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Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:43 pm EDT
17 Game Reviews

Written By: Dan McKenney
D&W Reviews Associate Editor

Back at E3 2009, Telltale Games revealed that they had teamed up with LucasArts to produce a new episodic series called Tales of Monkey Island. Combined with the re-release of the original "The Secret of Monkey Island" shortly afterwards, older gamers familiar with SCUMM were more than happy to start dusting off their rubber chickens with pulleys in the middle. Not only was the original game re-mastered, but gamers were getting a new entry in one of the most iconic adventure games series of all time. Now, 6 months later, the final episode of Tales of Monkey Island is here. Does the final chapter sink or swim?

Tales of Monkey Island: Rise of the Pirate God mainly takes place in a realm called The Crossroads, a series of watery passageways that serve as the line between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Guybrush has been killed by LeChuck and must find a way to return to the mortal realm… otherwise LeChuck will end up destroying the world and Guybrush's hope of getting Elaine back. Episode 5 also revisits some areas from Episodes 3 & 4 as well as brings back some old side-characters. Don’t get your hopes up though -- Murray, Stan, and other classic Monkey Island vets are nowhere to be found (in spite of the fact that they’re referenced).

Rise of the Pirate God suffers from some of the same problems that plagued Episode 3: Lair of the Leviathan. Yet again, Telltale delivers on quality writing and hilarious dialogue (like in Ep. 3), but once again disappoints players when it comes to environments. If the manatee’s innards in Lair were colorless, it’d be hard to tell the difference between Ep. 3’s manatee and Ep. 5’s Crossroads. Fortunately, the Crossroads are only focused upon during the opening puzzles. About a third of the way in, new (i.e. old) areas are opened up, and you’ll be well on your way to solving series of great puzzles in familiar environments. It’s at this point in the game that the Crossroads serve as a means of navigating between the different areas…which, unfortunately isn’t exactly a good thing. Often times, you’ll find yourself running from Point A to Point B, then back to Point A, then back to Point B, then again to Point A… yeah, it ends up getting to be a little ridiculous. It’s a shame, because some of the puzzles in the game are really good.

Luckily, the last portion of Rise of the Pirate God is incredible. Featuring a lengthy, yet exciting ending cut-scene and the best “cycle” puzzle in TOMI, Telltale has created an almost perfect ending to their episodic series.

Don’t let my previous complaints scare you away. Rise of the Pirate God does feature some really great puzzles, and some incredibly funny dialogue. The episode puts some of the best pieces of previous episodes together to create a great ending to the series. These games show that Telltale can do Monkey Island, and do it pretty damn well. If you haven’t already, pick up all 5 episodes now, and beg for a second season.

8 out of 10

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