Having just dragged myself through Gilbert's unforgivably bad THIMBLEWEED PARK, my expectations for this were low to say the least. So it was the pleasant surprise of the century that not only did this not suck, but it was, in fact, fantastic! And probably my favorite of the series.
The writing is absolutely on point from start to finish. We're talking great averages here - multiple chuckles per minute, minimum two belly-laughs per hour, easy. More grinning/nodding/pointing at the screen 'I see what you did there' moments than you can count. Truly, I haven't played a game this consistently entertaining in a while. It more than lives up to the series' rep for humor and wit, and I'm glad of it.
But just as important - possibly even moreso - as the writing in making this game truly special is the voice acting. One of my biggest problems with THIMBLEWEED was the horrendous VA. This LucasArts style dry humor is really tough to find the right tone for and they just did not have it. Dominic Armato, on the other hand, has it so hard he basically invented it. Guybrush specifically is a character that exists at a very precarious balance where he could be anything from grating to cloying to overdone, etc. in the wrong hands, and any one of those would just turn the player against him and instantly sink the whole game. But Armato is so natural and funny that Guybrush's doofy, upbeat obliviousness is endearing instead of annoying, and that basically justifies the entire plot of the game and indeed the series. I don't think anybody else could do it so well. It's up there with Jeff Kramer's York from DEADLY PREMONITION as a game-defining lead VA role in a game that very much needed the home run they gave it. And thankfully, the rest of the supporting cast is good as well. (side note: RIP Earl Boen - a shame he couldn't do this one)
And thank God, the fully expected meta elements of the game's story and ending really worked for me. Once again, these were areas where THIMBLEWEED fell flat on its face and had me worried to even start this thing, but that game's relationship to this one is basically a Goofus and Gallant-type situation where everything that sucked ass and was embarrassing there is done near-perfectly here. A consistently engaging meditation on nostalgia and our (and the game's creators') relationship with the originals that both skewers and indulges our (and their) desire to relive the glory days. The ending had me stunned - in a good way. Just sitting there staring off into space, nodding somberly for a good couple minutes. It's a rare video game that gets that reaction.
Overall:
The writing is absolutely on point from start to finish. We're talking great averages here - multiple chuckles per minute, minimum two belly-laughs per hour, easy. More grinning/nodding/pointing at the screen 'I see what you did there' moments than you can count. Truly, I haven't played a game this consistently entertaining in a while. It more than lives up to the series' rep for humor and wit, and I'm glad of it.
But just as important - possibly even moreso - as the writing in making this game truly special is the voice acting. One of my biggest problems with THIMBLEWEED was the horrendous VA. This LucasArts style dry humor is really tough to find the right tone for and they just did not have it. Dominic Armato, on the other hand, has it so hard he basically invented it. Guybrush specifically is a character that exists at a very precarious balance where he could be anything from grating to cloying to overdone, etc. in the wrong hands, and any one of those would just turn the player against him and instantly sink the whole game. But Armato is so natural and funny that Guybrush's doofy, upbeat obliviousness is endearing instead of annoying, and that basically justifies the entire plot of the game and indeed the series. I don't think anybody else could do it so well. It's up there with Jeff Kramer's York from DEADLY PREMONITION as a game-defining lead VA role in a game that very much needed the home run they gave it. And thankfully, the rest of the supporting cast is good as well. (side note: RIP Earl Boen - a shame he couldn't do this one)
And thank God, the fully expected meta elements of the game's story and ending really worked for me. Once again, these were areas where THIMBLEWEED fell flat on its face and had me worried to even start this thing, but that game's relationship to this one is basically a Goofus and Gallant-type situation where everything that sucked ass and was embarrassing there is done near-perfectly here. A consistently engaging meditation on nostalgia and our (and the game's creators') relationship with the originals that both skewers and indulges our (and their) desire to relive the glory days. The ending had me stunned - in a good way. Just sitting there staring off into space, nodding somberly for a good couple minutes. It's a rare video game that gets that reaction.
Overall: