Tales of Monkey Island: The Siege of Spinner Cay Review
The episodic nature of TellTale’s Monkey Island Series is interesting. On one hand, I think it’s neat that Siege of Spinner Cay picks up exactly where the previous chapter left off, with Guybrush at the mercy of “legendary” pirate hunter Morgan LeFlay. On the other hand, the writing needs to be really sharp to keep us into the story after a month’s break.
The Siege of Spinner Cay, for the most part, keeps us engaged in the story, though the plot is sort of mired in the details. Everyone’s looking for the legendary “Le Sponga Grande,” which will put an end to a spreading Voodoo curse, but only a couple (NPC) characters actually seem to be actively looking for it, while everyone else sort of just lays around.
The joke writing, at least, is very sharp. They’ve really found a groove with Guybrush now, and I like the addition of “hero worshiping” LeFlay to the cast. It’s a perfect way to play off past games (which has been pretty clunky otherwise in this series), though I think setting her off as a romantic foil to Elaine would be a mistake.
The puzzles are generally pretty good with a few exceptions. One being a total trial and error puzzle trying to distract two pirates from a treasure chest, which just takes trying every option ad naseum until one works. The other involves a hilarious scene in which Guybrush tries to walk a housebroken LeChuck through the mechanics of adventure games. The writing is very funny, but the game punishes you for screwing with LeChuck’s head, even though that’s what the scene was clearly designed for.
Extra Features:
There’s a “Easter Egg Hunt” through TellTale’s website, which can net you some desktop wallpaper and whatnot, but just like in the last game, it’s neat but not really much reason to delve back in.
Technical:
Some weird animation issues throughout, just in an odd herky jerky sort of way. This popped up a lot in the last game, and in some of the later Wallace and Grommit episodes too. I don’t know if the engine is straining a bit or what. Otherwise good, though.
Graphics:
There are a few new character models here, as well as our first extended look at Human LeChuck. Of them, Morgan fits the best with the rest of the cast and seems to have the most time invested in her design. The Mer-People look intentionally odd, but their design seems a bit too rushed.
The sets are entirely new, and all look pretty good. There are a lot of different islands to visit this time out, but other than Spinner Cay, they’re all pretty much just empty lots, which makes everything seem more open than it actually is. A few really nice sight gags thrown in randomly, however.
Sound:
The Dialog is all fine and very well delivered. The cast seems to really be relishing the opportunity to voice the characters. Dominic Armato especially clearly loves coming back in and delivering lines as Guybrush. And there’s a lot more freedom for him to deliver random wacky lines (TellTale seems to have learned the lesson about offering dialog choices that lead nowhere).
We’ve come a long way from when Lucas Art’s iMuse really impacted every scene. The music is there, Caribbean, and pleasant, but I couldn’t point you to one music piece that really wowed me or defined a scene for me. Which is odd, especially considering these are the same people who did exactly that with Sam and Max.
Replay Value:
If you’re interested in browsing through some of the Easter Egg material or if there’s a dialog option or two you missed, then that will probably add another hour or so of playtime, but after that it’s pretty much a wash.
Final Score: 7.5/10
They’ve learned a lot from working on the first episode, and it clearly transfers over into the second. The writing is sharper, the characters feel more natural, and the puzzles do a better job of keeping players engaged.
Yet they weren’t able to escape the danger in making episodic gaming like this. Siege feels like the second game in a longer story. It’s plot kind of plods along until the end, and you don’t feel like you’ve really accomplished much by the time you hit the cliffhanger. Why? Because you know there’s still three episodes to go before yet.
I like the game, I love the characters, but for me, there just wasn’t enough “stand alone” content here for the episode to really draw me in.
If you’re interested in taking a look at the game, you can download a copy of the PC Demo at the TellTale Website.