Replaying Telltale's Game Catalog

[Jennifer]

I'm going to replay Telltale's game catalog, starting with their first game (Telltale Texas Hold'Em) and up to The Walking Dead (episode whatever is out when I'm done :D).

I'm mostly doing this to fill in the reviews on my blog that haven't been done yet, but I thought it would be fun to do for even the games that I've already reviewed and for the games that aren't adventures (which my blog doesn't cover).

I'm going to start Telltale Texas Hold'Em now and I'll post my thoughts about it once I've played through enough that I've heard the majority of the dialog. :D

If anyone wants to play along, and/or add your own comments about the games feel free. :)

[RAnthonyMahan]

Sounds interesting. Keep us updated. :)

[Darth Marsden]

Have fun with that. Be interesting to hear your thoughts on the earlier stuff with the benefit of hindsight.

[Jennifer]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STGFHOWMZ_I/AAAAAAAAAQo/nOBJW58OvKo/s200/ttholdembox.png (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STGFHOWMZ_I/AAAAAAAAAQo/nOBJW58OvKo/s1600/ttholdembox.png)http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SS9_xKYw5pI/AAAAAAAAAO4/ItZ0t4gsI94/s200/ttholdem+mi+injoke.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SS95rugmwMI/AAAAAAAAAOo/qTsDuzuwoxE/s1600/ttholdem+mi+injoke.jpg)

OK, so I just replayed Telltale Texas Hold'Em. When I first played this game, I didn't know Poker well, so I was never able to win. When Poker Night at the Inventory came out, I forced myself to learn Poker and now I can play Telltale Texas Hold'Em well enough to hear a lot of the comments in one play through (and I actually managed to win a few times! Yay!).

I was actually pleasantly surprised that it's still fun to play, considering it was Telltale's first product and it was initially only meant as a test of the Telltale Tool.

I'll get the bad out of the way first:
I noticed audio problems. Some of the lines of speech would crackle at the end of the sentence, and some lines seemed to cut off prematurely. Although, the latter is barely noticable, and the former doesn't happen too often.

There isn't an option in the menu to change your screen resolution. I personally didn't mind this, but I know some might, especially with a widescreen monitor as the image stretches to fit the screen.

Also, it shows it's age graphically. The parts of the characters that are supposed to be rounded are somewhat jagged, especially on Harry's and Boris Krinkle's bald heads. I don't mind this personally, since I've never worried about graphics in games. I've always believed in graphic design over graphic pizazz, and the design of the characters in this game is fittingly cartoony and charming (and besides, the "jaggies" are nowhere near as bad, as say something from the late 90's or early 2000's like Escape from Monkey Island), but if you're the kind that worries about that kind of thing, you can tell it's an older game (it was released in 2005).

And the good:
It's really funny. I read the rules for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised at how hilarious they are. I'm glad that Telltale put humor into something that would otherwise be tedious. The line about the sharing of the cards being the reason Texas Hold'Em is the most taught card game in pre-schools made me chuckle out loud. Another funny thing in the rules I thought I'd point out: the rules were "written" by Artie Flopshark, the guy who Max said he and Sam beat up in Poker Night at the Inventory. It's great to see Poker Night make a reference to it's spiritual predecessor.

The characters were great. Boris Krinkle (AKA Leonard Snakecharmer from Sam & Max Season One and Two) had some great lines (I can't even win with this hand, and I cheat heavily!). I also enjoyed Grandma Shakey's comments about being sadder than when her Nth dead husband died and X (X being everything from something small like he didn't take out the garbage to something big like he left me out of the will). Harry Weinhead's comment about his favorite music being the kind they play in the main menu was funny too (I love fourth wall breaking jokes). And Ted Theodore Dudebrough (gotta love the Bill & Ted reference) was basically a mellow Max (with a touch of Strong Bad) which was great. Like Dudebrough, Max would usually follow your crazy bets even if he had bad cards. Dudebrough also said some pretty random stuff (Does this mean Grandma Shakey's cards can talk?) and he used some pop culture in funny ways (I'm a check, check, check, check, checkin' machine) and George HW Bush's "Not gonna do it, wouldn't be prudent" followed by "dude".

The music is also wonderful, I have to agree with Harry. :) It's an upbeat Jazz score. I really wish I bought the Jerry Logas and the Pier 23 Reunion Band CD when it was available in Telltale's store. The voices are also surprisingly done well, considering this was before Bay Area Sound handled Telltale's games.

While the facial animation was just average, the animation of the characters themselves was great considering this was Telltale's first product (and was only originally intended as an internal test project). Boris Krinkle, especially, had a lot of fun movement in his arms. And I especially liked how when you went all in when both Boris and Dudebrough were still in the game, they'd turn towards each other and say "woah" simultaneously. It was a great little piece of animation, and I enjoyed watching it every time.

If I were to score this on my website, I'd give it a 3½ out of 5 (or a 7 out of 10). Despite it's age (and it's lack of graphic options), it's still fun to play (it seems to play the same as Poker Night at the Inventory), and it's still funny (and I'm sure I haven't heard all of the dialog yet).

I bought Telltale Texas Hold'Em in its Bold Games retail CD for $10 from Wal-Mart in 2007 (and I later got it from Telltale's website so I could play the updated version). Today, I'd say it's well worth buying if you can get it during a sale when it's around $5US. It's worth that especially if you haven't yet played Poker Night at the Inventory. Even if you have played Poker Night, you may still find some fun with the game as there are a lot of good jokes here.

I'm going to take a break before I tackle Bone: Out from Boneville. I'll get to it either later tonight or tomorrow. :)

Feel free to jump in at anytime if you want to play along or just want to share your thoughts about the games (or both :D)

EDIT: I just realized I still have the Telltale Texas Hold'Em page (http://the--adventuress.blogspot.com/2008/11/telltale-texas-holdem.html) on my blog from when it used to be called Telltale Fan, along with an injoke (which is the image of the game at the top of this post) :)

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Awesome! Telltale Texas Hold'Em is the one Telltale game (aside from CSI) that I never played. I jumped in for Out From Boneville and have bought and enjoyed everything since. I'm glad to hear it still holds up!

