Sam & Max (The Telltale Adventures)

[Datadog]

Fresh off of finishing the newly released "Tomb of Sammun-Mak," all I can say is... whoa.

At one point, the Sam & Max series seemed to be a delivery system for off-color humor and bizarre characters, and now... well... it still is - but this new season is touching down on some really creative ideas and gimmicks I haven't even seen in adventure games before. Just the story-telling alone has been giving me a mental work-out (i.e. so far they've managed to write two time-travel stories without having any characters travel through time.)

So has anyone else been playing these?

[DeadPoolX]

Maia bought the entire first season of S&M (yeah, there are probably better abbreviations, but I'm too lazy to think of them). I haven't played it yet and I think Maia stopped playing it at some point.

Is the new series or season (whatever the current term is) any better than the first? I think Maia complained about an overall "lack of direction."

[Datadog]

Well, I'm not sure what kind of direction she means (I'm guessing she quit around episode 3?) but personally, I find each season does have a direction and a general theme. They just don't show you how it all ties together until the last couple of episodes (although it'd be a real shame if she quit playing before getting to episodes 4, 5, and 6. Episode 6 is where it all comes together, and 4 and 5 are just plain awesome.) Season 2 is the same way, where the story doesn't start falling into place until you get to the end of Episode 3.

But Season 3 IS definitely better so far. It's a lot more in the style of "Tales of Monkey Island" where all the episodes are one big ongoing story, and there's plenty of foreshadowing for events to come. Still, it helps to have played the first two seasons. The series has a lot of history at this point, and it's a better experience if you know all the characters and events before jumping in.

[AndreaDraco]

I played the first episode of the first season, but I couldn't get past the dreadful control system and the blocky graphics.

[MusicallyInspired]

The last two episodes of Season One really are quite fantastic. Some say better than the whole of Season Two. But they're a minority. Most people have said that Season Two is far better than Season One as a whole. And I've only heard even more good things about Season Three. Sadly I won't be able to afford it right now, but someday......I haven't even played through Season Two yet. Stopped short shortly after the first episode started. I have a LOT of TTG games to go through still. I have a couple more episodes of SBCG4AP I'm trying to finish, and the whole of W&G before I start buying anymore.

[Datadog]

I played the first episode of the first season, but I couldn't get past the dreadful control system and the blocky graphics.

Are you sure it's the first one? The interface in that one is a simple point and click like KQ7 or MI3. Most people have complained about the newer "console-friendly" interface from TOMI and S&M3 where you have to treat your mouse like an analog stick to walk (I guess I've gotten used to it.)

[MusicallyInspired]

Wallace & Grommit had it as well. It was the first to have it and it arguably had the worst presented version of it. I think they've really refined it since then, though. I actually welcome the WASD+Mouse controls. You can only point & click so long on really long/wide areas....get's really annoying. It's one thing on a scrolling 2D background, but in 3D......it's bloody annoying.

But, TMI introduced a Click&Drag scheme as well. That is, you hold down the mouse button and drag in the direction you want your character to move in. A LOT of people loved this control scheme. And it's included in Sam & Max Season Three as well.

[Datadog]

I thought they had the best interface in S&M Season 2 (and the Wii version of Season 1) where you still used the mouse to get around, but now if you held down the mouse button, Sam would follow the cursor. It made traveling across scrolling screens so much easier. W&G's keyboard controls bugged me since I liked to eat supper while playing, and the game now occupied both hands (though I did like being able to mouse-hunt independently while walking around. With TOMI and SM3, I can't mouse-hunt until my character stops walking.)

It's pretty clear that these new controls were designed to appeal to the console market, so a person can't blame them for trying to reach a new (and probably much more marketable) demographic.

[misslilo]

Yeah well, I hate the new controls - definitely not my cup of tea (I mean coffee )

[MusicallyInspired]

You guys seriously don't mind clicking and clicking and clicking until your fingers fall off? Just to get around? That's what's bugging me about the old interface now. It's not just that they're appealing to the console market, they're trying to evolve the genre. I think it's good. Feels more immersive and, dare I say it, more like a game. But that's just me. I like directly controlling the characters. It's definitely not as difficult as Grim or Monkey 4 was either. And it gives the developers more freedom for strategic cinematic viewing angles and such that are not really feasible with a P&C interface.

[misslilo]

Maybe so, but I'm the old and lazy kind of gamer.
I need to sit back in my chair and only use one hand, when gaming - so no, I don't mind the clicking.

[DeadPoolX]

Maybe so, but I'm the old and lazy kind of gamer.
I need to sit back in my chair and only use one hand, when gaming - so no, I don't mind the clicking.

You know you're a sick person when you read the line above and your mind goes straight into the gutter.

[misslilo]

Tsk tsk, lol
NOW who has a dirty mind!?

[Datadog]

Well, that's it. Sam & Max Season 3 is over and... wow. Did they ever go out with a bang. So much happened in this final episode - so many creative puzzles, unexpected plot twists, some incredibly strange character development - and in an unprecedented move, something unusual happened: a Sam & Max game actually tugged on my heartstrings and made me well up inside. It just had one of those endings. The words "epic" and "emotional" almost never apply to Sam & Max (unless we're talking about it being epically bizarre, or emotionally disturbing) but after today, I can believe anything is possible.

Some short reviews for this season's episodes:

The Penal Zone: Good, fun wackiness. An excellent starter point for the season.
The Tomb of Sammun-Mak: An awesome wild card episode with a very gimmicky style of story-telling.
They Stole Max's Brain: Surprisingly terrible. A wasted episode in the middle of all this goodness.
Beyond the Alley of the Dolls: Restored my faith after episode 3. Very cinematic with a big pay-off.
The City That Dares Not Sleep: As mentioned above, wow. I didn't want this episode to end.

Next up should be "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park." Lookin' forward to those!

[MusicallyInspired]

Wow. I really must get this season. It sounds like Telltale are just getting better and better at storytelling and creating fun and interesting gameplay mechanics (not to mention puzzles). As far as episode 3 sucking, well, it seems all seasons have a dud in them so far. But 4 out of 5 doesn't sound too bad. Thanks for sharing this.