LucasArts has revealed the return of the much-loved
Monkey Island franchise, with Telltale Games premiering
Tales Of Monkey Island and WiiWare and PC starting July, and a
Special Edition of the original coming to XBLA/PC later this summer.
The deal with Telltale, in the traditional episodic style of the
Sam & Max, Strongbad and
Wallace & Gromit episodic game developer, will bring
Tales of Monkey Island to PC and WiiWare starting on July 7th.
According to the official announcement, Telltale will be "delivering a completely new epic storyline and swashbuckling flair that will unfold across five monthly episodes."
Specifically: "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", and initial information will be available
via Telltale's website in the near future.
Separately of this, the updated LucasArts-created title,
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition "faithfully re-imagines the internationally-acclaimed classic game (originally released in 1990) for original and new audiences alike."
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 side-splitting puzzles.
Players can also seamlessly switch between the updated HD graphics and the original’s classic look, and more information is available on
the Monkey Island: Special Edition website.
According to LucasArts, these efforts are "just the start of LucasArts’ new mission to revitalize its deep portfolio of beloved gaming franchises."
In addition to these new
Monkey Island projects, LucasArts recently revealed that the classic adventure game
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (originally released in 1992) is included as an unlockable bonus in the Wii version of
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, set to be released on June 9. Additional announcements are forthcoming.