The marathon idea sounds fun. I've done a Sam & Max marathon before, and Telltale provided a big part of my recent Monkey Island marathon of course, but I never thought of doing one of the whole catalogue. Might have to give it shot sometime.

[Jennifer]

Sounds interesting. Keep us updated. :)Have fun with that. Be interesting to hear your thoughts on the earlier stuff with the benefit of hindsight.
It's definitely interesting playing the games again, but this time knowing how Telltale will evolve as a developer. :)

Awesome! Telltale Texas Hold'Em is the one Telltale game (aside from CSI) that I never played. I jumped in for Out From Boneville and have bought and enjoyed everything since. I'm glad to hear it still holds up!
I first got into Telltale with Out from Boneville too. I skipped Telltale Texas Hold'Em because I (wrongly) assumed I wouldn't find a poker game fun. I'm glad I made the impulse buy when I saw it in the store a few years later. :)

The marathon idea sounds fun. I've done a Sam & Max marathon before, and Telltale provided a big part of my recent Monkey Island marathon of course, but I never thought of doing one of the whole catalogue. Might have to give it shot sometime.
Feel free to join in on this thread whenever you want. I'm going to be playing all of the titles, including the CSI games, so it's going to take a while. :)

[coolsome]

I'm replaying Hector. I love Hector! I hope Straandlooper and TTG (or just Straandlooper) make more Hector games.

[der_ketzer]

I never liked TTTH. I just generally didn't like the poker games by telltale.

[Jennifer]

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Aw-zQMB-_nk/STHQF8NvqmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/wKJhYLobh4A/s200/cowracecover.jpg (https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Aw-zQMB-_nk/STHQF8NvqmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/wKJhYLobh4A/s512/cowracecover.jpg)http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc7Uf1whevY/T5o1D9W1qtI/AAAAAAAADws/ceg4nXEL5d4/s200/ratcreatures.png (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc7Uf1whevY/T5o1D9W1qtI/AAAAAAAADws/ceg4nXEL5d4/s1600/ratcreatures.png)
So, now we get to the meat and potatoes: Telltale's first adventure game, Bone: Out From Boneville. Unlike my first few playthroughs, I now have the advantage of having read the entire Bone comic collection. So, I know how well the game stands up to the comic. And, the answer is: remarkably well.

There are some hiccups though, so I'll do this like my last write-up. The bad:

Some of the audio problems present in Telltale Texas Hold'Em are still here in Out From Boneville. I didn't notice the crackling of the speech this time, thankfully, but some lines still did seem to cut off prematurely. It was a much rarer occurance this time though. The only obvious one was one of Fone Bone's lines in an optional selection in a dialog tree. And even then, the sentence was still spoken fully, the last word just cut off unnaturally.

Like Telltale Texas Hold'Em, it shows it's age graphically with "jaggies" around character's features that are supposed to be rounded. And, also like Telltale Texas Hold'Em, I don't mind personally. It captures the look of the comic it's based on wonderfully. That's all that really matters to me.

Some of the puzzles require you to do something exactly as the programmers wrote it, and what seems to be a natural solution to a puzzle won't work. The most obvious puzzle where this happens is the puzzle where you have to put a corn husk in a hole in a bucket. You can't use the corn cob on the bucket, you have to click the bucket. Also, you can't even select the corn as an object unless you selected gather water as a chore or tell Grandma Ben that you are done chopping firewood. This doesn't happen often, and it's Telltale's first adventure game so it's understandable, but I did have to take a half a point of the score on my blog for it.

It's a little desolate in some areas. It fits with the comic perfectly, but a little more Fone Bone dialog (and some extra puzzles) in the scenes when he's alone wouldn't have hurt at all.

It is too short, and too lacking in puzzles (as is wonderfully commented upon tongue-in-cheek style in the opening line of Bone: The Great Cow Race). It also has an action scene that is the exact same thing twice in the game, and I'm not a fan of repeated sequences.

Now, on to the good:
The game is extremely faithful to the original source material. The most memorable lines are all there, either by default, or through the optional dialog trees.

The game captured the look of the characters wonderfully. They also managed to capture the more cartoony moments of the book well (like the hearts floating over Fone Bone's head when he stares at Thorne).

You can see Telltale's ambitions to be cinematic with their games already. The scene near the beginning of the game with Fone Bone in the mountains was very cinematic, with the camera wrapping around him as he went along the path, and then the sun setting up as he reached the peak. I remember Jeff Smith saying that he loved the way Telltale handled this scene, and I have to agree. :)

I also really liked the voices. I know they have their detractors, but the voices all fit the characters personalities. And I especially have to give credit to Andrew Chaikin as Phoney Bone. He captures the character so well, I'll have a hard time watching Phoney Bone in the feature film adaptation if he's not in it (or at the very least someone who sounds remarkably like him).

Jared Emerson-Johnson and Bay Area Sound! The music is one of the best parts of Telltale's games, and this is Jared's first time composing the music for a Telltale game. The music in the Bone games are still among my favorites of those that Jared has done for Telltale.

The director's cut additions really did a lot to help the flow of the games. I played it before the additions, and after playing them with them, I have to say the game is much better for it. The new opening really helps to set the mood of the games (and really makes me wish Telltale had been able to complete their take on the series). I also didn't mind Thorne's original model and actress, but I can see why Telltale went with the new ones. Thorne does look more like she does in the comic, and the voice actress does a good job capturing the spirit of the character.

I also have to say I really miss the right click to look option in Telltale's games. There was a lot of extra dialog to be had from looking at objects multiple times, and it's a shame Telltale can't put that to use nowadays. I'd love to see the funny lines today's Telltale would come up with when you look at stuff you can normally only interact with.

I enjoyed this game despite the technical hiccups and the desolate feeling in the beginning. Once the game gets to the second act, the game becomes quite enjoyable. It's just a shame the game ends so soon. Thankfully, the length and the sparseness of the surroundings were addressed in the second game, and the price has since been lowered since it's original release. There is a bundle pack available for both games that definitely makes this relatively simple game much more worth it for the price.

