 30, 2012 Jun 5, 2012 Jun 11, 2012 Jun 13, 2012 Jun 20, 2012 Jun 29, 2012 Jul 1, 2012 Jul 16, 2012 Jul 18, 2012 Aug 6, 2012 Aug 8, 2012 Aug 10, 2012 Aug 12, 2012 Aug 22, 2012 Aug 24, 2012 Sep 10, 2012 Sep 11, 2012 Sep 22, 2012 Sep 28, 2012 Oct 5, 2012 Oct 18, 2012 Nov 12, 2012 Nov 13, 2012 Nov 20, 2012 Dec 9, 2012 Dec 17, 2012 Dec 20, 2012 Jan 4, 2013 Jan 9, 2013 Jan 11, 2013 Jan 13, 2013 Jan 19, 2013 Jan 20, 2013 Jan 30, 2013 Feb 1, 2013 Feb 4, 2013 Feb 7, 2013 Feb 9, 2013 Feb 18, 2013 Feb 22, 2013 Mar 1, 2013 Mar 12, 2013 Mar 21, 2013 Mar 26, 2013 Apr 1, 2013 Apr 3, 2013 Apr 18, 2013 Apr 22, 2013 Apr 27, 2013 Jun 18, 2013 Jun 27, 2013 Jul 4, 2013 Jul 7, 2013 Jul 8, 2013 Jul 11, 2013 Jul 15, 2013 Jul 22, 2013 Aug 11, 2013 Aug 23, 2013 Aug 27, 2013 Sep 5, 2013 Sep 10, 2013 Sep 14, 2013 Sep 19, 2013 Sep 30, 2013 Oct 23, 2013 Oct 27, 2013 Nov 21, 2013 Dec 7, 2013 Dec 17, 2013 Jan 1, 2014 Jan 2, 2014 Jan 5, 2014 Jan 9, 2014 Jan 15, 2014 Jan 16, 2014 Jan 23, 2014 Jan 28, 2014 Jan 29, 2014 Jan 30, 2014 Feb 8, 2014 Feb 11, 2014 Feb 14, 2014 Feb 17, 2014 Feb 22, 2014 Mar 9, 2014 Mar 18, 2014 Mar 20, 2014 Mar 28, 2014 Apr 6, 2014 Apr 8, 2014 Apr 16, 2014 Apr 21, 2014 May 1, 2014 May 5, 2014 May 15, 2014 May 17, 2014 Jun 1, 2014 Jun 4, 2014 Jun 12, 2014 Jun 13, 2014 Jun 30, 2014 Jul 25, 2014 Aug 9, 2014 Aug 20, 2014 Aug 27, 2014 Aug 29, 2014 Oct 1, 2014 Oct 14, 2014 Oct 25, 2014 Oct 27, 2014 Nov 4, 2014 Nov 28, 2014 Jan 2, 2015 Feb 1, 2015 Feb 15, 2015 Feb 19, 2015 Feb 23, 2015 Mar 4, 2015 Mar 5, 2015 Mar 9, 2015 Mar 11, 2015 Mar 13, 2015 Mar 22, 2015 Mar 29, 2015 Mar 30, 2015 Apr 12, 2015 May 1, 2015 May 15, 2015 May 25, 2015 Jun 8, 2015 Jun 10, 2015 Jun 24, 2015 Jun 25, 2015 Jul 25, 2015 Aug 14, 2015 Aug 25, 2015 Aug 28, 2015 Sep 25, 2015 Nov 18, 2015 Nov 21, 2015 Dec 22, 2015 Dec 26, 2015 Dec 31, 2015 Jan 11, 2016 Mar 19, 2016 May 1, 2016 Jun 11, 2016 Jul 9, 2016 Jul 19, 2016 Aug 18, 2016 Nov 11, 2016 Nov 19, 2016 Feb 20, 2017 Apr 20, 2017 May 28, 2017 Jun 30, 2017 Aug 3, 2017 Feb 14, 2018 Mar 18, 2018 Aug 19, 2018 Aug 24, 2018 May 13, 2019 Apr 10, 2020 May 30, 2020 Dec 27, 2020 Jan 9, 2021 Jan 17, 2021 Feb 10, 2021 Feb 23, 2021 Apr 9, 2021 Apr 28, 2021 May 1, 2021 May 12, 2021 May 25, 2021 May 26, 2021 May 28, 2021 Jun 1, 2021 Jul 21, 2021 Aug 12, 2021 Aug 14, 2021 Aug 15, 2021 Aug 16, 2021 Aug 17, 2021 Aug 20, 2021 Aug 23, 2021 Sep 2, 2021 Sep 10, 2021 Sep 11, 2021 Sep 29, 2021 Oct 2, 2021 Oct 8, 2021 Oct 9, 2021 Jan 25, 2022 Jan 31, 2022 Feb 3, 2022 Mar 11, 2022 Apr 29, 2022 Sep 8, 2022 Sep 24, 2022 Sep 26, 2022 Nov 30, 2022 Dec 15, 2022 Apr 13, 2023 Nov 28, 2023
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]