The big Honkin 203 Discussion thread (thoughts? favorite quotes? etc.)

[Dangerzone]

well.. its episode time again, and this time i am actually very happy about this episode, from what i hear 203 was written mostly by purcell, and it really shows... the episode has a lot of zaney things that happen in it, espically in the second half of the episode (ill refrain from listing the specifics at this time)

while it can mostly be broken into 2 halves, there are inddeed 3 acts this time, plus a finale... each with a plot toist that makes the story seem like its moving along and not too short by the time it ends

i also like how in this episode some of the puzzles are not very obvious that there is a puzzle at all, and i was scratching my head at multiple points in the game, but once you figure out the puzzles... they all have logical solutions (even if some are far out there) and the cool thing is how you solve some puzzles without knowing what solving them is going to do... walking around without an endgame plan is so much cooler, and adds to the "we're screwed" ambience of the episode

the break down of the episode is 9 puzzles (as usual).. a teaser and 1st act puzzle to get to and into the castle, a second act containing 3 puzzles of cascading difficulites and a 3rd act containing 3 main multistage puzzles and of course a finale puzzle, this finale was kinda on the simple side... but that fact is overruled by just how damn funny and enjoyable playing that act is, which... makes it my favorite act of the entire episode (enough said there, hope i was vague enough for the moment :p)

the difficulty curve is nominal for the most part... the 1st act is much easier than the second 2 acts, but there is not much more difficulty to the third act and finale from the second.. (although i am sure some others may disagree, but thats my opinion at least) but the comedy associated with solving most of the puzzles in the episode guarantees a good laugh (something which cannot be said with most of the other season 2 puzzles, in the others you just solve... and move on to the next one without much of a giggle)

as for funny lines... ah, so many... my favorte laugh was the one time when sam said goodbye to max, and they both grunted at each other like zombies, and also... shooting all the zombies around the game

Sam: where did you file our last case max?
Max: under waste of our lives, comma, a freaking huge

Max: shoot em in the head its the only way they'll stay down!
Sam: Quiet knuckle head, with our aim were lucky to hit them at all

Max: finally enemies we can shoot and it doesnt do anything!
Sam: its like were being tortured by the almighty

(i have a bunch of others... but the lines are spoilery, so i am not going to quote them now)

i only had one peeve with the entire episode... and even though it is a major spoiler, i have to get this out now WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SHOOT ZOMBIE MAX!!!!! you guys really missed some comedy gold with that one


anyways... time dig in, what does everyone else think of 203: night of the raving dead?


P.S. if anyone sees nick on this thread... shoot him

[Jake]

The game isn't written mostly by Purcell - it was written by Brendan and Chuck and the gang, as usual, but the episode concept was definitely hatched with Purcell's help!

Glad you liked the episode!

[Trixie]

I'll say that it isn't a quote really, right at the end you had a Scene right at the end with max. That was funny only by the fact that there was no gasps from the crowd, seems like running the USA like that is alright.

[ShaggE]

Agreed, this may be my favorite episode yet. Great humor, great locations, great puzzles... and Bluster Blaster's lines challenged the integrity of my bladder.

But my absolute favorite part was when Harry Moleman walked dejectedly out of Sybil's... the glare she gave him could cut stone :P

[Anvilania]

this isn't a quote but i like it anyway. I love how you can play as Max er Sam in Max's body at the near end of the game! Awsome.

[NickTTG]

P.S. if anyone sees nick on this thread... shoot him

cause I'm a zombie....?

But my absolute favorite part was when Harry Moleman walked dejectedly out of Sybil's... the glare she gave him could cut stone :P

that was in my environment! i did that! thanks for the sweet feedback :D

[Kayaia]

My favourite quote is definetly:


Harry Moleman: Zombies are why we can't have nice things.

[Tester Scott]

I like Lincoln's description of a zombie factory:

"You mean a factory that comes to life after it has been shut down. Cranking out products in a hideous parody of actual production, destroying other factories it comes into contact with."

[Dangerzone]

cause I'm a zombie....?

i dunno... i was just saying to shoot him cause he needed shooting.... but thinking on it, he does mindlessly shamble around this forum like a zombie, looking for brains... :rolleyes:

[Will]

i dunno... i was just saying to shoot him cause he needed shooting.... but thinking on it, he does mindlessly shamble around this forum like a zombie, looking for brains... :rolleyes:

Dur....

[Mysterysheep]

For some reason my decals didn't carry over. :(
Any solution?