I gave it a 3 out of 5 on my blog (http://the--adventuress.blogspot.com/2010/05/bone-out-from-boneville-review.html), but on a 10 point scoring system, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

I'm replaying Hector. I love Hector! I hope Straandlooper and TTG (or just Straandlooper) make more Hector games.
Me too. I really liked how the episodes got better as the series went on.

I never liked TTTH. I just generally didn't like the poker games by telltale.
Understandable. It's a really solitary experience, and the game's main selling point was the humor. Even people who like Poker might not like the fact that it's a one player only game.

I'm off for bed now. When I wake up: CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder! :D

[Jennifer]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeEsQkj3NPI/AAAAAAAAAq0/yejIbZtZofI/s200/3dom.gif (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeEsQkj3NPI/AAAAAAAAAq0/yejIbZtZofI/s1600/3dom.gif)http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeGOukZL6II/AAAAAAAAArk/o94By8e-P8U/s200/landers.jpg (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeGOukZL6II/AAAAAAAAArk/o94By8e-P8U/s1600/landers.jpg)http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeEvKPS3v_I/AAAAAAAAArE/aSZy7pAy8Rs/s200/gamecancelled.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SeEvKPS3v_I/AAAAAAAAArE/aSZy7pAy8Rs/s1600/gamecancelled.jpg)
Now it's time for the first of Telltale's most often overlooked series: CSI, with CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder. I, personally, enjoyed watching CSI: Las Vegas (especially during the time Gil Grissom was on the show, a time in which 3DoM certainly fits), so I do happen to like this game.

Now, onto my re-play through. The bad:

The audio crackle is back, and more prevalent than it was in Bone:Out From Boneville. Also, sometimes the dialog a character says starts before a clip starts, stops, and then starts over again after the clip ends.

Moreso than either game before it, this game really shows it's age graphically. Texas Telltale Hold'Em and the Bone games still look nice because of the cartoon style they employed. CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder went for a realistic approach with motion captured 3D. Since the game was released in 2005, it has PS2-era graphics (and there was even a PS2 port by Ubisoft in the days when Telltale didn't handle their own ports to other platforms [The Mac port of the Bone: Out from Boneville was also handled by a different company than Telltale]). This means that, while the characters do resemble their characters enough to be recognizable, there's definitely some uncanny valley going on here.

The "way to be thorough" line when you check an area with no evidence available is used way too often. It would have been nice to have some variety in the responses.

Some of the characters sound too much like they are "phoning it in" by just reading the script. Although the acting is meant to be dry, as in the show, it shouldn't be completely devoid of emotion. The voice actress of Catherine, in particular, is guilty of this.

The good:

Although it was a commercial boxed game, this is the first game to use Telltale's now-standard practice of five episodes (cases in this instance) per game (there were six cases in Ubisoft's PS2 port, although the sixth case was just a renamed version of case 2 in CSI: Hard Evidence). The multiple cases worked well here, as it felt like you were playing five episodes of the show. If they made it all into one long mystery, it would have become old fast.

The game really feels like the CSI: Las Vegas show. You are presented as a rookie CSI who has to learn the ropes at the CSI: Las Vegas crime lab. Unlike most of Telltale's other games, the view is presented in first person mode. In the Windows version, your movement is limited to the areas which present themselves via clickable hotspots while looking for clues. In the PlayStation 2 version, your movement around crime scene areas is free. This actually makes the PS2 version more confusing, as Telltale intended the limited movement to improve ease of use (and it certainly doesn't detract from the game).

As you progress in the game, there are scenes taken from the show of shots of Las Vegas (complete with music from the show) when you move to a new location. The music in other shots is by Jared Emerson-Johnson All of the Hollywood-style CSI technology from the show is available for you to use in the lab, and the famous in your face shots when evidence is discovered are also present in the game.

They got most of the original voices to do the voices of the characters here. That really helps to give it the feel of playing five episodes of the show. The voices of the suspects are also well done, and include some Telltale regulars like Andrew Chaikin (voice of Phoney Bone, Max in Culture Shock, Bugeye in Tales of Monkey Island, among others).

The writing is excellent as well. The cases are interesting, as were the personalities of the subjects. The best part of the episode though, was the second case. The case, titled First Person Shooter, was a parody of the cancellation of Sam & Max at LucasArts in favor of high selling Star Wars games. The murder victim is a CEO of a video game company who is murdered at the biggest video game conference of the year, just as the company is about to release a sequel to it's popular first-person-shooter franchise. One of the suspects of the murder is an artist who created a webcomic called Fuzzy & Bill (Sam & Max) which was made into a game by the company of the murdered CEO which had a small but loyal fan following (Sam & Max: Hit the Road). The sequel was cancelled because the company didn't see the sales potential in the game (Sam & Max: Freelance Police), and the loyal fans got upset about it and posted angry threats on message boards (see the second screenshot above :), but management didn't budge. It was very surprising to see such tongue-in-cheek humor go into such a serious project, but it was a very welcome surprise. And, very well done as well. The leads on the project also got into the fun (lead writer Greg Land and lead artist Mai Nguyen became the suspects Craig Landers and Maya Nguyen, respectively :) [see the first screenshot above]).

Although it's not quite the "season arc" of the later CSI games, the final episode does manage to tie itself into two previous cases. It's nice to have a bit of a continuity in episodic-styled games, as it helps to make the five cases feel like part of a whole product, rather than just a bunch of separate mini-games that happen to share characters.

I still like this game despite it's age, and despite some audio hiccups. It's well written, most of the cast comes back to reprise their roles, and the game successfully uses music from the show, as well as low-key, but well-fitting additional music by Jared Emerson-Johnson of Bay Area Sound.

That said, I do know exactly why people don't take to this. The dialog delivery is very dry. The gameplay is slow paced, and it's all about talking to suspects, meticulously searching through each scene looking for clues, testing those clues in the lab, and then repeating. But, all of these things actually fit perfectly within the mold of CSI: Vegas. To like this game you have to like the CSI franchise to begin with, or at the very least, if you haven't seen it, enjoy Hollywood's dramatization of crime scene investigation procedure. Because if you don't like these kind of shows, there's no way you're going to like this game.

