Systems > PC > T > Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood > Staff Review
Sign up for a free user account and you can leave feedback for this review or even submit a game review of your own!
Review by Lewis Denby
November 17, 2009
Threepwood remains witty, pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay retains a surprising amount of humanity, and the remainder of the supporting cast do a decent job at playing the numskull nutters that the series has always portrayed so well. Each of Telltale’s Monkey Island efforts seems to ramp the humour up ever more so. We’re now at the point where Tales of Monkey Island has far surpassed the original incarnations in the comedy stakes. If you think otherwise, go back and play them. And take off those rose-tinted specs. You look ridiculous.
It’s true that each episode, taken entirely in isolation, seems to be marginally improving the formula every time. The script gets barmier, the locations tighter, the objectives more fluid. But these aren’t isolated games. These are part of a five-strong series of monthly outings, and now, as we near the finale, things are starting to wear a little thin.
You may have noticed this review is a little late. That’s because I played The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood a couple of weeks ago, and have been struggling with an angle ever since. It’s a solid adventure game. The puzzles are functional, though often uninspired and recycled from earlier games. The characters are well developed, with consistent and endearing personalities. The settings are... well, they’re ones we’ve seen before, only this time it’s dark... Had this game been bundled into the context of the first episode, the series would have made an impossibly brilliant start. But it wasn’t. This is Episode 4. And it screams out for something fresh.
It’s rarely a chore to play through. The short length helps that, and the restrictive nature of the game world and its neatly intertwined objectives only contributes to the tightness. It raises plenty of smiles. But when it’s essentially becoming the same episode stuck on repeat ad nauseum, how much praise is it reasonable to lavish?
There’s just nothing that stands out as truly inspired, nothing that leaves an impression for more than a few hours after you’ve completed the game. It’s a decent few hours of entertainment, but not an adventure you’ll be talking about for months in the way that, say, Machinarium will surely be. Monkey Island remains about as traditional as it’s possible to get. That’s fine, but stick rigidly to that formula month after month after month, and you’d better have some spectacular little ideas to mix things up.
The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood has far too few of these. It also has a perplexing graphical glitch that renders a character’s shirt with big purple splodges all over it – something to do with the light-mapping having not worked properly, I believe, from my limited technical knowledge. When the game’s as by-numbers as it already is, big screaming problems like this one only solidify the negative image it exudes.
|
|
|
Most recent video game reviews written by Lewis Denby
Unreal (PC) [December 30, 2011]
Quake (PC) [December 30, 2011]
Quake II (PC) [December 30, 2011]
Planescape: Torment (PC) [December 30, 2011]
Omikron: The Nomad Soul (PC) [December 30, 2011]
|
You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!
|
|
|
Follow Us |
Advertise exclusively for 1 month... only $1000!
Recent Forum Discussions
+ Alpha Olympics 2012
+ Where's SkyWard Sword's review ? And please bring back the rating feature.
+ zippdementia's Mega Jump review
+ [News] Schafer has pitched Psychonauts 2, Minecraft dev says 'let's make it happen'
+ holdthephone's Final Fantasy XIII-2 review
+ JoeTheDestroyer's Area 51 review
+ playstation vita, yo.
+ RotW January 29 - February 04 2012
+ Games to be added to the database...
+ The Final Fantasy XIII-2 thread
+ [News] Final Fantasy X HD will be a remaster, not a remake
+ [News] Naughty Dog explored making a new Jak and Daxter, made Last of Us instead
Staff Game Reviews
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| SoulCalibur V |
| The Simpsons Arcade Game |
| Quarrel |
| Star Ocean: The Last Hope |
| Pushmo |
| Medal of Honor: Airborne |
Site Staff
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |  | ||
 |
Featured Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rayman Origins |
| Othello |
| Scarface: The World is Yours |
| The Last Express |
| Golden Axe II |
| Assassin's Creed: Revelations |
Exclusive User Reviews [+]
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Mega Jump |
| White Knight Chronicles |
| Dragon Wars |
| F-Zero GX |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door |
| Pokemon Snap |
Info |
Help |
Privacy Policy |
Contact |
Advertise
© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 4 - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.