P.S. Best episode yet!:D

[ShaggE]

that was in my environment! i did that! thanks for the sweet feedback :D

Sorry, I meant the scene where... ermmm... what scenes didn't you do? Yeah, one of those... :p

[Derwin]

Hopefully I will have a chance to talk about this episode later, but for now:

This was by far my favorite episode in the series... the dialog was some of the best I have heard, clicking on objects to hear random banter became fun again, and there were a few epic gaming moments where I had to run smiling into my roommates room (which caused him to slowly reach for a can of bear spray, but anyway). My only issue is that the end seemed to drag on a bit... which forces me to say, GASP, that the game was actually too long! I never thought I would ever find myself saying such a thing.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 100, I would give this episode a 94%... this is one I will probably play again.

[Hero1]

loved the young frankenstein reference.. mention of superbaLL results in sound of horses haha

[Dangerzone]

yeh.. every time i went into the club, i just had to stop and say "Superball!" again, lol (and if you really want a good laugh, talk to him after you have already entered the club, the talk about his wife leaving him for being unemotional is hilarious... and him in sybils toward the end, i just about died)

[DanH]

Sorry, I meant the scene where... ermmm... what scenes didn't you do? Yeah, one of those... :p

He definitely didn't do Stinky's.

[Tester Scott]

He definitely didn't do Stinky's.

Which is probably why it turned out so great.

[ATMachine]

Did anyone else notice that the Mexican birthday mariachi is rapidly aging? He had black hair in 201, salt-and-pepper hair in 202, and now totally gray hair in 203...

Does this have any bearing on the plot? I have no idea. But it's an interesting detail.

[DanH]

Which is probably why it turned out so great.

Oh wait, he did do Stinky's.

Anyway, to take the focus off of Nick for a bit, one of my favorite moments was Bloodlust-Cam.

Damnit, I did it again!

Also, anyone who has siblings or long-time friends knows exactly what this moment is about:
SAM: Look, Max!
MAX: Geez, Sam. I saw it open. I'm not an idiot.

[Dangerzone]

well, here is a nice pic of the Max scene if anyone wants it... the pic is kinda spoilery but this thread was bound to make that turn at some point :rolleyes:

http://i27.tinypic.com/2ihtjcn.jpg

[Tale]

Hey, guys at Telltale, do me a favor. Since Sybil is single now... give her my number.

[Jake]

1-800-creepyguy

[tabacco]

$.95/minute

[cherry delight]

BLOUCHER!

i love a random mel brooks reference! Awesome game guys!

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Lovely episode. One of the best. Going to write up a review for it later today, but the only con I can think of right now was no Bosco.

[Mysterysheep]

At first, I thought there was no indoor bosco's due to the large number of locations. But, then I realised that 204 might be set-up to be a rescue mission and the finding of T.H.E.M.'s location. Can't wait! :D

[Marty]

finished it then and loved it, easily my fav from season 2 so far.
my post would be usually longer but this time i cant nitpick about it.
this episode had alot more "stuff" going on, just when i thought things would soon wrap up, it just kept going. it seemed to have more cutscenes that gave it a better flowing experience of more things happening. once again, the music was probably one of its biggest strengths.
the only thing that was a downfall was the floating bottle bug.

[boo]

The best stuff was clearly the not so subtle digs at "the person who we are referring to as Stinky out of sheer convenience." (not an exact quote) That whole exchange was brilliant and I like how it seemed to toy with all of us on the message board who thought we'd picked up on some great detail about Season 2.

[Haggis]

I'm not very far into the game yet, but I must say I loved the little throwback to HTR when you unscrew the lightbulb from the UV lamp at Stinky's.

[tobar]

Oh man.......I don't even know where to start. This has definitely got to be one of the best episodes yet. It just kept me in hysterics. Gah, I finally get to use that word and right away Max's voice popped in my head and told me to never say it again. Oh and Moo Hoo man's grave! Oh and that is a doodle of him on the bulletin board right? I know that's been there but it's still awesome. :D

[Emily]

Also, anyone who has siblings or long-time friends knows exactly what this moment is about:
SAM: Look, Max!
MAX: Geez, Sam. I saw it open. I'm not an idiot.

Haha... somehow I missed that when I first played through. I was replaying the other day while working on the walkthrough and busted out laughing when I heard that. Poor Sam, he was so excited. :p

[Flo]

This is definitely my favorite so far (helps that I really like old horror movies :p).

