Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 Review - Screenshot 1 of 3

It's almost pointless reviewing this second chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island story - you should absolutely not play it unless you've played the first, because it continues where that left off, meaning you will be missing potentially vital plot information. If you've already played the first and liked it, then you should already know what to expect here!

After defeating the evil Marquis de Singe and reversing the wind flow around Flotsam Island, Guybrush goes off in search of La Esponja Grande, to rid the Caribbean of the pox he accidentally released. Of course, he still has to find his beloved Elaine and his nemesis LeChuck as well!

Guybrush quickly discovers that to find La Esponja Grande, he must summon a bunch of legendary sea creatures to guide him to it, by using three mythical artifacts. Of course, these aren't just handed to him - they're all hidden in the vicinity of the titular Spinner Cay, which is a small rocky island inhabited by the mysterious Mer-People. As luck would have it, Elaine and LeChuck are there as well, so Guybrush gets the opportunity to set multiple things straight all at the same time.

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 Review - Screenshot 2 of 3

As you probably aren't surprised to discover, the game plays exactly the same as the first chapter - Guybrush simply has to wander around the various locations, picking up objects and using them and his (or rather, your) wit to solve puzzles. After about 3-4 hours worth of puzzling - or more, if you just can't figure out one of this episode's slightly tougher puzzles - you'll reach the conclusion of this chapter in Guybrush's story, and you'll be left with another cliffhanger.

Thanks to Telltale's continuing sense of humour you're bound to laugh multiple times during this chapter. Again, they've captured the feel and wit of the series perfectly, and there's even a few throwbacks and references to Guybrush's past adventures, including one of the greatest pirate songs of all time!

There's something else you'll most definitely begin to notice now, though. Remember how quite a bunch of the citizens of Flotsam Island looked suspiciously alike? Well, it happens again here; once again you'll meet short, fat pirates and tall, skinny pirates who all look almost exactly the same. We really hope that this is all building up to some sort of "all of the pirates are actually relatives" joke in one of the last chapters, because for now it's getting really noticeable and looks fairly lazy!

Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 2 Review - Screenshot 3 of 3

Although annoying, we accepted the framerate and sound issues that plagued the WiiWare version of the first chapter. Telltale promised to look for a way to avoid this for future chapters, but apparently they didn't find one, as this chapter is also riddled with noticeable lag and fuzzy sound, and it's quite inexcusable that this has happened twice now.

Conclusion

As is the case with most multi-part games and stories, Chapter 2 of Tales of Monkey Island doesn't really do much interesting stuff in terms of story progression. It plays exactly the same as the first chapter, just with different puzzles, so if you enjoyed that, you'll most certainly enjoy this. Sadly, the game loses a point as it once again has annoying audio and visual hiccups; something which should not be allowed to happen. Please look for an acceptable solution for the next chapter, Telltale!