What would a Tales of Monkey Island episode be without a little peril to start with?
We left our intrepid hero about to sail off with the recently acquired ship, the Screaming Narwhal, after having defeated the strange Marquis De Singe, who has decided that he must have Guybrush and his voodoo pox addled hand for some weird experiment he is conducting. The Marquis is the one who changed the winds on the island in order to bring more victims ….I mean patients to the island in order to try his latest techniques on them.
Anyway, on with the plot.
Guybrush begins the game with a sword fight with a rather pretty young pirate hunter called Morgan LeFlay and in the process loses his hand to her. He lands shortly after at a small group of islands and finds his wife, Elaine, and a now human LeChuck as well as a host of inept voodoo pox suffering pirates and a tribe of androgynous people.
That’s enough plot for now, I don’t want to get too into detail again as you should really be playing these episodes for yourselves. The second episode maintains the strength of the first, allowing you to flow seamlessly into the adventure without too much of a problem. These episodes were meant to be played in sequence so if you don’t play them in order you will miss key points which may help you to solve the puzzles in later episodes.
The puzzles themselves feel a little easier in this episode, although that could just be because I have been playing these games non stop. There are a lot of comedy moments and pop culture references to be found within the game, although you will have to play through a few times in order to spot everything. One example I can give you without ruining the plot at all is a stuffed manatee which resembles a toy called Billy Bass, remember those? The plastic fish you hung on your wall which would sing to you in a droll manner? No? Oh well. Anyway, there are an awful lot of laugh out loud moments within the game and a few references to previous Monkey Island adventures, which if you haven’t played you should really get on eBay and buy yourself a gaming treat!
The host of new characters all have something to say for themselves and you find yourself actually caring about what will happen to some of the more prominent side characters. This is quite unusual for games these days as the side characters are mainly their to be cannon fodder or something to fill the scenery with. I only found one bug within the game which is amazing in this day and age. And I would be surprised if many people would notice it which is why I won’t tell you what it is. It wont take away from your enjoyment in any way.
Anyway, the episode is a fine addition to the continuing tales and if you like a challenge that isn’t too challenging then look no further.
VideogameUK verdict: 8/10