I'd love to see a whole game done in the style of the first half of the trailer too, but I doubt that's ever going to happen.

[Dangerzone]

Sybil: So, what would you say to me in a romantic moment?
Harry: Get away from that you filthy discusting creature!

Sam: so do you come here often?
Zombie: *Grunt*
Max: ooo, tough break, next time try.. "i think my package is the bomb"

Sam: max's desk... puny... infintile
Sam: MY desk... Big... Manly

Zombie sam: *Grunt*
Rat Bouncer: Rats only!

Zombie max: hey sam, are zombies alowed to drive?
Zombie sam: i dont see why not, my licence is just as expired now as it was when i was alive

Zombie sam: so what are you going to do when you get your soul back max?
Zombie max: im gonna watch hours of reality tv just to show it whos boss


and i caught this last one while in debug.. its a deleted conversation you have with max while in the monster during the finale...

Sam: i cant stand your voice in my head
Max: once you get used to the 15 others its not so bad
Sam: so are you going to help me defeat jergen or what?
Max: you can handle him, im still trying to figure out how to work this guys bladder

[Zombie Lincoln]

Sam: i cant stand your voice in my head
Max: once you get used to the 15 others its not so bad
Sam: so are you going to help me defeat jergen or what?
Max: you can handle him, im still trying to figure out how to work this guys bladder

haha why would this conversation be deleted??

[Dangerzone]

there is more to the conversation actually... while in the monster Ctrl+Shift+D and re enter the zombie factory club... then go up the elevator... you will pop back to the monster when you get back to the top, but inanimate versions of sam and max will be left on the stairs... click on max to have the conversation

[esteban]

Definitely one of the best episodes... I like the mood from this episode... Funny and Weird ! Sam&Max, the vampire and zombie slayers ???

The come-back of Superball was nice... The eternal doorkeeper !

The only thing I don't really understand is the choice for the castle's location in Stuttgart... If I can choose, the localisation for the vampires is much better in Eastern Europe, like Romania and Balkans Country (or in Sunnydale, CA)... But it's a nice reference for german players...

What's next for location ? France ? It could be nice ! :D

Great job !

[Flo]

The only thing I don't really understand is the choice for the castle's location in Stuttgart... If I can choose, the localisation for the vampires is much better in Eastern Europe, like Romania and Balkans Country (or in Sunnydale, CA)... But it's a nice reference for german players...
In the original novel, Frankenstein was created in the city of Ingolstadt in southern Germany. Stuttgart is in the next state over.

Might be a coincidence, though.

[esteban]

I didn't know that... Maybe someone from Telltale's team can confirm if it's a coincidence or a reference ?

[tabacco]

Confirm what? I'm not actually sure what the controversy is :(

[Jake]

I don't know if it's a controversy so much as people were just wondering why it's in the middle of Germany instead of a more traditional vampire locale.

I imagined that they were just traveling somewhere drawn without reference material, as usual.

[Flo]

in the middle of Germany
I may suck at mathematics, but that's nowhere near the middle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart) ;)

[mothra]

best quote by agent superball: no cameras please, i need a moment.
one of the moments I had to stop again.
BEST EPISODE EVER. PERIOD.
sorry, had to write that in capital letters to underscore its significance.

[Harald B]

No. Best episode yet.
I mean, if this were the best episode ever I could totally live with that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that even now Telltale isn't quite done improving yet.

[Jake]

I may suck at mathematics, but that's nowhere near the middle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart) ;)

Sorry I didn't mean that geographically as much as metaphorically, in that it's a known location.

[Mirko]

Sam: "Can you kill a man with pure volume?"
Max: "I don't know. But I just found the Title for my next Metal-Album"

Max: "Mind the razor-sharp pendulum!"
Sam: "What razor-sharp... oh... that wasn't here before!"
Max: "So Jürgen is the only one allowed to redecorate?"

[esteban]

I don't know if it's a controversy so much as people were just wondering why it's in the middle of Germany instead of a more traditional vampire locale.

I imagined that they were just traveling somewhere drawn without reference material, as usual.


I'm Sorry if someone misunderstood what I wrote : It's not a controversy in my mind, just a question...

For the confirmation, it was about this :

In the original novel, Frankenstein was created in the city of Ingolstadt in southern Germany. Stuttgart is in the next state over.

Just to know if the writers of the episode choose Stuttgart with this reference in mind...

