Guybrush Threepwood: We hardly knew ye

Telltale Games and LucasArts are saying that the popular pirate protagonist Guybrush Threepwood has met his doom and that all will be revealed in the next episode of Tales of Monkey Island. That episode - Rise of the Pirate God — promises to unearth secrets when it is released on Tuesday, December 8. According to the tease Telltale is circulating, suspects in his untimely death include recently reformed pirate LeChuck and Threepwood’s wife Elaine Marley-Threepwood. Apparently authorities cannot locate either of them but want to bring them in for questioning.

“He wanted what every young man wants - to loot, pillage, and sail the high seas in search of further looting and pillaging opportunities,” said Dave Grossman, veteran Monkey Island game designer and writer. “It’s a great tragedy to see such a productive life seemingly cut off prematurely. And I’m not just saying that because he owes me money.”

To celebrate Threepwood’s life, Telltale is offering the first four episodes of Tales of Monkey Island for individual purchase at http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland. How inspirational! Each episode is priced at $8.95 USD.

Tales of Monkey Island Designer for the Day winner announced

Telltale Games has announced that Liz Johnston of British Columbia, Canada is the winner of the Tales of Monkey Island Designer for the Day contest. The worldwide contest attracted more than 4,400 entries and gave fans the chance to write a line of dialogue for the fourth game of the five month long Tales of Monkey Island episodic series.

Given the set up of accusing Monkey Island lead character Guybrush Threepwood of wrongdoing, Liz wrote “He dug up my perfectly good X!” Now we’re all left to wonder how this could possibly get worked into a game scenario. Funny stuff.

“I’ve been a fan of the Monkey Island series and Telltale for a long time now, and it’s an honor to have my line chosen,” said Johnston. “The guys behind the game at Telltale love fan involvement, and I think it’s very cool that I’ll be hearing my line so quickly because the games are developed episodically.”

As part of the prize package, Liz was flown to this year’s Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle earlier this month where she was officially announced as the contest’s winner during Telltale’s annual Make a Scene panel. Liz also met with the Telltale’s design director Dave Grossman, Tales of Monkey Island co-lead designer Mark Darin, and the voice of Guybrush Threepwood himself, Dominic Armato, to discuss how Guybrush will respond to this heinous accusation.

The first two of the five Tales of Monkey Island episodes are currently available, with the third chapter releasing Tuesday, September 29. The full series can be purchased for $34.95 on PC at www.telltalegames.com and the WiiWare games are available from the Wii Shop Channel.

LucasArts celebrates Talk Like a Pirate Day with a freebie

LucasArts and Telltale are celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day September 19 by giving you some booty for free. No not that, kind of booty. On September 19, Telltale is making the premiere episode of Tales of Monkey Island a FREE download on their website (www.playlikeapirate.com) all day long.

In addition, today through September 21, LucasArts is offering a deals on several versions of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition titles including
50 percent off the iPhone and iPod touch version of LucasArts’ new The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition via Apple’s App Store; and 50 percent off The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Steam and Direct2Drive.

LucasArts will also soon release a free “lite” version of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPod touch as well as a sound board application for iPhone and iPod touch that features 16 witty and ridiculing sound-bites from The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

Good deal. Be sure to grab this excellent game for free tomorrow!

Tales of Monkey Island now on Amazon

Telltale Games announced that its Tales of Monkey Island games are now available at Amazon’s new channel as the first episodic series available for the company’s recently launched Game Download Store. Each chapter of Tales of Monkey Island will cost $8.95, beginning with the first two chapters available for immediate download at www.amazon.com/GameDownloads in the United States. This also represents the first time that the Tales of Monkey Island episodes for PC have been available for purchase as individual episodes, says Telltale.

Learn more about the series by checking out www.telltalegames.com.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 2 coming August 20

Telltale’s next installment of Tales of Monkey Island, Chapter 2: - Siege of Spinner Cay, will be released on Thursday, August 20. Tales of Monkey Island will unfold over five months, with each chapter raising the stakes on Guybrush’s quest to combat the nefarious LeChuck and reunite with his beloved. Telltale promises that the story will get deeper with every new chapter, building to surprising twists leading up to the grand finale coming this fall.

Telltale is planning the second WiiWare chapter to be timed close to the PC release. The entire five-chapter serial is available for $34.95.

For those who still find themselves confused on Flotsam Island, check out Telltale’s walkthrough..

LucasArts, Telltale return to Monkey Island

Finally some exciting news today: LucasArts is bringing back one of its most beloved adventure franchises to modern gaming platforms: Monkey Island. The original hilarious pirate adventure is back with two new projects based on the classic Monkey Island franchise. First, Telltale Games will deliver a new game called the Tales of Monkey Island, delivering a completely new storyline that will unfold across five monthly episodes on PC and WiiWare beginning with the season premiere episode on July 7.

The Monkey Island celebration doesn’t stop there: later in the summer LucasArts will publish The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, a re-imagined version of the first game in the series. But more than just a remake, this game will add updated high definition graphics, a re-mastered musical score, and full voiceover to the classic adventure game originally launched in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be made available on Xbox LIVE Arcade and Windows PC.

Tales of Monkey Island sees the return of pirate Guybrush Threepwood with a new storyline that promises to escalate into hilarity during the course of the five-episode saga. While battling his nemesis, the evil pirate LeChuck, Guybrush accidentally unleashes an insidious voodoo pox that threatens to transform the buccaneers of the Caribbean into unruly pirate monsters. Players will experience humor, romance, and swashbuckling action that the Monkey Island games are famous for. Tales of Monkey Island is set to premiere on PC and WiiWare in the coming weeks.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition re-imagines the classic game (originally released in 1990) for fans. The development team at LucasArts is bringing the game into the modern era with all-new HD graphics, a re-mastered musical score, full voiceover, and an in-depth hint system has been added to help players through the game’s most puzzling moments. Purists will also delight in the ability to seamlessly switch between the updated HD graphics and the original’s classic look. The game’s twisty plot leads hero, Guybrush Threepwood, on a quest throughout the fabled Monkey Island. Tales of pirate wealth attract Guybrush, who lands at the port of Mêlée with high hopes, no money and an insatiable desire to become a pirate.