Just to add more :disagree: and
to this thread...
I just got through playing Sam & Max. The art and animation are fantastic (maybe the best?), the basic concept and characters are really good, and the music is great. The extras (like the dress up kit) are pretty neat. The voice acting isn't bad, but underwhelms.
The design, however, is really off.
The first major problem, in my opinion, is that there are almost no unique failure quips. "That's a complete unusable thingamabob" or "I can't combine those things" is used for 99% of failure quips, even for credible failures, even for failures that don't involve objects (like trying to use a living thing or "combine" living things). Failure quips (or failure animations in a generous game) are where the best gags can be had -- much better than in dialogue, where they feel obstructive rather than reactive.
The second problem -- one that was completely different from my recollection -- is that Max is really
under-utilized as a "tool." It's true that he's the most used tool, just edging out the grabber. But the grabber is a totally uncharismatic item; it's not Indy's whip or Gordon's crowbar or even Horatio's plasma torch. It doesn't speak to Sam's character and it's not very funny.
Max by contrast
is a charismatic "item." And many of his idle animations are pretty great! But for most of the game, he's useless: he gets the note and the rasp; stops the swan; and then doesn't do again anything until he bites the rope, pulls the tooth and helps with the tar (which is passive, anyway). Even in scenarios where a Tasmanian-devil-rabbit would be useful, like perhaps in fighting off Bumpus's goon, he's inactive. My instinct is that he should've been the solution (or a step toward the solution) in about twice as many interactions.
The third problem is that sometimes things that should be really easy (
e.g., finding the chief at the spa) are surprisingly hard, whereas things that should be really hard wind up trivially easy (
e.g., gathering the fur samples for the frog rock). Finally, there are things that are reasonably "epic" (like getting to the top of the ball of twine by way of the fish model) that wind up having no pay off (a random bit of twine that you have no need for until a random puzzle asks you for it much later in the game). On top of that, the puzzle logic universally puts keys before locks -- I'm not sure I
ever got an item after having a reason to take it other than (1) the fur (as clues) and (2) the corkscrew. I'd say it's by far the worst designed adventure I've played in the current batch. (
I.e., behind Loom, MI1, and MI2, so some stiff competition, but also probably behind Pajama Sam, which feels somewhat similar in terms of presentation and humor, but somewhat ludicrously with better puzzles given that it's clearly designed for young children).
It's really too bad because the concept and art are so fantastic that it feels like it could've been one of the truly greatest adventures with a better hand at the design tiller. I don't think these shortcomings are caused or justified by the humorous setting, either, as plenty of Sierra and Lucas games were comedic but still had puzzles that worked within the paradigm of (1) Discover problem; (2) experiment to gather data; (3) apply data to solve problem or (1) Discover Lock; (2) think about what kind of key would fit the lock: (3) find key; (4) unlock. Sam & Max is basically "do things, get things, use things, watch fun cartoon." I guess this is what happens when a game's a comic first, maybe.
Next up is probably DoTT. Holding out hope.