[Haggis]

Oh yeah, I also loved the joke about the graves of the guy who invented nitroglycerin... I saw it coming, but it was still great! :D

[SmokinDan]

Thanks for another awesome episode, Telltale.

I think my favourite bit was the reference to 007.

When you try the gun on the alchemy machine to turn it to gold. Sam says "Nah, that's been done before."

[Marty]

i now have high expectations for Chariots of the Dogs. good luck Telltale :D

[Zeek]

I found this secret line of dialouge my second time through. Conditions to activate it are in the second spoiler box.

Zombie: Stop that man from shooting at us!
[snip]
Sam: Why didn't you say anything when we were shooting at you?
Zombie: We thought it was performance art.

Thank you, TTG, for that throw back to contempoarary art history.

You will get this conversation if you shoot the zombies during the first act of the game before turning into a zombie.

I also saw the Sam-putting-his-hand-in-his-pockets animation in the game! Yay!! I feel responsible for that.

[Lucko]

What is up with Stinky? The plot thickens...

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I also saw the Sam-putting-his-hand-in-his-pockets animation in the game! Yay!! I feel responsible for that.

*screams* Where?!

[GalFisk]

Love the part where you put the stone in the monster's head, and he becomes a stoner. And his exchange with Sybil about the egg beater hand (this one works best with your mind firmly planted in the gutter).
And "the Cloaca Monologues"
Wanna play doctor, Max?
(ok, my mind is in the gutter)
Also I played through the old No One Lives Forever (1 and 2) (great games btw, lots of humor) again recently and had gotten used to making improbable escapes from "overly complex but nonetheless perilous" death traps, so Sam and Max actually getting killed came as a total suprise and was all the funnier.
Also got a good laugh out of holy Max, as well as holy zombie Max.

Oh, and I completely missed the dialogue about Superball being divorced, so I found it strange that he was going after Sybil all of a sudden.

Oh yeah, this one as well: Neve-R-Die batteries. they're undead.

[Zeek]

*screams* Where?!

It's in the Dutch Tilt of Max doing his trademark stance after being turned into a zombie and bringing Jurgan's monster to the dating game.

[Jake]

Dutch Tilt

Film class!

[Sp0tted]

Sam: He may've been our best President, but he is a total glassjaw against lone gunmen.

Love it.

[Sp0tted]

Oh, and Frankenstein using the Gettysburg Address to hit on Sybil? CLASSIC.

[Zeek]

Film class!

I wish. I just paid attention to last season's audio commentary and put two and two together given what was said during 106.

[RobD]

Jergen's monster reminded me a little of Marvin from Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Not the character of it, he was far too happy, but his face reminded me of him from the TV series.

http://www.jeffbots.com/marvin.jpg

Might just be me...

Still, probably my favourite episode so far. :D

[Zeek]

His voice reminded me of Ned Edison from Day of the Tenticle.

[Eater]

His voice reminded me of Ned Edison from Day of the Tenticle.

ditto

hey has anyone mentioned the cool "vision eyes" they did for max at the beginning it would be a crime if I was the first.

[Andromus]

Great episode, it's been fun to see Telltale's work get even better with every new episode.

Although one thing that I had been hoping to see was Sam really jam on the banjo, and I thought the rapping contest would have been a good chance for a little progressive bluegrass. I don't suppose you could bring in Bela Fleck to play for an episode, could you? ;)

[jmm]

His voice reminded me of Ned Edison from Day of the Tenticle.

You mean Weird Ed Edison, from Day of the Tentacle?

Yup, I kept expecting him to say something about Pony Express Stamps.

[NickTTG]

i have to ask... no one has commented on zombie vision... did anyone find that?

[Eater]

You mean Weird Ed Edison, from Day of the Tentacle?

Yup, I kept expecting him to say something about Pony Express Stamps.

yea thats what I meant to say.
someone said the "bloodlust vision" was awsome. but I think that is in the "203 gametap release today normal realease tomorrow" thread I forget what it is called now.

[Andromus]

i have to ask... no one has commented on zombie vision... did anyone find that?

One instance, I think... When Sam takes the shot that traps Jesse James' hand, the view switches to a sort of first person hazy slo-mo.

[Zeek]

You mean Weird Ed Edison, from Day of the Tentacle?

Yup, I kept expecting him to say something about Pony Express Stamps.
Ed, Ned, Fred, Zed... all I know is that it wasn't Ted or Red Edison. :p

[Tohoya]

Humor and writing were spot on, as always. The concept of the raving zombies were particularly cool, much more so than the other concepts season 2 episodes have been based around.

