The scale here is excellent. It's a big game, with a lot of locations, all designed really nicely. And there's an awful lot to do, lasting ten hours or more. Deck13 don't scrimp in this department, and this is probably why Jack Keane is such a disappointing experience, rather than the more usual dismissible. It's reminiscent of the Runaway games in this respect (but in this respect alone - Keane is never misogynistic) - a big game, lots of effort, but very little satisfaction. Eurogamer is prone to love a game where the solution to a puzzle is to have a monkey eaten by a killer plant (don't worry - he survives), and the developer constantly demonstrates a passion for the genre, and the LucasArts games that dominated it. But this time, the game doesn't reflect it.
Available for one week only, players can purchase The Great Adventure Bundle 2010 which includes: Hothead's Penny Arcade Adventures, Episode 1, Daedalic's The Whispered World, Activision's King's Quest Collection, Deck 13's Jack Keane; plus Telltale Games' own Puzzle Agent and Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space.
Telltale Games writes: "The Great Adventure Bundle 2010 is here. Telltale has teamed up with some awesome partners to bring you six great PC adventure games for only $19.95. A portion of your purchase - 25% - will go to charitable causes, including Child's Play, The World Wildlife Fund, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Nyota e.V., and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Games in the bundle include Daedalic's The Whispered World, Deck 13's Jack Keane, Activision's King's Quest Collection, and Hothead's Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1. The Great Adventure Bundle 2010 also includes two bonus games from Telltale - Puzzle Agent and Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space - which will unlock as more people purchase the bundle."
The Monkey Island series is one of the most loved and charming point and click adventure series of all time, combining quirky humor and traditional gameplay into an engaging overall package. Which is bad news for Jack Keane. Because while the game bares a lot in common with the Monkey Island games, both in terms of its look and style as well as the way it plays, it also fails to muster any of what made them so popular: charm. Instead we're left with a fairly bland and boring adventure that lasts a little too long and is decidedly light on laughs.
