28 Oct, 2011
Title: Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood
Platform: iPad
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
TL;DR: The second-last game in the series and it really starts getting juicy!
Family Friendly?: Click here to skip the detail and see if this game is right for your family!
Please note this is the 4th installment of the Tales of Monkey Island games. If you have not seen the previous reviews yet, you can do so here: First, Second, and Third.
The second I saw the title Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, I thought it was all a bit too… spoiler-ish. Giving games such an obvious plot in the title usually backfires, but not this time! At the end of Lair of the Leviathan, the series’ hero Guybrush is captured by pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay right after they escape from the intestines of a gigantic manatee. In prison, our mighty Guybrush is sentenced to pirate court on Flotsam Island, facing various charges including unleashing the deadly Pox of LeChuck. Along with this courtroom drama, we get to see what Elaine and LeChuck have been up to, as they play a bigger role in this episode which comes as not much of a surprise considering the build up to the finale.
This chapter is split between the courtroom, where Guybrush first must question witnesses and present evidence to prove his innocence, and exploring Flotsam Island to hopefully get new evidence to use in court. Long time fans of Monkey Island will be very pleased to hear the return of a very important character – Stan! The fast talking, arm flailing salesman is back and he takes on the role of the prosecuting attorney (obviously this can happen in real life too). He returns alongside his trademark checkered jacket, and provides a good share of the laughs found in the game.
Monkey Island is still, to this date, a shining example of a point-and-click adventure game. The writing is, as always, top notch. The bizarre workings of pirate court are hilarious, and the anger-inducing pirate pox leads to some unexpected moments. My favourite part of The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is seeing how little things you did in previous chapters have an effect in later chapters. Like poor Captain D’Oro, who was caught selling counterfeit action figures on Ye Bay. It’s small details like this that really make the series feel like a cohesive whole.
There is a noticeable shift in the overall tone back to the more lighthearted, occasionally more obvious “charm” of the early season and away from the dark and biting wit of the last episode. Interestingly enough, the best writing comes during the scenes that call for sincere drama, which he handles with the right seriousness and does not resort to cheap laughs.
Other than the shift in tone for the game, there is also the puzzle component that takes a very different direction in this game. After complaining about the last three Tales games being fairly simple in terms of puzzles, Telltale has thrown the puzzling into overdrive with some rather challenging and outside-the-box obstacles this time. The puzzles involve extrapolating from thin clues in tricky locations, bizarre inventory combinations, and a whole lot of repetitive travel. These elements result in some challenging and creative puzzles, but there are some definite misfires. The clues can be too abstract, the object combinations sometimes make sense only in retrospect, and all the travel emphasizes the weakness of the walking interface. I personally love a good challenge and found much more to like here than previous episodes. On the other hand, those who were happy with the relative ease of the last game will be advised to find their favorite walkthrough site and bookmark it very early in the game. There is a hint system, as usual, but even on the highest slider setting the hints take a while to come, and the game really wants to make sure you still have some of your own thinking (or blind experimenting) behind every solution. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this game takes some players upwards of four hours to complete with all the puzzle-solving that takes place.
As always, it’s necessary to have played all of the previous chapters in the series before tackling this game, as the story will be extremely hard, if not impossible, to follow otherwise. And though the majority of the game feels a bit repetitious, The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood features an absolutely shocking ending that makes it all worth while. All previous chapters in the series have ended on wonderful cliffhangers, but none quite like this. If nothing else, this chapter serves as a great set-up for what is shaping up to be a truly epic finale for the series.
Good times!
- Great dialogue as always
- The ending has an unexpected twist
- Puzzles are finally a little challenging
Bad times :(
- Flotsam Island gets a little stale and boring sometimes
- Puzzles can now be found a little too extreme
- Liked the darker tone of Monkey Island a little better
Family Focus
As always, still a great family game. However, the puzzles are a lot more challenging in this chapter so I would recommend perhaps playing it with your child or hopefully, they can mull it out.
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