However, if the puzzles continue to increase in arbitrariness, I'm afraid I won't be purchasing season 3. It started to get bad in Maoi Better Blues, but really, some of the puzzles here were just horrendous. Having to notice the end words of the 4 lines of poetry, then play them on the DJ station was particularly egregious in this regard. There was no indication that that bit of poetry was anything more than just background information, no indication that there was any link between it and the DJ station.

[Buzzkill]

I appreciated the Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo reference. Took me by surprise as I'm a freshman there :D

It was almost like the episode was almost tailored to me.. as Stuttgard was the only major city in Germany I visited. Just neat coincidences there =).

[Mysterysheep]

i have to ask... no one has commented on zombie vision... did anyone find that?

Lemme guess... you were behind it? :D
Oh Nick! Always looking for praise. :D

[Hero1]

Humor and writing were spot on, as always. The concept of the raving zombies were particularly cool, much more so than the other concepts season 2 episodes have been based around.

However, if the puzzles continue to increase in arbitrariness, I'm afraid I won't be purchasing season 3. It started to get bad in Maoi Better Blues, but really, some of the puzzles here were just horrendous. Having to notice the end words of the 4 lines of poetry, then play them on the DJ station was particularly egregious in this regard. There was no indication that that bit of poetry was anything more than just background information, no indication that there was any link between it and the DJ station.

You click on that poetry and notice whats said.. you click on the dj booth and it contains all the words? I figured the dj booth was related to the poetry from the start.. I thought the puzzles were great in this episode.. All made sense.. I liked the heart of gold puzzle the best..there were a number of steps you had to take and think about to solve it

I thought the start of this episode was pretty slow..but once sam & max became zombies the episode kicked in and was fantastic til the end. Loved the return of Superball, something about him just cracks me up, it may be the monotone delivery.. I loved his responses to sam as a zombie hehe.. the monster was great..and jareds music in that room was brilliant.. I wasn't that happy with the return of the tv studio.. I wish telltale had the time to make 1 more location, because re-using locations does become tiresome. There was a heap of pop culture references in this episode that I loved.. I'm gonna have to replay the episode and write em all down.

[Hero1]

oh and I just have to add one truly laugh out loud moment for me was when Max said he always thought Sybil was a necrophiliac haha!

[Marty]

yeah the poetry puzzle was very straight foward.
i'm hoping that they keep up with the level of intricate and detailed animations and cutscenes in the remaining episodes.
I like Moai, but after playing Raving Dead, Moai seemed alot more flat. Most people were just standing/sitting around and Flint just sat at a bloody window. The finale cutscene was underwhelming too. I was also hoping for at least a cutscene, if not an interactive process of recording the album with Glenn Miller too.
So basically, Ravind Dead has raised the bar quite a bit IMO.

[Zeek]

You click on that poetry and notice whats said.. you click on the dj booth and it contains all the words? I figured the dj booth was related to the poetry from the start.. I have to admit I never made that leap, even with Max's hints about the club not needing a secret password or something along those line.

[Eater]

I found it to be a dead give-away too. but I guess not everyone can think the same way.

[Florian.Lieb]

I like the zombies saying "Geeeehiiiiirnnnn", which is german for "brain".

[octochan]

Max + halo = WIN
Zombie Max + halo = EPIC WIN

Also, the bit where he sounds like he's quoting from Scooby-Doo was cute and hilarious.

[zozenka]

Sam: Knick-knacks may come and go, but Newton's balls are forever... :p

(when you shoot out the office window)
Nooo! My 11,000 domino chain in the shape of Zsa Zsa Gabor!

Sam: You know what they say about guys with big feet - they have big thongs... :rolleyes:

Sam: The Alps are the only place you can say "check out the size of his horn" without being punched.

Sam: Any more acting tips you can give us?
Mr Featherly: Just follow my lead and don't touch anything.
Max: Sounds like Sam's prom night! :D

[Lars]

I was also wondering how the Telltale Guys came up with Stuttgart. I mean, it's cool to see my hometown featured in one of my favourite franchises; I just think the connection Stuttgart - vampire city is quite far fetched. It's quite funny, nonetheless. :D


For your information:
- Stuttgart is about the same size as Portland, OR.
- the town is located in a valley, but there are no steep cliffs and such (except for the remnants of the rock garden at the Killesberg, but that's not even a real cliff).
- we have, in fact, two castles, but they're both located on ground level.

