Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood Review for PC

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood Review for PC

Released in monthly episodic chunks that weave an overarching plot riddled with zombie pirate voodoo monkey ninja adventure game ridiculousness, Tales of Monkey Island is a fun and often hilarious rollercoaster ride of a series. The mishap-filled adventure of Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate continues to captivate us as it builds towards what will hopefully be an explosive conclusion. The last crazy chapter, which saw the swashbuckling hero stuck inside the meaty, bile-dripping innards of a behemoth manatee that was in search of some hot mating action, was an especially tough act to follow.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood  screenshot

Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood brings the story back around and ties together the adventure with a mixture of both expected and unexpected plot twists. Having grown accustomed to a steady stream of humor and cleverness found in past episodes, the laugh-out-loud moments don’t seem to appear quite as frequently in this latest chapter, and it takes longer for the momentum to build. The good news is things eventually do pick up and the insanity that unfolds in the final moments of this stretch of the journey is worth muscling through to the end. You can expect the forthcoming last episode will be one worth waiting for.

Before you launch back into the adventure, the Voodoo Lady gives a helpful narrative recap of what happened thus far. After recently surviving spelunking through a giant manatee, finally recovering La Esponja Grande, disinfecting himself from the zombifying voodoo pox, and heading off to find and de-pox his wife Elaine, Guybrush finds himself betrayed by his pirate-hunting companion Morgan LeFlay. He’s bound and dragged back to Flotsam Island where the demented Marquis De Singe plans to experiment on him to further his twisted agenda. But before the loony doc can get a scalpel on him, Guybrush is voodoo summoned to the courthouse to answer to a laundry list of crimes.

Choosing to represent himself in the decidedly one-sided trial, Guybrush must conduct his own investigation on the island and clear his name before he can resume his quest to reverse the voodoo pox curse he accidentally spread across the Caribbean. He’s been accused of burning a pirate maiden’s leg with fiery nacho hot sauce from the local dive bar, literally scaring another pirate’s beloved cat stiff, and stealing the X that marks some spot. Oh yes, and there’s that little issue of infecting the entire pirate population in the region with the voodoo zombie pox. Unfortunately, the sentence for each crime is death, death, and more death.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood  screenshot

Guybrush’s legal troubles easily consume much of the first half of the chapter. The fraudulent salesman Stan from earlier Monkey Island games returns in his fetching, giant sombrero and Technicolor plaid suit. His attempts at prosecuting Guybrush are pitiful at best, and his scheme to cash in on the latest “Trial of the Century-y-y-y-y-y!” by selling action figures, t-shirts, and pins is laughable. Once you are able to steal some momentary freedom, you’ll wind up exploring Flotsam’s familiar harbor area for sneaky ways to influence your case and disprove your supposed guilt. Expect to encounter a lot of the similar kinds of item hunting and dialogue-based puzzles found in earlier chapters. Chatting up the locals, scouring hotspots, and figuring out what random widget needs to be used where is still a big part of the gameplay. Fortunately, the series’ items and the way you’ll use them always tends to be on the weirder side.

A lot has changed in town since the first chapter. Quite a few other pirates in town have come down with the pox, and there’s a lot more trouble brewing than meets the eye. A series of surprising developments between a few key characters are placed at regular intervals throughout this portion of the story, and this more than anything will keep you pushing onward through the slower-paced sections early on.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood  screenshot

Once you’ve tackled the courthouse, it’s off to the jungle again, but this time there’s an unusual scavenger hunt to dive into. La Esponja Grande isn’t actually that big, and you’ll have to feed it a bizarre series of voodoo meals to get the little sucker to grow big enough to de-poxify more infected pirates, including Elaine. Armed with a dimension warping map, a cryptic list of ingredients to hunt down, and a desire to keep the suddenly rage-prone Elaine from hurting herself and everyone else around her, you’ll forge ahead into the mazelike woods.

Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood  screenshot

Despite revisiting some of the same terrain covered in earlier chapters, much of The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood takes place at night and in a few areas you’ve previously been unable to explore. Consider the development team has managed to keep from substantially returning you to the original harbor town you started off in until now, there’s just enough visual tweaking and time away to give the area a new vibe and freshness. You’ll finally have the opportunity to check out the inside of Club 41, which provides some highly entertaining moments where an enraged, pox-stricken Elaine dives into a wild swordfight with Morgan in the midst of the ladies night buffet. You’ll also revisit De Sade’s freaky medical shack, which has some surprises in store for you.

The graphics, actual gameplay, and quality voice work have changed very little over the course of the first four chapters, and we expect that will follow suit in the grand finale. What each chapter does bring to the table is continuity, plenty of surprises, new avenues for strange humor, and some truly memorable character interactions. The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood isn’t the best chapter among the bunch, but it’s an important piece of the puzzle. The development team has planted enough sharp hooks hidden through the episode to string you along this far. By the time things ramp up towards conclusion, you’ll be hankering for the final installment. Mission accomplished.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.3 Graphics
Some recycled settings dim the excitement but don’t spoil the fun. 3.8 Control
Fourth verse, same as the first… three. 4.8 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Excellent dialogue and voice work. 3.8 Play Value
While a necessity to continue exploring the series, this is not one of the best episodes so far. 3.9 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Guybrush Threepwoods returns in an all new zombie pirate adventure.
  • Challenging and humorous puzzles off variety and plenty of laughs.
  • Multiple control schemes let you play one or two-handed.

  • To top