Sam and Max Hit the Road - Do I not get it? [Archive]

lobotomy42

11-05-2006, 01:16 PM

I finally started playing the original Sam and Max to prep myself for Telltale's new game, and I'm almost through with it. However, I have to say...I don't particularly care for it.

It's not that I find it a bad game per se, but just not a great one - certainly not the classic everyone tells me it is. The plot is barely present, and the puzzles are typical adventure fare, nothing particularly memorable. So the only thing left to carry the game is the humor. I do enjoy the game's sense of humor, at least most of it, but it feels like the jokes are few and far between. Sam and Max have some good exchanges with each other and nice one-liners, but the majority of the locales and other characters are just weird. Not weird as in funny, just weird as in...weird for weird's sake. I guess this is amplified by the seeming lack of interactive objects. So few things to examine!

I don't know, am I missing something? I really want to like this game as much as I like the first two Monkey Island's and Day of the Tentacle, but I'm just not feeling it.

Boneho Chane

11-05-2006, 01:29 PM

I heard it's not everyone's cup of tea. I played the demo and the interface was LAME.

Lucien21

11-05-2006, 01:55 PM

I don't know, am I missing something? I

Is the username a clue?

:D

tolworthy

11-05-2006, 02:59 PM

Not weird as in funny, just weird as in...weird for weird's sake. I guess this is amplified by the seeming lack of interactive objects. So few things to examine!

I don't know, am I missing something? I really want to like this game as much as I like the first two Monkey Island's and Day of the Tentacle, but I'm just not feeling it.

Sounds like the recent reviews of Monty Python (Spamalot has opened in Britain so the newspapers dragged out the old question "is Python funny?") s usual, eight out of ten people find it side-splittingly hilarious, and two out of ten find it is just, as you say, weird for weird's sake.

For the record, I never finished Sam and Max. I liked the humor but the characters didn't appeal to me. But, like you, I loved Tentacle and MI1 and 2. Everyone is different.

Solid Snake

11-05-2006, 03:16 PM

Sam and Max Hit the Road isn't that good, it's a mediocre game.

Mordalles

11-05-2006, 05:22 PM

i have to agree. i also played sam and max hit the road for the first time this year, and it was ok. funny in parts, but overall seems kinda overrated. i consider all the other lucasarts games classic. but not sam and max :D it just lost me towards the second half of the game. i only ended up looking at the artwork. which wasn't that atmospheric. colours.

jp-30

11-05-2006, 06:13 PM

Hit the Road isn't in my top 5 LucasArts adventures. I also think it's slightly overrated. I do understand why it has the cult following and why some peopel put it at number 1 - but yeah, for me it was a bit disjointed and the story was pretty weak.

However it must be said the Telltale episode 1 is brilliant.

In my opinion, naturally.

JohnGreenArt

11-05-2006, 07:01 PM

I remember loving Hit the Road when it came out, and I played it all the way through without a walkthrough. I was maybe 19 or so. A few months ago I played it again for the first time since, and I couldn't remember half of the puzzles, though I remembered all the locations, and the plot seemed to be incredibly thin, weak, and nonsensical (though I still found it just as funny). I didn't have that problem when I first played it. The game hasn't changed, but I guess I have. Or maybe because I had already played the game all the way through I didn't have any real vested interest in it this past time, and so I didn't let myself get absorbed into its world.

Anyway, I still really like the game, but it has lost something for me, unlike many of the other LucasArts games.

That said, I'm really looking forward to playing the new TellTale game. Once the Mac version is out...

marsan

11-06-2006, 02:08 AM

Sam & Max - Hit's the road is maybe one of the most absurd games out there. At least it is more logical than many adventure games released at this time. I remember most of the stuff you had to combine to solve the puzzles were highly illogical and from a modern point of view they can appear as not as much fun as they ones were.