I'd give it a 3½ out of 5 (or a 7 out of 10).

Bone: The Great Cow Race is up next. It's a much smaller game than the five cases of CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder, so I might get to it before I go to bed. But, most likely, I'll get to it after I wake up. :)

[Jennifer]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STHQF8NvqmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/6xw8aZ-Wi2o/s200/cowracecover.jpg (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STHQF8NvqmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/6xw8aZ-Wi2o/s1600/cowracecover.jpg)[/url]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SdmUQ5NYw9I/AAAAAAAAAnU/slBfpxr1sYw/s200/tooshort.png[url=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STHLgS3nAHI/AAAAAAAAARw/Ffq3xfiUjBA/s1600/cowraceinjoke.jpg]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/STHLgS3nAHI/AAAAAAAAARw/Ffq3xfiUjBA/s200/cowraceinjoke.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pwf9M3a3dTU/SdmUQ5NYw9I/AAAAAAAAAnU/slBfpxr1sYw/s1600/tooshort.png)
I took a break for a few days. But, now I'm back in the swing of things. :)

I just re-played Bone: The Great Cow Race. My thoughts:

The bad:

There's still a problem with the audio. The voices stopping before the end of a line returns, but I only noticed it in one instance this time.

This still uses the same character models as the first Bone game (it was only released a few months apart). Like I said before in my Out of Boneville look-back, I don't mind it personally, because Telltale managed to capture the look of the comics very well. But for those who do care, the "jaggies" around character's features that are supposed to be rounded are still here.

Now, on to the good:

Like Out from Boneville, the game is extremely faithful to the original source material. This time though, Telltale did manage to squeeze in additional material to fill out the episode beyond the comic it was based on, and it still fit within the Bone universe.

The wonderful character models returned, and the new models fit their comic counterparts just as well. The new scenes are bright and full of life, and most importantly, filled with wonderful details. Unlike Out From Boneville, this game didn't feel sparse or desolate at all.

The voices of the new characters are excellent, and of course the voices of the characters from the original game who return here are excellent as well. I especially liked the voice actor of the giant bee in the forest that Fone Bone had to take honey from.

Once again Jared Emerson-Johnson and Bay Area Sound shines. Like I said when I played Out From Boneville, the music in the Bone games are still among my favorites of those that Jared has done for Telltale. He really managed to captured the feel of the universe of Bone through the music. It just fits so well. :)

The puzzles are more fun this time. Plus, Telltale listened to the fans and removed the tedious action sequences and replaced it with a clever puzzle at the cow race that involved Smiley and Phoney jumping from one cow to the other which was not an action sequence at all, despite it taking place in an action scene. It was an inventory-based puzzle disguised as an action sequence. This is actually the premiere of the end-of-the-game action puzzle that Telltale has become known for in their later games.

Since this game had material written for it which was exclusive to the game, the designers at Telltale were able to slip some injokes in. There was a really fun reference to fan concerns about the first game being so short at the beginning of the game. Also, the that's the biggest X line from Monkey Island [that originated in Get Smart] made an appearance here as well. :)

I gave this game a 3½ out of 5 on my blog (http://the--adventuress.blogspot.com/2010/05/bone-great-cow-race-review.html) (and would give it a 7/10 on a 10 point scale). It's worth playing, especially if you get the bundle deal that packages the two Bone games together. It's a shame we'll likely never see a sequel to the Bone games made by Telltale.

[der_ketzer]

The Great Cow Race is still one of my favourite TTG-episodes. The puzzles are good, length was good (4 hours on my first playthrough. Thats above the average of the earlier episodes and the current ones).

It's just too sad they lost the license and a sequel never came.
Also it's the birth of the classic cow model that has been used in so many of their Episodes.

[Jennifer]

It's just too sad they lost the license and a sequel never came.
Also it's the birth of the classic cow model that has been used in so many of their Episodes.
Yeah, it really is a shame. As Jake said in another thread (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showpost.php?p=580445&postcount=10), Telltale could do an awesome Bone episode now.

[Tjibbbe]

I did this somewhere before Jurassic Park was released (including the CSI-titles, like you're doing). It was fun! These Telltale episodes are surprisingly replayable. As much as I love older adventure games like Grim Fandango (probably my favourite AG), Full Throttle and Curse of Monkey Island, I can only play those once every couple of years. You're going to start Sam & Max season 1 now (Hard Evidence was released between S&M season 1 and 2, right?), which is where the fun really starts. That game made me a lifelong Telltale fan!

It would indeed be very cool if Telltale ever got back to Bone. I don't think early Telltale could have done justice to the last books in that series because it all plays out on such a large scale, but they could do a great job with them now. They might want to remake the first two though, as they do show their age a bit.

I might start replaying Sam & Max season 1 soon too. It's been a while, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing some of my favorite scenes again. Reality 2.0 (especially the ending) blew me away at the time.

Anyway, keep going with this Jennifer, it's very enjoyable to read your impressions!

[Jennifer]

You're going to start Sam & Max season 1 now (Hard Evidence was released between S&M season 1 and 2, right?), which is where the fun really starts. That game made me a lifelong Telltale fan!
Yep. Hard Evidence was released in the middle of the Sam & Max seasons, so I'm doing Season One (Sam & Max Save the World) now. :)

The reason that I took so long between Bone: The Great Cow Race and Culture Shock is that I decided to play it on Xbox 360 so I could get the added bonus of widescreen visuals (and a Sam & Max Hit the Road style pointer :)), and I was short on funds until now due to all of the kickstarters.

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So, now, without further adieu, my opinions on my latest playthrough of Sam & Max Save the World: Episode 1: Culture Shock.

The bad:

I experienced the scratchy sound people from these forums have experienced in Telltale's games. I never noticed them when I played Culture Shock on my computer speaker, but they were quite noticeable through my television speaker.

