Tales Of Monkey Island Episode 4 Review [PC]

05 Nov 2009 at 15:23:52 by Tim McDonald
Systems used to review this title: (PC)

After what seems like months (probably because it has been months) the Tales of Monkey Island series is finally drawing to a close, and Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood - really rams this home. There are plenty of returning characters, plot twists, revelations, and it even gets weirdly emotional.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The plot opens where Chapter 3 closes: Guybrush has been betrayed by Morgan LeFlay and starts the game tied up and on his way back to Flotsam Island, to be delivered to cackling antagonist the Marquis de Singe, who – you may recall – believes that Guybrush holds the key to immortality. Sadly, things don't go quite according to plan; before the Marquis can get his scalpel on Guybrush, the Mighty Pirate is dragged off to jail to await his trial for crimes based around past characters and events.

Which gives Telltale a perfect excuse to bring back characters while simultaneously advancing the main plot, and no previous chapter has moved that plot forward as much as this. What starts off as a slightly abstract look at law in a pseudo-Phoenix Wright context, with Guybrush on trial for four different things, quickly turns into a rather more desperate race to the finish.

It's an episode full of highlights, from the initial puzzle of getting Guybrush out of jail so that he can start gathering items to prove his innocence, through to the appearance of Stan, now acting as prosecutor/souvenir salesman for the “Trial of the Century-y-y-y-y.” Telltale has worked wonders with that particular character, whose strangely unmoving jacket - that appears to tear a hole into a plaid alternate universe - is perfectly replicated, along with his trademark arm movements and overwhelming enthusiasm. It's somehow no surprise to see him working as a prosecutor, which he sets about with aplomb.

Other characters get their dues, too. The new, less evil LeChuck is finally back with a reasonably sizeable role, Morgan LeFlay – my favourite character in the series by quite a large margin – continues on her character arc, and Elaine is in the full throes of the voodoo pox. All of these provide a good amount of amusement, with in particular LeChuck getting several aww-inducing lines and wonderful throwbacks to past chapters. Despite the fact that the episode is once again set on Flotsam Island, there are a few new locations that it's nice to finally get a look at, and it's nice seeing what's happened in the aftermath of Guybrush's antics of the first few episodes. Unfortunately, this also means a return to a number of the blander and more forgettable characters who have previously appeared. They're better fleshed out here, certainly, but plenty are still just pox-ridden faces in the background.

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