Still, that was part of what made Sam & Max - Hit's the road so much fun to play. It was crazy and insane. Most scenes included things that wouldn't have worked in the real world(like the gigantic ball of twine). The whole concept was that of a crazy cartoon. The humour was hillarious, and I was just sitting there and waiting for the next scene. Anyway, with todays games the goal of a game has changed very much. Compared with modern games this game can both appear as illogical and without a true plot. Or at least a very thin plot. Still, the style of the game... sam & max... the hillariousness... the crazy people... all the things that make you feel like you are captured in some crazy world makes it a lot more fun!

The puzzles are a bit more logical than other adventure games at the time, and you don't always have to try on random to find out all that matches. It still gives it a certain feeling that at least I grew both to love and hate. Love for the style of the game, and characters... and all that part which makes you keep playing a game, and hating for the illogical puzzles and constantly being stuck because my mind was looking for logical solutions. Sam & Max ain't much logical people...

Kurufinwe

11-06-2006, 02:20 AM

I loved Sam & Max Hit the Road. Funniest game I've ever played (well, possibly tied with The Feeble Files). And the puzzles actually made perfect sense to me most of the time (I must be weird).

(what's odd is that there are quite a few other LEC classics I found neither funny nor logical (esp. DOTT, and also partly MI2); I guess S&M is different).

QFG

11-06-2006, 03:26 AM

I also loved Hit the Road. But it's one of those things where either the sense of humor dovetails with yours, or it just doesn't.

Naveed

11-06-2006, 10:34 AM

Among all the LucasArts adventure games, Sam and Mix Hit the Road was the only one that I couldn't get into. I simply did not enjoy it, don't know why. May be because English is not my native language, or the style of the humor in the game is too narrow. I love Monkey Island series, Day of the Tentacle etc.

After a brisk nap

11-06-2006, 01:43 PM

Sam & Max: Hit the Road is OK. The main characters are brilliant, and probably the main reason it's remembered so fondly. But a lot of the scenery and secondary characters strain to be wacky, the plot is probably the weakest in any LucasArts game, and the puzzles aren't that great. Also, the pacing is very much off, and the driving game is horrible.

I don't think it's in the class of DOTT, TSOMI or FOA, the cream of LucasArts' crop.

jokieman

11-06-2006, 07:11 PM

The game was ok. It's not on my top 5 best adventure games though. But I would recommend that you don't bother with the new series if you didn't like the original as they seem to be going in the exact same direction with it.

I'm kind of disappointed with Tell Tale though, I think they had an opportunity to do a lot more than they did.

jp-30

11-06-2006, 10:51 PM

But I would recommend that you don't bother with the new series if you didn't like the original as they seem to be going in the exact same direction with it.

I'm kind of disappointed with Tell Tale though, I think they had an opportunity to do a lot more than they did.

I respectfully disagree with both those statements. Strongly.

Wormsie

11-07-2006, 04:36 AM

I never liked MI1 and MI2 that much, though parts of them were billiant. DOTT I adore. Sam & Max was a bit weak plotwise, but I think the chemistry between the main characters more than makes up for it. I liked Sam's commentary on everything.

Crapstorm

11-07-2006, 05:55 AM

marsan

11-07-2006, 07:02 AM

I got Sam & Max Hit the Road in a twin pack with Day of the Tentacle last year. I immediately played DOT and enjoyed it very much. Then I started Sam & Max, and lost all momentum. It just doesn't measure up to DOT. The humor is very stilted and predictable, and there was nothing about the characters or early story to compel me through the first few scenes. I took a second run at it a few months later, but lost interest just as quickly. I am determined to complete it one of these days, but it's going to be a bit of a chore.

That's funny. Because I feel the exactly opposite way. I never really liked DOTT that much, I just finished it because it was one of the classics and I felt I at least had to finish it once. I found the humour not that great and I kept struggeling to want to play the next scene... it took me about 5 years before I finally finished it, because I kept losing my save games :P

With Sam & Max I just kept playing, so curious to what was going to happen next.