The Soda Poppers. I'm among the group that didn't like them. I like the characters and the personalities. The voices are awful though. The only one that doesn't grate on me is Specs, because his voice is more subdued. The other two sound like Urkel or Screech when they were trying to do their character's voices after puberty. I know that's the point, but it's not fun to listen to.

The good:

Telltale managed to make the Sam & Max models look good in 3D. They look much better than the trailer of the cancelled LucasArts adventure Sam & Max: Freelance Police (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiPISwKoovE). The other characters look good as well. They managed to capture the general look of Steve Purcell's art pretty well (although without most of the dirt and grime from the comics, but none of the other adaptations ever truly captured that either).

The humor is pretty good here. There are some good Sam lines here, and David Nowlin does a pretty good job delivering the oddball lines in deadpan (although he hasn't yet got the knack down for the character yet. Some of the lines are delivered a bit too dry, even for Sam).

Max seems like he would be fun to write for, and there are some fun Max lines here. Andrew Chaikin also does a good job as Max. It's too bad we never got to see how Andrew's Max would have evolved. He's a bit rough here (though as I mentioned before David Nowlin's Sam is as well), but he managed to capture the essence of the character well.

I like Bosco as just plain Bosco here. It was a good set up for the character, and we get a good taste of his paranoia here, that of course evolves in future episodes. I also like Sybil here. We already get a taste of her character's tendencies to change professions with the sign outside crossing off her previous professions (as well as the tattoo signs in her office). Telltale did a great job setting up these characters in the very first episode.

I'm also a big fan of Brady Culture. It's too bad he wasn't used in future episodes, but Sam & Max has always been about the bait & switch in the comics, so it's great that Telltale decided to do that in their series. Telltale's Sam & Max follows the tone of the comics more closely than Hit the Road did, and I appreciate that.

They also included a lot of injokes about the comics and Hit the Road (as well as Freelance Police) here. And, some of them are foreshadowing too, which was unexpected when I first played this way back when, but greatly appreciated. The picture of Sam & Max from Bad Day on the Moon and of Harry Moleman in particular (which was originally thought to be a nod to the molemen from Hit the Road.

Jared Emerson-Johnson and Bay Area Sound really shine here. I really like the opening song. It's got a hint of the vibe of the Hit the Road theme, but it's original enough that it stands on it's own. I also love the Soda Poppers song that plays over the end credits (and the instrumental version that plays in the street mini-game). I'm not a Soda Poppers fan, but their theme song is great. :)

On the subject of the minigames, controlling the DeSoto was so much easier with the Xbox 360 controller than with a mouse. I never liked the minigames when I played them on my computer, but I found them fun in my XBLA playthrough. :)

The puzzles are also great here. The puzzles in the Sam & Max series have been among Telltale's best, from day one. My favorite puzzle is the puzzle where Sam has to eradicate the multiple Brady Cultures from his dreams. It's a twisted puzzle with logic that makes you think outside the box, but still fits within the logic of Sam & Max's world. I love puzzles like that.

I gave this episode a 4 out of 5 (http://the--adventuress.blogspot.com/2008/11/culture-shock-review.html) on my blog. It's a great start to Sam & Max's return at the hands of Telltale, and is just a fun experience even if looked as a single episode rather than part of a package.

[Jennifer]

After thinking about it, I decided to keep doing these here. Once again I played my replay on the Xbox 360 (which was actually a first play for me on this platform ;))

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So, here's my thoughts on episode 2 of Sam & Max Season One, Situation Comedy.

The bad:

Scratchy sound problems again (but since a lot of the voice files are reused, this is expected).

Sam (and Max) comment exactly the same on the objects as they did in the last episode.

With the exception of the closet in Sam & Max's office and Sybil's sign, everything in the previously visited areas are decorated the same.

I do like the Soda Poppers as characters, but their voices seem even more obnoxious here than they did last episode. They are given a lot more dialog, and the actors deliver it in even whinier tones than they did in Culture Shock. The voice of Specs still isn't too bad though.

The TV studio has a lot of sets to choose from, which should make it feel like multiple locations rather than one. But the humor only resonated with me on the first set (the sitcom). The rest of them were kind of a let down.

The new characters weren't that interesting. They seemed too one dimensional, only to home in the fact that they worked at a television station. There is one standout though, who I'll talk about in the good section.

The good:

William Kasten does an excellent job replacing Andrew Chaikin as Max. I'll admit that the first time I played this game I didn't notice the difference. I didn't even know that Max's lines when he commented on objects were rerecorded with William Kasten until someone pointed it out on the forums.

With the exception of the Soda Poppers, all of the previously shown characters are voiced excellently in this new episode. Sam's delivery is still a little too dry, but David Nowlin is handling Sam's notoriously long-winded lines of dialog quite well.

Bosco's disguise. This is the first time we see Bosco in disguise, and even though I've seen them before, they're still funny in later playthroughs. Bosco's accents are ridiculous, and that's part of what makes them appealing. Sam & Max's comments about the disguise are funny too.

The store in general has some really funny lines. I played through all of the dialog again even though I've heard them before, since Sam & Max's exchanges with Bosco are my favorite in the game.

I also really like Sybil's character. I like her first season portrayal the best, although I still like her character in later seasons, she's more fun when she's so adamant about her jobs even though she knows they'll only last for less than a month.

The one new character I liked that was introduced here was Hugh Bliss. He's still great in retrospect. I love how happy Max is to meet Hugh Bliss in these early episodes. I've actually forgotten how smitten he is with Hugh here.

The puzzles weren't as memorable this time around, but they were decent. There was nothing like the stroke of brilliance that was the Sam hypnotized puzzle in the last game. You had a lot of lead up to finally meeting Myra, and then when you finally did it was kind of a bummer. I would have thought the final puzzle would have had a little more humor in it, like going through the options with the hypnotized Soda Poppers guarding Brady Culture in the last game. The little that was there (choosing the names of the people who weren't shown in the picture with you) weren't as funny.

