Tales of Monkey Island: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood Review
I was afraid this would happen.
I’ve always said that I was worried about the episodic nature of the Monkey Island series, because unlike Sam & Max, you can’t really break down the Monkey Island games into small pieces. Eventually something has to give.
The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood is, at its heart, a transition game. The bridge between the first part of the series and the final climax. Even TellTale seems to acknowledge this, given that most of the plot is delivered in one big monolog chunk, which changes the direction of the series and forces the plot along more than any of the other games.
It’s strange, because while so much of the old series is coming together (Murray last month, Stan in a “you’ll love it or hate it” appearance this month), TellTale seems determined to put their own mark on Monkey Island, come hell or high water, and as a result, you get this episode which sort of paves over everything.
Interestingly, while the plot steamrolls ahead, lost in the shuffle are the puzzles, which are among the best TellTale has done, right up there with some of the better ones from Season 2 of Sam and Max. The dialog is also pretty spot on, especially Stan’s, though it seems to drag for long stretches while plot points are rapped up without much fanfare or humor.
Extra Features:
The usual Easter Egg hunt here, but other than that, nothing to speak of.
Technical:
Overall the graphical glitches and things are at a minimum, though there was a bit of audio synching issue. Since the review copy didn’t go out until right before release, I imagine this was the retail version of the game. Stan’s animations aren’t very good, but that’s part of the charm of the character, I think.
Graphics:
There are a lot of reused textures and things here, but the new ones all show up pretty well. Again, Stan’s hilariously awful, which is status quo with the series, so I’m glad they didn’t try to do too much with him.
A few new sets and things, but not as many as previous episodes. Again, this seems to be more of a palate cleanser than anything else.
Sound:
The dialog is well delivered, but there aren’t as many pure jokes to be had here. Everything seems to sort of rush ahead in the, “no time for one liners” strain. If you’re a fan of the series, you either like Stan or you hate him, so when I say that the performance is “pure Stan” you’ll know what you think.
The music overall is good, but again I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that the same company that used music to such amazing effect in the Sam and Max games can’t get that same effect in a series as broad and diverse as Monkey Island.
Replay Value:
A few of the scenes are worth a playthrough or two, but mostly you’ll want to come back to this next month to remind yourself what’s going on.
Final Score: 7/10
Like I said, this is where the failings of the “one episode at a time” method start to fall off. It feels like they realized that they were running out of time to get to the climax they wanted, so they had to write an intervening episode that explains away everything they needed to before next month’s finale.
As a result, I don’t think this episode itself will be terribly fondly remembered. Which is a shame, because I think there are some really great puzzles and performances here. But it feels sort of like, the ultimate filler.
If you’re interested in taking a look at the game, you can download a copy of the PC Demo at the TellTale Website.