Burge

11-07-2006, 10:52 PM

Most overrated adventure ever IMO.

SamandMax

11-07-2006, 11:56 PM

You guys are bonkers. Hit the Road is hysterical, bizarre, and fun to play. I'm gonna have to fight you.

Burge

11-08-2006, 12:27 AM

Well if you try to argue Sam and Max is greater than DOTT I am gonna have to fight you.

SamandMax

11-08-2006, 01:12 AM

DOTT probably is an overall better game qualitywise, but Sam and Max for me personally is just funner to play. To each his own.

Toefur

11-08-2006, 02:20 AM

I've gotta say that Sam & Max is a mega funny game, but as an actual game I don't think I enjoy it as much as any other LucasArts adventure at all.

lobotomy42

11-08-2006, 08:21 PM

Thanks for the help, everyone!

So it seems I'm not completely alone in my lack of immediate affection for the game. Let me ask the obvious new question then, which two people have already answered:

Should I bother with the new games from Telltale if the original didn't grab my interest? For the record, I rather enjoy the characters of Sam and Max themselves, and the dialogue between them; I just didn't like very much else :) Does the new game have more interesting secondary characters or a more substantive plot?

Thanks!

jp-30

11-08-2006, 08:35 PM

Should I bother with the new games from Telltale if the original didn't grab my interest? For the record, I rather enjoy the characters of Sam and Max themselves, and the dialogue between them; I just didn't like very much else :) Does the new game have more interesting secondary characters or a more substantive plot?Thanks!

Oh god YES!

If you liked the Sam & Max characters and dialogue in Hit the Road, Telltale's episode will not disappoint. The dialogue is better, snappier, funnier in the new game. The gameplay itself is an improvement over Hit the Road too.

The plot is good, but it's tight, as it has to be in a small game (3-4 hours to complete for most people). But tight is good, as far as I'm concerned.

There's no reason not to try it.

simpson_yellow

11-08-2006, 08:52 PM

Does the new game have more interesting secondary characters or a more substantive plot?
Debatable. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more in that regard (for the record, I loved both Hit the Road and Culture Shock). To be honest, I thought the secondary characters were a little hit and miss, and the episode was too short to do anything terribly meaningful plotwise. In case you haven't read it already, the AG review (http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,690/) gives a pretty good rundown of the issues.

Of course, it's only US$8.95 for the first episode, so it's not a whole lot to lose. And if you think that's too much of a gamble, there's always the demo.

EvilMulder

11-09-2006, 01:45 AM

I just want to chime in that I didn't like Hit the Road all that much either, but I played the demo of the new Sam & Max series a couple of days ago and found it completely hilarious! :D So I will be getting the full game as soon as I have some spare time in the future.

I advise you to just try the demo. It's only 80 Mb, so you have absolutely nothing to lose.

marsan

11-09-2006, 01:45 AM

Debatable. I'm not sure which I enjoyed more in that regard (for the record, I loved both Hit the Road and Culture Shock). To be honest, I thought the secondary characters were a little hit and miss, and the episode was too short to do anything terribly meaningful plotwise. In case you haven't read it already, the AG review (http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,690/) gives a pretty good rundown of the issues.

This was only the pilot episode. From the series world, we know that the secondary characters never are fully established in the first episode. It's the re-occuring of them in later episodes that gives them a firm personality. In the pilot they just kind of introduce them, while the main focus is on establishing the main characters and doing ones best to find something in the pilot that will leave the player of the pilot wanting more.

Terramax

11-09-2006, 01:49 AM

pixie_pussycat

11-09-2006, 03:08 AM

It's an insane game, I admit. :D

jp-30

11-09-2006, 11:19 AM

I remember about a year back making a thread showing my detest for the game and getting S & M fanboys jumping down my neck for it. It's taken a whole year to actually find someone on this forum who sees the game with my POV.

