The first entry in Telltale’s new episodic Monkey Island series Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal was a very fun game despite a few niggling flaws. I forgave quite a lot of the problems I encountered, often putting them down to getting the series started. After playing through the first episode and enjoying it as much as I did, I most definitely had high hopes for the next iteration in the series.

We rejoin our hero, the mighty pirate Guybrush Threepwood right where we left off. Sailing away from the cursed Flotsam Island at the mercy of an unknown sword-wielding maniac. However, you are soon made aware that this maniac is none other than Morgan Le Flay, pirate hunter and Guybrush’s biggest fan. She’s been sent by the Marquis de Singe to retrieve Guybrush’s hand. The same hand that is infected with the festering pox that he accidentally released upon the surrounding seas.

You fight like a dairy farmer.

I’m afraid to say I found myself almost instantly annoyed as I listened to the opening, fan service ridden speech by Morgan. I love little nods to the original games in the series as much as the next guy, but I really felt this was a little too much. It reminded me of talking to that one kid from your class who doesn’t understand social situations. The sort of person who will just gush relentlessly about a topic they adore until prompted otherwise, regardless of peer interest.

90% of Guybrush’s charm is the fact that he is a bungling idiot and to actually have someone complimenting and praising him seems so unnatural. There are much better ways to slip in a throwback or a bit of fan service here and there, as shown by the first episode. It wasn’t condensed into a minute long speech seconds after booting up the game, instead being spread out much more.

Obviously as this is an episodic series, the core gameplay doesn’t change much from episode to episode. However some problems are much more noticeable / annoying this time around. The horrible mouse controls are as bad as before, often feeling as though you are dragging Guybrush through treacle. This is especially noticeable at transitions between screens, where if you are using the shift modifier to make Guybrush run he will slow to a walk upon exiting one screen and entering another.

It seems this is done to give the somewhat dated engine a chance to render the next area before letting us walk on screen. The jungle section is the worst culprit for this, as many of these screens are devoid of interaction and seem to simply exist to increase travel time. There is also no fast travel via the map to any of the locations within islands. There is only fast travel to a single area on each island designated as the raft landing point, which means navigating through the various screens to get anywhere.

How appropriate. You fight like a cow.

This gets particularly tedious during the collection of artefacts as there is a lot of traipsing backwards and forwards. The only saving grace of the jungle area this time around is the fact that it isn’t convoluted like in Launch of the Screaming Narwhal. Everything is in the same place so it’s a little less maze like.

Once you really get your teeth stuck into the story you will realise that there isn’t much of it here, nor is there much of a final payoff. The main purpose of this episode seems to be to set the stage for the future episodes, whilst moving the story involving La Esponge Grande along a tiny bit.

I can’t decide whether or not I like the approach that Telltale are taking with Tales of Monkey Island. On one hand it is a much more coherent, story driven experience than the Sam & Max series was. However it does leave you somewhat in the lurch waiting for the next chapter in the story each month. Maybe this issue will resolve itself once the entire series is out and I can replay the episodes as a single, coherent game. Until then, as a stand alone episode, The Siege of Spinner Cay has a rather sparse story offering.

A few other points worth mentioning:

• The hint system (which I previously didn’t encounter at all) is extremely annoying for anyone who likes to figure everything out for themselves. Just as something I was stuck on started to click I heard Guybrush shout out and pretty much solve the puzzle for me. It’s automatically enabled in the options menu, so don’t make the same mistake as me and leave it on until it’s too late. (On the plus side I guess the fact that it actually triggered is testament to the increased difficulty of this episode in comparison with the first).
• Supporting characters are once again rather disposable and forgettable. This counts doubly so for the androgynous mer-folk. A few more of the old signature Monkey Island characters would do a world of good to bolster the cast.
• Elaine’s voice drives me mad. I don’t think I really noticed it in episode 1 seeing as Guybrush is playing catch up with her the entire way, but for some reason I can’t stand her.

The Siege of Spinner Cay is a passable sequel, it’s more of the same gaming experience we got with Launch of the Screaming Narwhal. A few of the problems from the first episode have been sorted out, but all new problems have sprung up in their place. I’m still waiting for the story to really grab me, sure it’s interesting but without a good supporting cast behind the main characters it wont really draw you in.

You should play this game if…

…you enjoyed the first episode and need your Monkey Island fix.

Final Score

Despite managing to increase the difficulty and move the story along The Siege of Spinner Cay still has its fair share of problems. These include the lull in the storyline, and once again awful controls.

(What does this score mean?)