Rumour Monkey #1

Monkey Island 5? Age of Empires III? Those rumours and more are taken and beaten to pulp by the Rumour Monkey.

The Rumour Monkey has made his way out of his tree, and boy is all this Christmas cheer really p***ing him off. But not as much as some of the rumours floating about the gaming community at the moment so he's here to kick some speculation into space so he can go back to his jungle lair and, err, 'amuse' himself for another couple of weeks. Oh, and just a reminder, if he bites you, remember to get your rabies shot. That stuff can get nasty untreated.

Rumour: Age of Empires III is currently in development

Background Info: On a visit to the website of Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology series you'll be greeted with a black page, void of anything except for the phrase, 'THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER' in large letters. Ensemble or Microsoft have said nothing, or made no further gestures to what the teaser is alluding to. Magazine Computer Gaming World recently did a 'mock feature' on AoE III as well.

Monkey Says: Some would argue that this doesn?t point to anything specific in terms of projects but it's safe to say that Ensemble haven't produced anything other than the 'Age of' series and that there's very little chance that's about to change, not with Microsoft behind them anyway. In addition their latest work, Age of Mythology, despite its surrounding hype received nowhere near as much public support as Empires did, so as such one would expect ES to go with public demand and resurrect Age of Empires. Then again how many developers actually listen to what the public wants these days? Nintendo I'm looking at you here *cue squinty eyes*. But when it comes down to it it's far more likely than not that we'll see Age of Empire III announced very soon.

Monkey?s Confidence: 9/10 Bananas - Monkey stands by his words.

Rumour: Developer TellTale is working on Monkey Island 5

Background Info: According to an array of Monkey Island fan sites the cult LucasArts series Monkey Island, which queried players with such statements as, 'why do men have nipples?' and 'Pants? What pants? Who needs pants?' could be ready to see its fifth incarnation. However not at the hands of LucasArts. The speculation came as a result of TellTale going all secretive, only dropping a few hints here and there. The one however, that got most people saying it was Monkey Island is this image here. Man with a monkey, guy with a brush (possibly alluding to the series main character, Guybrush), you see how the speculation arose. In short what TellTale have said so far it is; a well known franchise, an existing license purchased from someone else, and that they're only part of the overall picture.

Monkey Says: Arrrrr, when it comes down to it the likelihood of it being Monkey Island 5 is unfortunately rather poor, while LucasArts has made no moves to revive the series since its last outing in 2000 they're not one to sell off important licenses at a whim, especially considering Monkey Island has been their most successful adventure series, and possibly their most successful ever. In fact at times it seems they'd rather keep things locked away from anyone than sell I.P, The Grim Fandango is a perfect example of that. In addition this TellTale owned website, Dude Brough, recently popped up, and a quick visit will show that, unless this is to put people off the scent that guy looks nothing like anyone from Monkey Island. Not unless there's been some weird crap going on with Guybrush and co. So what do we think it is? Geez, I'm just a goddamn friggin' monkey - how in hell should I know?

Monkey's Confidence: 6.5/10 Bananas - Don't quote Monkey on this, or he'll get you, he'll get you goooood.

Rumour: The Nintendo DS has Rumble Pak capabilities

Background Info: When announced the DS didn't bear signs of a built in Rumble Pak, nor did Nintendo make any mention of it. However it now seems that a lot of United States DS owners are getting hit with the message, "Would you like the Rumble Feature to accompany the alarm?" whilst flash carts are in the system. Other gamers have had the message, "There is a DS Option Pak inserted", something which could be taken more-or-less, as the same thing. Nintendo themselves, as per usual, have made no comment.

Monkey Says: A rumble pack in itself is unlikely to happen, chances are we'll merely see the same thing that happened with the Game Boy Advance, and only that. Which is that some games, and their carts, have the potential to bring on the vibrating joy and it's up to the developers to decide whether or not they want to implement it. Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire for the GBA did it, as did the latest Wario Ware game, and so will the new DS Wario Ware title.

Monkey's Confidence: 8/10 Bananas - Monkey likes Banana?s

Rumour: Sam and Max 2: Freelance Police could finally be published

Background Info: More than a decade after the release of the first Sam & Max game, which followed the adventures of a 6 foot dog and a homicidal rabbit, LucasArts announced Sam & Max 2: Freelance Police in 2001. That project was eventually canned to the displeasure of fans, especially considering the game was almost 90% complete upon cancellation. However in the last few days a spokesman for Bad Brain Entertainment, a German based publisher, recently said, "there are negotiations with LucasArts but I can't get into detail here. Maybe this will be the surprise release of 2005. The game you all wanted but didn't get (except for a fine trailer)...".

Monkey Says: Of course it's nothing close to confirmation, but things do seem to add up quite nicely. LucasArts have stated in the past that they don't see much of a future for Sam & Max, a huge up cry came about after S&M 2 was canned and a quirky wee trailer for the game was showcased at E3 2003. We're going to keep a close eye on this one, since it's very likely that the game in question is Sam & Max 2 but whether or not BBE can grab the rights is another question.

Monkey's Confidence: 9/10 Bananas - Monkey stands by his words.

That's all the time Rumour Monkey has for you freaks right now, but if there's any rumours that you want the truth on, email us!!