Guybrush meets an overzealous fan...
Things have been a bit of a whirlwind for me the past week or so, but I finally managed to find some time to finish the newest installment in Tales of Monkey Island. Chapter 2, 'Siege of Spinner Cay', starts right where we left off with Guybrush sailing after Elaine and LeChuck, and eventually tracking them to the Merpeople city of Spinner Cay.
Right off the bat, I have to say I liked this chapter better than the first. While the first felt like it was still finding its feet, it seems to hit its stride here. The writing seems stronger, and the puzzles, while still not devious, are quite a bit harder. I was pleased to see a lot of interesting and unique puzzles this time around, including one where you have to win a swordfight one-handed, and one where you have to coach LeChuck in puzzle-solving, since his normal method of killing everything in his path doesn't quite work in this situation. Still no insult sword-fighting, though, which made me a little sad.
The merpeople were an amusing touch, but I have to say I was a little disappointed we didn't see more of their city. Understandably, it's mostly underwater, but it felt like a bit of a cop out. And, actually, one of my biggest complaints so far is that there aren't a lot of interesting locations to explore. Most of the islands look pretty much the same, and don't have many points of interest on them. The end of this episode seems to promise quite a scenery change, however, so hopefully they'll make good on that promise.
The game continues to amuse and entertain, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment, which is really all one can ask for from a game, right? If you've read this review and have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the links below for more information. Tales of Monkey Island: Siege of Spinner Cay is available for the PC and the Wii.
For more info:
Review: Tales of Monkey Island - "Launch of the Screaming Narwhal"
Telltale and LucasArts resurrect 'Monkey Island'
Comments
Normally I am down with the cartoony puzzle-games, I might just side-step this one... The drawbacks are usually things that make me drop my mouse and cry out "WT-?!" for all the world to hear.
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