To be fair, there aren't many (if any) saying they detest Hit the Road. Just that it's not quite as good as, say DOTT due to the fairly weak plot and some illogical puzzles.

AFGNCAAP

11-09-2006, 11:29 AM

To be even fairer, neither the claim about nobody agreeing with Terramax back then nor the one about S&M fanboys ganging up on him, is true. :P Here's (http://forums.adventuregamers.com/showthread.php?t=10965) the thread.

Udvarnoky

11-09-2006, 12:50 PM

You're all traitors.

RLacey

11-09-2006, 01:02 PM

And doesn't treachery feel good...

Squinky

11-09-2006, 02:22 PM

I like the new voices better than the old ones.

*runs*

HieroHero

11-09-2006, 05:32 PM

jp-30

11-09-2006, 06:08 PM

I love when people make posts in 2006 about how hit the road wasnt that good :D If english wasn't your first language, you may miss a whole lot of jokes.. Sam & Max: Hit The Road is the funniest game I have ever played. The plot is a means to continue the jokes and I have no problem with it. Sean Clarke, Mike Stemmle and Steve Purcell did an incredible job. Hilarious game and a true classic. If you wern't there when this game came out in 1993 you already missed the boat..it was a huge hit..for a reason.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there - "If you weren't there when this game came out in 1993...".

I think this game hasn't aged as well as some of the other LucasArts SCUMM classics, menaing it leaves some new players somewhat bewildered as to what all the fuss is/was about.

HieroHero

11-10-2006, 12:48 PM

Yeah I can understand that :)

TribeHasSpoken

11-11-2006, 01:31 AM

I think the problem with "Sam & Max Hit The Road" is the pacing. The game throws pretty much every example of its style of humor at the player more than once long before the game actually ends, which makes the final "act" a bit of a chore. In other words, the humor acts as a payoff for the actions the player performs that keeps the game moving, but a law of diminishing returns comes into play. I believe that if you were to play the end first, that section would seem much funnier and engaging than it otherwise is. One solution I use is to take a break for a few days when the game starts to feel stale and then come back to it with a (relatively) clean slate.

Other than the pacing problem, I think it's a pretty good game. I've downloaded the demo for the first episode of the new season, but haven't played it yet.

Solid Snake

11-11-2006, 09:52 AM

They sacrificed too much stuff for the sake of humour , it lacks the balance of other funny LucasArts classics like Monkey Island series,Grim Fandango, DOTT etc.

Erwin_Br

11-11-2006, 02:27 PM

Well, I think it's a good thing not to have all games mimic Monkey Island or DOTT style and humor. You can't even compare them, really.

--Erwin

Solid Snake

11-11-2006, 04:54 PM

Whatever.

Putrid Moldyman

11-11-2006, 04:58 PM

I always felt S&M could be a bit dull, but it's still one of the greats.

vivasawadee

11-12-2006, 05:59 PM

I just finished Sam and Max again on the weekend. Its a great game albeit short and not too developed plot wise. It was more like playing a comic book.

There are some really inspired moments of hilarity in the game. My favourite moments was when they take the piss out of Star Wars, Max's propensity for violence, Conroyds ode to his vanity and Sam singing samba songs at Mt Rushmore.

SoccerDude28

11-14-2006, 12:22 PM

Among the old Lucasarts franchises, Hit the Road is probably my least favorite. It is still a damn fine game though.

Hammerite

11-16-2006, 06:56 AM

I always felt S&M could be a bit dull, but it's still one of the greats.

the whips and chains get in my way.

Tramboi

11-16-2006, 02:00 PM

Hit the road is the best humour in Lucasfilm...ooops Lucasarts game ever.
Mindless fuzzy violence is a must.
If someone disagrees we'll just have to fight.
Or my own rabbit will:
http://perso.orange.fr/tramb/510488221_l.jpg
We both love fighting for the sake of it.
Or for a biscuit.