I gave this episode a 3 out of 5 (http://www.the-adventuress.com/2008/11/situation-comedy-review.html) on my blog. It's a slip in the quality from the first episode, but it still has enough redeeming qualities to make it worth playing. Especially as it's just a small part in an overarching story that is quite fulfilling on the whole.

[ryannumber1gamer]

Can't wait for you to do Episode 3 :)

[Jennifer]

Can't wait for you to do Episode 3 :)
Thanks. Didn't have to wait too long this time. :D Episode 3 is definitely a step up from episode 2, but episode 4 is where things really start picking up steam. :)

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So here's my thoughts on my replay of Sam & Max Season One: Episode 3: The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball.

The Bad:

Still has scratchy sound problems (like last episode a lot of dialog is reused and what's reused still has problems, along with some new lines).

The comments on objects are still the same, and the visited locations still look exactly the same.

Repetition of character's gags feels a little same-old, same-old (Bosco selling you a useless invention especially. Bosco's new accent and disguise feels a bit stale, but Bosco especially is still quirky enough to elicit laughs. Sybil's new job isn't quite interesting here. This one wore me a bit thin when I first played it, and it still does now).

The new location isn't that interesting. Although the new characters are, as I mention below.

The Good:

It takes a much needed break from the Soda Poppers.

The new characters are interesting. Especially Ted E. Bear, aka Harry Moleman. I love how the comics play on words, and they do it here making the Commissioner's mole in the mob an actual mole. Plus, he's really a double agent. It's a fun twist. The Ted E. Bear Mafia members are fun too. I enjoyed the deadpan delivery of cheesy lines.

A cameo of a character comes from Telltale Texas Hold'Em. I didn't expect that when I first played. And it's still fun now. Leonard Steakchalmer aka Boris Krinkle actually makes sense and in this episode too and he works as a character in Sam & Max's world. They kept his basic personality, but amplified and overexaggerated it, which is what Sam & Max is known for. :)

The voice acting is still very good. Max is excellent here. Lots of range. William Kasten is already getting a feel of the character. Sam is still a bit stiff, but sounds nice. Bosco's wonderfully crazy as usual. And the rest of the voices are great here. No irritating voice work in this episode.

The music! Jared Emerson-Johnson and Bay Area Sound always shine in Telltale's games. The music fits the atmosphere so well, and like the first episode, they have a great tie-in song with the Ted E. Bear's Mafia Free Playland and Casino song.

The jokes hit a lot of the right notes here, and they're getting a bit more risque which works well with Sam & Max. I laughed out loud at some of the scenes when I first played it and I still found myself laughing out loud in my replay especially at Max's "death" scene. It was so hammy, full of puns, and Max's overacting was very Looney Tunes. He was channeling Bugs Bunny there. :)

The puzzles are more memorable this time. They haven't quite reached the highs of the first episode, but there are some fun ones here. The final puzzle was much more satisfying than the last one as well.

I gave it 3½ out of 5 (http://www.the-adventuress.com/2010/05/mole-mob-and-meatball-review.html) on my blog. This episode's a step in the right direction, and although it shares the flaws of the second episode, it was a much more satisfying play through.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Looking forward to the next one - one of my all-time favorite Sam & Max episodes.

[ryannumber1gamer]

Well i replayed Strong Bad's Cool game for attractive people episode 1 and here is my thoughts.

Story-9/10 Strong Bad is once again checking out his emails when a french person emails Strong Bad asking why does he not beat the snot out of Homestar. Well Strong Bad wanting to prove he can to this french guy, He heads to Coach Z's track to find Homestar. After a talk with Homestar and finding out Homestar does not think Marzipan likes Strong Bad that much (I know huge shock :eek: ) Marzipan phones Homestar about the party she's throwing for him and Homestar gets annoyed and throws his phone away. Strong Bad then decides that beating Homestar in a race would be better then just beating the snot out of him.

After finding out from Coach Z that it's too late to enter, Strong Bad gets another idea, He makes a Homestar costume by destorying Marzipan's Homestar float and Strong Bad destorys Marzipan's garden by mistake but when Strong Bad is hiding in a bush, Marzipan sees the Homestar head from the float and thinks Homestar destoryed her garden. So then Strong Bad tricks Homestar into taking a shower so Strong Bad can steal his clothes but as Strong Bad just lefts the track then Homestar being the idiot he is, runs out of the locker room naked and The King Of Town and Coach Z sees him.

So Strong Bad loses the race and finds enjoyment in the fact that he ruined Homestar but then Homestar is in Strong Bad's house saying that Strong Bad is his only friend and Homestar has to stay in Strong Bad's house for a few months or even years. So Strong Bad cheats once again to win the race (By tricking Coach Z to get rid of Pom-Pom and by destorying the tape with the race on it) He traps the King Of Town in a hole so the King of Town could not take sweets that were men't for Marzipan. He then sneaks into The King Of Town's castle so he can get Homestar's record.

So after showing Homestar the trophy that Strong Bad won so Homestar thinks he won it himself,Then Homestar sees the record Strong Bad got and someone on Strong Bad's T.V says that The King Of Town has no memory of Homestar doing what he did without the record, Then Strong Bad shows him the message Marzipan left for Homestar after Strong Bad managed to give her the sweets.

So you would think that Strong Bad won? Well you thought wrong because now Marzipan holds Homestar's party in Strong Bad's house and it's him to trick them so he can get them out. He uses a banana peel and tricks them into getting into a dancing line so he put's the banana peel down in front of the window and everyone slips though the window.

Good: It's a great first episode
It has a good amount of Homestar Runner characters
The jokes are very funny
It has replay value with collectible clothes,collecting pieces of Strong Bad's snake boxer 5 book, and making Teen Girl squad comics.
Good Story.

Bad:I played the PS3 Version and hardly got any glitches but i hear on the PC & Wii versions there are a lot of glitches.
Extended mode really does not got that much to do other than going back to get stuff you missed or just to talk to a few characters again.


So my rating is 8/10, It's a great start to the game!

[DAISHI]

I don't know if words can describe how annoyed I got with season one episode one after a while.

