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Monkey Island Tales 4 HD - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood

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Monkey Island Tales 4 HD - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood

After meeting new characters and exploring fresh locations in the first three episodes of Tales of Monkey Island, The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood can feel like something of a retread.

For one, we're back on Flotsam Island - the tiny town islet from Episode 1. You might get to go in the previously-locked courtroom and bar, but you'll also head into the jungle once again, revisit old areas, and meet up with characters from Launch of the Screaming Narwhal.

The only really new character is also not exactly new. Once Guybrush lands in Flotsam court he'll come face to face with the giant hat, impossibly-textured jacket, and frantically flailing limbs of Monkey veteran Stan: ship salesman, coffin vendor, life insurer, estate agent, and, now, prosecutor.

A pirate I was meant to be!

Still, it's series tradition to feature the wacky-waving arm-flailing goofball by now, isn't it? And the banter between Stan and defendant Guybrush (who's on trial for the misdemeanors he committed during his last visit, such as scaring a cat) leads to some genuinely funny dialogue.

Also, with plenty of references to Guybrush's antics from earlier in the series, it's rather nice to have jokey callbacks to Monkey Island games you played last month, rather than ones you played while you were in nappies/school/college (delete as appropriate).

An early infusion of humour is certainly needed as the game takes a significantly darker and more dramatic tone in the run-up to Tales's explosive finale. You'll see characters killed off, zesty love triangles ending in bitter swordfights, loved ones plagued by pox, and a shock cliffhanger. The laughs certainly slow down in the latter scenes.

We also see more of the game's surprising star character: femme fatale Morgan LaFlay, and her complicated love-hate, admire-detest relationship with Guybrush. Also, the main cast - Guybrush, Morgan, Elaine, LeChuck, and the Voodoo Lady - finally get together before the final chapter unfolds.

"Ask me about Grim Fandango"

As has come to be expected, Tales doles out story sequences alongside a handful of smart and sophisticated puzzles. You'll fill your pantaloons with useless objects, chat to the local population, and make ingenious item combinations to get out of jail, deal with a demented boffin, and rid the Caribbean of a nasty pox.

The puzzles are suitably clever and well communicated, with subtle hints thrown in for anyone who's absolutely stuck. The courtroom drama also lends itself well to the genre as Guybrush does his best Phoenix Wright impression and calls witnesses and presents evidence to clear his charges. It's possibly the meatiest and longest instalment yet, with some of the trickiest puzzles to boot.

It's not the best episode of the series, and the lack of good gags and the slightly slowed pace is a definite disappointment after the superb third episode, but the dark tone and genuinely shocking twists set up the series crescendo with suitable tension.

You're as repulsive as a monkey in a negligee!

The game does still suffer from a crappy control scheme, and there are still plenty performance issues: especially on the first iPad. Characters splutter and stutter their lines, the framerate drops to a halt, scenes freeze, and dialogue gets churned up into incomprehensible babble.

The Telltale games run well on iPad 2, but if you're rocking Apple's first tablet then be prepared for extremely choppy waters. Even on a freshly-installed operating system we found the performance shockingly bad on iPad 1.

Read our review of Monkey Island Tales 1 HD - Launch of the Screaming Narwhal. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Monkey Island Tales 2 HD - The Siege of Spinner Cay. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Monkey Island Tales 3 HD - Lair of the Leviathan. [Buy it.]
Read our review of Monkey Island Tales 5 HD - The Rise of the Pirate God. [Buy it.]

Monkey Island Tales 4 HD - The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood

Darker and grittier than its cheery predecessors, but sets up the right tone for the finale. It continues the tradition of sharp dialogue and puzzles, but also shoddy performance
Score
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer