Gamertell

Title: Tales of Monkey Island: The Siege of Spinner Cay
Price: $34.95 (series), 1000 Wii Points.
System(s): *PC, Wii
Release Date: August 20, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Telltale Games (LucasArts)
ESRB Rating: "Everyone" for comic mischief
Pros: Very funny, you get to interact with Elaine and LeChuck in a whole new light and more islands to explore.
Cons: No insult sword fighting (still) and dialogue leaves much to be desired.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 97/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

The second half of the four-part Monkey Island series is out now (as of August 20, 2009) and poor Guybrush still can’t catch a break.

The Siege of Spinner Cay starts with a daring sword fight against the mighty pirate hunter Morgan. (And, no, it’s not an insult sword fight.) After you get rid of her, you are off to save your beloved Elaine, whom you find on Spoon Island, along with a seemingly reformed LeChuck.

Your goal is to find the three summoning artifacts on the various islands around you, and use them to find Le Grande Sponge to free you from the Voodoo pox. You also have to save the Merpeople who inhabit the island from a group of misfit pirates (who are also infected by the pox) that are also trying to get their hands on the artifacts, fortunately though, they are stereotypical dumb pirates and you can easily outsmart them...we hope.

Good Ol' Swashbuckling fun!

This game continues right where the last one left off. You even have some of the same items you had in the previous game, many of which you will need in this one. One of the items you still have is that awesome pyrite parrot that thinks he’s Guybrush. It’s also likely that you will have him in the next episode (it would be great if you could have him in the entire game).



You get to explore a lot more in this game. There are several islands scattered around the map although some are important and others seem to be pointless. Perhaps they will be useful in later episodes but, either way, don’t spend too much time on them. There is also more jungle searching but, even though there is no map to follow, it is a lot easier to navigate in this game. No buried treasure, either, but the jungle will still keep you plenty busy.

I will also warn you that that eccentric feminine doctor hasn’t quite given up on you, yet, I kinda like him. He was very entertaining in the first episode with his crazy accent and determination to get Guybrush’s hand. He isn’t in this episode as much but you can tell he is a character that will be sticking around.

As I mentioned before, LeChuck is shown in a whole new light. He is now free of the evil curse (thanks to Guybrush) and now seems like a normal guy. He is friendly and even helpful to Guybrush in this game. Of course, Guybrush still doesn’t trust him (I don’t really either - I think he has something up his sleeve). I think Telltale wants us to be as suspicious as Guybrush. Still, though, it is fun to see LeChuck in his completely clueless, nice guy role.



Ar, The Waters Ain’t Be Calm Yet

One thing that bothers me is the dialogue. At times you have a choice of things to say. Each time someone asks you something, one is the correct answer and the others are suppose to be funny. No matter what you click on, though, Guybrush will say whatever the correct answer is suppose to be. For example, if someone asked him what his name was he could say “Guybrush Threepwood, mighty pirate!” or “Funny, your mother asked me the same thing!” If you picked the second answer, Guybrush would just say it was Guybrush, rather then give the funny answer.

In the original games by LucasArts, you could click on a joke answer and get a response from the character, it didn’t effect the outcome of the game. It was just an extra scene to have a laugh at then you had to answer again correctly. I think they should have applied that here as well. When you click on a joke answer, Guybrush should actually say that and receive a response from the character. It would be cool to see how the other character would react to what he said.



Also there was still no insult sword fighting! In fact, when you where sword fighting Morgan she said, “Don’t try insult sword fighting with me…it won’t work!” or something like that. I was actually looking forward to that element when I started playing these games especially since they include so many other classic elements: Guybrush’s love of Elaine and distrust for LeChuck, the crazy and often dense characters and, of course, the three-headed monkey running gag. Why no insult sword fighting?

Get the Game Ye Scurvy Sea Dog

After playing this, I’m already excited for the next episode. I think Telltale made a good choice in making this a four-part series. It keeps you interested in the next games and it makes the overall game seem longer.

Waiting a month to continue the story is a long time but well worth the wait. Especially if they add insult sword fighting to the game (wink, wink, nudge nudge).

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