[Jennifer]

Well i replayed Strong Bad's Cool game for attractive people episode 1 and here is my thoughts.
Thanks for joining in on the fun! I can't wait to get to SBCG4AP, that's one of my favorite seasons by Telltale.

OK... now to get back into this again. My interest keeps waning for reviewing rather than playing, I'll keep doing them because I really am enjoying playing the games again, and my interest in reviewing comes in waves (just see my blog to see that is true :)). I'm on a wave of interest again, so here's my thoughts on Abe Lincoln Must Die once again played on XBLA.

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The Bad:

Peepers' voice is still irritating. I made a Neutral section this time, since there were some things that were repeated more than I liked but I didn't mind as much. The other two Poppers are down there.

Neutral:
Whizzer's voice seems to have mellowed a bit (probably because he's depressed here), so he doesn't bother me as much (which is good because he has a really big part both before and after Max becomes president Specs still doesn't irritate me as much as the others.

The Sybil and Bosco gags are becoming more tiresome. The writing and acting made them a bit less tiresome than in the last episode though. Sybil is neutral for me here, see Bosco below in the good for my opinion on his character.

The Good:

Telltale started implementing advice from the press and from fans in this episode. The previously visited locations now have some new decorations and the things that Sam (and sometimes Max) say when you click on objects are different.

All the voice actors are really getting into their roles here. Sam and Max both are in top form (which will continue throughout the series' run). Bosco is hilarious with the poorly imitated accents as usual. The Bosco gags are running thin, but his voice actor really makes up for the tiredness with his enthusiasm.

The new characters and locations are really great here. The White House is my favorite set from the series (at least up to this point), and I really love agent Superball. I really like how the ending of the third game tied right into this one with the secret service agent who was part of the Ted E. Bear mafia guarding the president.

The irony and puns (a Sam & Max staple) here are great the president being a puppet (both ironically, and as it was meant as being controlled by someone else were a high point)

the real Easter egg

The music really shines here. The War Song is still my favorite song (and dance!) number in any Sam & Max game.

The puzzles just keep getting better and better. I especially like the debate puzzle with the signs that you have to collect from all over in order to get Abe Lincoln to read exactly what's written, Anchorman style

I gave it 4½ out of 5 (http://www.the-adventuress.com/2010/05/abe-lincoln-must-die-review.html) on my blog. This episode's considered the best of the season by many people (not by me though, my favorite will be revealed later :D) and it's a reputation that's well-deserved.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

Abe Lincoln may be my favorite of all of the Sam & Max episodes. It's definitely when they hit their stride.

"Don't feed the submarine."
"What do you feed a submarine?"
"Nothing, weren't you listening?"

[ryannumber1gamer]

I'm wondering if i should play S&M Season 3 again.

Also Jennifer congratulations on becoming a mod :)

[Jennifer]

I'm wondering if i should play S&M Season 3 again.
If you liked it, go for it. :) It's my favorite season of Sam & Max story-wise, so I'm looking forward to getting to it once my fading interest allows. :D

Also Jennifer congratulations on becoming a mod :)
Thanks. :)

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Since this is bumped, I'll use the opportunity to write up a look-back of Sam & Max Save the World Episode 5: Reality 2.0 (played on XBLA).

The Bad:
Honestly, just that the graphics are still a bit on the sharp "jaggie" side. Other than that, not much. I didn't hear any of sound problems here that were present in the earlier episodes.

The Good:
The locations really get a facelift here once you go inside Reality 2.0.

They used the plot to give a much needed shake up of Bosco and Sybil. Their digital versions are a lot of fun. It's fun to communicate Sybil's empty avatar here, whereas Bosco is more fun when he's in control of his avatar The device that Bosco makes for them in this episode is really funny too.

The new characters. All of them, especially the C.O.P.S. Jared did a great job voicing them. They all sound like the "ancient" devices that they are supposed to be. Bluster Blaster is especially fun when you put the virus on him. :)

The music, with special note towards the 8-bit style songs and the C.O.P.S theme song. It wasn't as grand as the War Song, nor was it meant to be. The full version over the credits is fantastic.

The puzzles were really good here. There was one puzzle that stumped me when I first played it, and was the first Telltale puzzle to do so. The puzzle in question being the car painting puzzle to get past the bank security on the internet. It's actually a really clever puzzle, and the logic behind it is obvious once you know the solution. It's one of those classic style adventure puzzles that you don't see too much in modern commercial adventure games.

The jokes were great here, and the video game parodies were fantastic. The text adventure parody that was the finale was a stroke of genius.

Reality 2.0 is my second favorite of the season. The finale is my personal favorite. :)

I gave it a 4 1/2 out of 5 on my blog (http://www.the-adventuress.com/2010/05/reality-20-review.html).

[ryannumber1gamer]

If you liked it, go for it. :) It's my favorite season of Sam & Max story-wise, so I'm looking forward to getting to it once my fading interest allows. :D


Thanks. :)

Since this is bumped, I'll use the opportunity to write up a look-back of Sam & Max Save the World Episode 5: Reality 2.0 (played on XBLA).

The Bad:
Honestly, just that the graphics are still a bit on the sharp "jaggie" side. Other than that, not much. I didn't hear any of sound problems here that were present in the earlier episodes.

The Good:
The locations really get a facelift here once you go inside Reality 2.0.

They used the plot to give a much needed shake up of Bosco and Sybil. Their digital versions are a lot of fun. It's fun to communicate Sybil's empty avatar here, whereas Bosco is more fun when he's in control of his avatar The device that Bosco makes for them in this episode is really funny too.

The new characters. All of them, especially the C.O.P.S. Jared did a great job voicing them. They all sound like the "ancient" devices that they are supposed to be. Bluster Blaster is especially fun when you put the virus on him. :)

The music, with special note towards the 8-bit style songs and the C.O.P.S theme song. It wasn't as grand as the War Song, nor was it meant to be. The full version over the credits is fantastic.

The puzzles were really good here. There was one puzzle that stumped me when I first played it, and was the first Telltale puzzle to do so. The puzzle in question being the car painting puzzle to get past the bank security on the internet. It's actually a really clever puzzle, and the logic behind it is obvious once you know the solution. It's one of those classic style adventure puzzles that you don't see too much in modern commercial adventure games.