MoriartyL

11-19-2006, 10:11 AM

Personally, I don't find violence funny. So there was absolutely nothing in Hit The Road that interested me. I forced myself through a few hours of it for the sake of common knowledge, and then I stopped. I confess I don't understand how it can be considered a classic.

Edit: And for the record: I love Monty Python. That humor doesn't rely on cheap shocks of violence.

QFG

11-19-2006, 10:26 AM

"Personally, I don't find violence funny."

That would be a big problem.

For those of us who do, it's great stuff!! :D

CrimsonBlue

11-19-2006, 12:57 PM

MoriartyL

11-20-2006, 03:47 AM

What, are you referring to the bunny? Okay, you have a point with that one scene. Okay, the black knight too. But other than that, what was there?

JohnGreenArt

11-20-2006, 06:57 AM

What, are you referring to the bunny? Okay, you have a point with that one scene. Okay, the black knight too. But other than that, what was there?

How about when John Cleese slaughters everyone in a castle to rescue who he believed was a damsel in distress?

Or when his squire was killed by the arrow that delivered said distress call?

Or when knights on horseback kill the history professor near the end of the film?

Or when the Trojan Bunny lands on one of the guys in Arthur's entourage?

Or when the bridge guardian launches the knights off the bridge when they give an incorrect answer to his riddles?

Or when the "Bring out your dead" guy kills the guy who isn't quite dead yet?

Where in that movie ISN'T there violence for comedic effect?

vivasawadee

11-20-2006, 06:11 PM

What about Life of Brian with all the stoning?

Don't tell me that Sam and Max is too violent. Everyone who got their ass whooped in the game deserved it except maybe that bonded courier but then again who knows what evil lies in the hearts of these feline courier fiends.............

MoriartyL

11-20-2006, 11:35 PM

How about when John Cleese slaughters everyone in a castle to rescue who he believed was a damsel in distress?

Or when his squire was killed by the arrow that delivered said distress call?

Or when knights on horseback kill the history professor near the end of the film?

Or when the Trojan Bunny lands on one of the guys in Arthur's entourage?

Or when the bridge guardian launches the knights off the bridge when they give an incorrect answer to his riddles?

Or when the "Bring out your dead" guy kills the guy who isn't quite dead yet?

Where in that movie ISN'T there violence for comedic effect?

Okay, you got me.

Erwin_Br

11-21-2006, 02:23 AM

Sam (holding a bomb): Max, where should I put this so it doesn't hurt anyone we know or care about?
Max: Out the window, Sam. There's nothing but strangers out there.
(Bomb explodes outside the windows)
Sam: I sure hope there was no one on that bus.
Max: No one we know, at least...

While I found that scene hilarious, I can imagine that someone in Israel may have a different opinion.

--Erwin

MoriartyL

11-21-2006, 07:43 AM

Oh, that doesn't really factor into it. It's not disturbing (due to being so ridiculous) so much as being sort of "eh". I just don't find it funny, that's all.

MdaG

11-21-2006, 08:27 AM

I think Hit the Road is a good game, but far too illogical (even in a cartoon sense) to rank among my absolute favorites. I love the humour though.

Atlantis

11-23-2006, 12:36 PM

I absolutely adore Sam n Max, its witty amazingly weird and complex in places, plus.. how can you argue with dressing up books of them.. in which they wear tutus and rock stuff?

Sky Warrior Bob

11-23-2006, 01:55 PM

I'm no huge fan of the original Sam & Max. It was fun at times, but got a bit too outlandish most of the time. The new Telltale stuff is a whole lot better, both in terms of humor & playability.

I highly recommend each & every one of them (yes I know only one of them is out so far).

SWB

Terramax

11-25-2006, 01:14 PM

To be fair, there aren't many (if any) saying they detest Hit the Road. Just that it's not quite as good as, say DOTT due to the fairly weak plot and some illogical puzzles.

OK, detest was a stronge word. There are parts in the game I found funny, but no where near as funny as DW or Broken Sword.