Tales of Monkey Island: The Siege of Spinner Cay

Fortunately, the laugh-out-loud moments aren't limited to crackpot puzzle design. Much of the time The Siege of Spinner Cay also manages to hit the mark with the standard of writing, proving that the first chapter was no fluke. Guybrush, in particular, is rarely less than exceptional, inspiring you to click on the most mundane object in the hope of some hidden wisecrack.

Once again, Dominic Amato also puts in a fine performance as Guybrush, and is ably supported by Alexandra Boyd reprising her role as Elaine. The supporting cast is as hit-and-miss as it always seems to be in Telltale adventures, but at least this time around the proliferation of regional caricatures has been dialed down. In general there's much more knockabout piratey banter, and it's a more consistently amusing experience as a result. Yargh.

Visually, there are still a few remaining niggles. The exquisite animation and character design of Guybrush, Elaine and LeChuck is worthy of warm acclaim, with the lip-syncing and a flexible expression system adding a great deal of depth to the range of emotions on display. But while most players will no doubt be content with the overall standard, the degree of care simply doesn't carry over to the supporting cast, and it's hard to shake the feeling that most of the extras were put together in a comparative hurry. You'll be hard-pressed to remember any of them after the game is finished.

This notable contrast is the one remaining black mark on Telltale's otherwise-successful comeback mission. It's all very well being able to recreate the magic of the old favourites, but to build the legacy further and truly warm the hearts of the fanbase, there needs to be a substantial improvement in the characterisation of the less prominent cast members.

The same could also be said of the game's locations. Although there are a suitable number of places to idly roam around for random tat, more than half are extremely simple jungle paths or barren islands with nothing but sand and rocks on them. The feeling remains that there was scope to do much more to fill the players' time - more nonsense to click on, or incidental characters with more to say for themselves. Maybe we're asking too much, or maybe this is simply the price of trying to recreate a series: the fans are always going to want more from you. We're no different.