I am a stickler for any Monkey Island games. When Tell-Tale made an episode of this series free for play, I am enamored immediately. After the disastrous mess that is the Homestar Runner-licensed series, this series is refreshing, like a pull of Grog-O-Mint. "How refreshing!" So when a rental copy came in my neighbourhood rental, I was the first to snatch it up.
I would like to make more comparisons between this series and Tell-tale's previously produced series, but it would not be fair to Tell-tale Games, the Chapman brothers (creators of the Homestar Runner IP) and the Monkey Island IP. Suffice to say, Tell-tale was given more leeway in designing this game than the Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People series, which was stifled by limited voice acting and the whimsical Homestar Runner IP.
Having the Tales of Monkey Island series set years after the first one raised quite a bit of suspicion and wariness at first - especially after the Chapmans' collaboration with Telltale. The first episode was particularly worrisome, as it suggested that the series will be no more than a canonized off-shoot. Therefore, I found it rather pleasing that this series has a fleshed-out story with both fresh new things and old, proven stuff, worthy of the Monkey Island IP.
Wacky puzzles, surprising plot twists and great voice-acting and animation really bring out the flavor of the series. The scripts stay true to Monkey Island humor, and their effectiveness can be really seen when they are applied to characters new to the IP (Miss Morgan, especially, who can otherwise be written as a new bimbo if not for her rather good lines and plot exposition).
In conclusion, this series is a good way for Telltale to end 2009. With a new season for Sam & Max planned for 2010, I can only drool in anticipation, having seen Telltale Games' tremendous improvement in product quality from 2008 through 2009.