This one's my second favorite of the season. The finale is my personal favorite. :)

I gave it a 4 1/2 out of 5 on my blog (http://www.the-adventuress.com/2010/05/reality-20-review.html).

Well i did like S&M Season 3 and it was my first TTG game i played.

Also good look back on Ep 5, Personally i'm looking forward for you doing Strong Bad,W&G and Monkey Island. I really enjoy this thread :)

[Woodsyblue]

There was one puzzle that stumped me when I first played it, and was the first Telltale puzzle to do so. The puzzle in question being the car painting puzzle to get past the bank security on the internet. It's actually a really clever puzzle, and the logic behind it is obvious once you know the solution. It's one of those classic style adventure puzzles that you don't see too much in modern commercial adventure games.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to get stumped by that puzzle! Still the only Telltale puzzle where I needed to look up a guide to get past.

[BlankCanvasDJ]

The text adventure parody that was the finale was a stroke of genius.

This is still one of my favorite things that Telltale has ever done.

[Jennifer]

Oh, wow it's been a while since I posted in this topic (it doesn't feel like it's been two months, time flies!) Oh well, without further ado, here's my look back on the Sam & Max Season One finale, Bright Side of the Moon (once again played on Xbox 360).

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As I said, this one's my personal favorite. It's weird that the things I like most about this episode are the things I've most read as being people's least favorite (the dialog between Sam & Max where Sam goes through a whole complicated, nonsensical reasoning as to who the villain could be when the clues are quite obvious (this dialog is the closest Telltale has ever gotten to the feel of the conversations in the comics, in my opinion). Also, the use of the magical talismans for puzzles. A lot of people felt that this was too illogical and too out there, even for Sam & Max. But I felt it fit their universe perfectly and led to some really creative puzzles). But, enough about that. Let's get back to analyzing the episode the way I usually do in this topic.

The Bad:

The jagged edges on the objects that are supposed to be circular are still here (as to be expected).

The hint towards the identity of the villain is supposed to be obvious (Roy G. Biv means red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). It's a mnemonic device that's often taught in schools, but if you don't know it, Sam's reasoning as to who the villain could be (as stated above) would be too nonsensical.

The good:

I thought Max pointing to the Moon at the end of the credits, and then the DeSoto somehow just appearing there was perfect for the world of Sam & Max. Especially considering this is a universe where in the comics the Commissioner once told Sam & Max there was a crime going on in the past, and Sam & Max just went there without any explanation about how they time traveled (or how the Commissioner knew about it). If you really want an explanation how they got there though, Bad Day of the Moon in comic or television episode form gives a suitably outlandish explanation on how they got the DeSoto to the moon (they stuffed the exhaust full of matches and rocketed there). This was hinted at/foreshadowed throughout the entire season by a picture in the office. I don't personally feel that this explanation is necessary though (given that it's Sam & Max), and feel it worked fine as shown in the episode.

There are no new characters, but the returning cast is used well. I especially like the fact that Harry Moleman's character is fleshed out here since we didn't get to know him very well in his previous episode. The people that follow the cult of the villain are an unusual mix, but they're reasons for being there all fit their personality. I especially liked Superball. It's funny how he's in a cult of bliss, and supposedly reached the level of true bliss, but he's still his boring monotonous self. Sybil's job here is the best of the season. It's so off-the-wall, but it fits the absurdity of the Sam & Max universe perfectly. I liked Bosco the best here this season too. His invention actually seemed like it was expensive, but in typical Bosco fashion, it was pretty much useless since all it did was crash, making it a really expensive doorstop.

The humor here is really great. I like the change in personality of the characters after Hugh Bliss makes everyone on Earth think like him. Especially Sybil and Bosco.

The villain was perfect. I like how Telltale did a bait-and-switch by having the first episode have a different villain than the rest of the season, but there are still clues throughout all the episodes as to who the real villain is. I always liked that character, but he was even more entertaining in when he acted villainous.

The puzzles are really fun here. Like I said above, they aren't for everybody, because they don't follow real life logic at all, but I felt they followed the logic of the Sam & Max universe (as little logic as is there at least) well. Plus, it let the Telltale team think outside of the box, and get really creative. I personally thought they were all really enjoyable.

Max when his bliss was separated into different Maxes with his primal instincts. was great. William Kasten did a great job doing the subtly different voices of Max. Plus, getting all of the Maxes back together led to some fun puzzles.

I really like the finale and the way that the plot carried over into the end credits, with even the credits song having plot points in the lyrics. The War Song may be my favorite musical number of the season, but World of Max is my favorite song. Jared Emerson-Johnson and Bay Area Sound did a great job with all of the music in this season, and they finished it off wonderfully in this episode.

The quality of the episodes in Season One kept improving since episode 4, and that trend continued here. Bright Side of the Moon was a great way to end the season.

I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5.

[ryannumber1gamer]

Another great review Jennifer :) I hope Strong Bad is next :D

[Jennifer]

Another great review Jennifer :) I hope Strong Bad is next :D
Thanks. :) I keep coming back to this topic because at least a few people seem to like my look back reviews. :)

I'm doing them in order, so Strong Bad is... 2 games away (or really 7, considering I'm doing each episode (other than the CSI cases) seperately). So, CSI: Hard Evidence (and I just realized I never finished the final case in that one since I only played it on Xbox 360 and the disc was too scratched to finish the final case), and the 5 episodes of Sam & Max Season Two, then Strong Bad.

I'll try not to take 2 months between these look back reviews though. :p

[flesk]

I keep coming back to this topic because at least a few people seem to like my look back reviews. :)

I enjoy these reviews too, so keep 'em coming. I haven't played any of the CSI games even though I got one of them in a free shipping sale some years back. It will be interesting to read your review.

[ryannumber1gamer]

Well i thought i would mention that i might replay S&M Season 3 and post my thoughts here :) I did it for Strong Bad Ep 1 and i think i will post my thoughts for S&M here as well :)