Monkey Island back after nearly a decade at sea

If you ever played point and click games back in the 90s, you probably tackled your way through the Monkey Island series as Guybrush Threepwood, watching the series grow from a pixel-tastic affair to a fully-voiced 3D adventure over four different games.Now in good news for point and clickers everywhere, Telltale Games has brought the quite frankly brilliant series back after nearly 10 years, with the fifth series set to be split up into five separate episodes.  

Gamers will be able to pick up a new episode every month, giving you at least five months of point and click juiciness, in a time when the genre seems to have all but dried up.Tales of Monkey Island will kick off with the “Launch of the Screaming Narwhal”, and will see gamers take on the role of Threepwood once more, attempting to stop the Pox of LeChuck that he unwittingly unleashed in a fight with his enemy. Whoops.Created by the same team behind the the original MI series’, expect more of the same humour, in-jokes and all round fun that the first four series brought us.So how can you get your hands on it? The new series kicked off yesterday, and the first chapter is available now for PC and Nintendo Wii. You can currently buy all five PC episodes up front for £24.99 from Steam, so you’ll get them as soon as they become available. Wii users will need to log onto WiiWare to get their point and click fix.Now all this point and click loveliness has got us reminiscing about some of our other favourites in the genre. Here’s our top 5 and what they’re up to now – be sure to let us know your favourites below.1. The Secret of Monkey IslandThe first installment of the series is also making a comeback later this summer, having been completely remastered with HD graphics, new musical score and full voiceover. It’ll be available on Xbox Live and PC.2. Sam & MaxSam & Max Save the World (also known as Sam & Max Season One on PC) became available to download from Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare last month, with Season Two expected to go live within the next few months.The third series has also been confirmed for release sometime this year on both consoles, as well as PC.3. Broken SwordThe first installment in the four-title series, The Shadow of the Templars, has been re-made into a “Director’s Cut”. It was released on Nintendo’s DS and Wii consoles in March this year, featuring extra story elements not seen in the 1996 original.4. Leisure Suit LarryOne of the more risque games in the genre, Leisure Suit Larry made a comeback this year on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 with Box Office Bust – the 8th game in the series. Unfortunately, it got all round dire reviews, so perhaps it’s best to stick to your older games for this classic.5. Maniac Mansion: Day of the TentacleOne of the more popular point and clicks to have not made a comeback as yet. However at E3 this year, Telltale Games said it was “feasible” to release an episodic series based around the original. Until then, get your hands on a copy and revel in one of the heights of point and click aceness…