Nah, just nitpicking. :rolleyes:

[Leak]

I was also wondering how the Telltale Guys came up with Stuttgart.
Well, it had to start with an S to turn AOL into SOL (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sol) I guess... :D

Loved it, by the way.

np: The Orb - Orbisonia (The Dream)

[Chuck]

For your information:
- Stuttgart is about the same size as Portland, OR.
- the town is located in a valley, but there are no steep cliffs and such (except for the remnants of the rock garden at the Killesberg, but that's not even a real cliff).
- we have, in fact, two castles, but they're both located on ground level.
Stuttgart was chosen without reference material, apparently.

Oops, Jake already made this joke earlier in the thread. Never mind.

[zozenka]

I think this is one of the best episodes of the both seasons. the animation of zombie sam and zombie max was both funny and creepy because of their blood-red eyes. the spooky atmosphere was just amazing, just what this season needed. I finished the game at 1.00 a.m. considering that I started playing around 10 p.m, you can just imagine how exhausted I feel.....
no matter, it was all worth it. ayayay!, it's 2.05 a.m. I think I ought to take a well-deserved nap. good nite,everyone. *huge yawn*

[Zachspyfox033]

there is more to the conversation actually... while in the monster Ctrl+Shift+D and re enter the zombie factory club... then go up the elevator... you will pop back to the monster when you get back to the top, but inanimate versions of sam and max will be left on the stairs... click on max to have the conversation

Can someone post a video of the conversation so I don't have to all that stuff.

[jmm]

I think this is one of the best episodes of the both seasons. the animation of zombie sam and zombie max was both funny and creepy because of their blood-red eyes. the spooky atmosphere was just amazing, just what this season needed. I finished the game at 1.00 a.m. considering that I started playing around 10 p.m, you can just imagine how exhausted I feel.....
no matter, it was all worth it. ayayay!, it's 2.05 a.m. I think I ought to take a well-deserved nap. good nite,everyone. *huge yawn*

Ditto (except for the last part)
By the time I watched the clock around 1 am, I thought "Screw work, besides the boss is out, and probably they wouldn't mind I'm sleeping (or in a catatonic state watching a monitor "debugging" code) at work, or notice"

Needless to say, I arrived at work at 10am (I had to replay the game, so sleep time was reduced severely and woke at 8:30 am!)

Fortunately, the boss was still out and the project manager was on a meeting (since 8:15 am) so I dodged the bullet.

[flipperthepriest]

jmm, this is your project manager and im very dissapointed! Also Lars, i find it a bit odd that you complain about the lack of moutains in stuttgart, but not the abundance of vampires and zombies lol. I thought 203 was great btw. Also, why did jurgens soul seem to ascend into heaven?

[Lars]

Also Lars, i find it a bit odd that you complain about the lack of moutains in stuttgart, but not the abundance of vampires and zombies lol.

You obviously have never been in Downtown Stuttgart on a Friday night. :p

[marsan]

Well, it had to start with an S to turn AOL into SOL (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sol) I guess... :D


It could also be a short name for Scandinava Online(www.sol.no - check out the bottom of the page, where it says the name of the company.)

[Randulf]

You people at Telltale must've heard it a million times already, but I still have to say: 203 IS THE BEST EPISODE EVER!

One thing I particularly like about the recent S&M episodes is that, since 106, each episode puts our heroes in mortal danger. This make the games more involving and thrilling (even though me know they'll make it through all right). Who cares if a talk show host holds her audience captive, or if the whole populace of the East Coast get hypnotised by a stomping statue? We care about S&M!

The puzzles are classic: the puzzles in S&M stands apart in that that they're logical without being obvious. Instead of "spash-holy-water-on-vampire" no-brainers, the puzzles require you to observe how people behave and how things operate. My favorites in 203 are the one involving holy water and the one about retrieving Jesse Jame's hand. (Incidentally, my idea of good puzzles include the very first one in Reality 2.0, and the shoplifting puzzle in 106). The complete-a-verse puzzle is a let-down though: OK it is quite funny, but this format is tired.

Is Jared Emerson-Johnson the only composer in the house? He seems to be comfortable with so many styles. I think 203 has the best music so far: the Klezmer clarinet, the wistful gypsy violin...

Nice to see Flint Paper serving more than an ornamental role.

My favorite laughs:
The vampire's portrait in the Disco, and Sam's remark on it.
Mr Featherly "Let me quote from my award-winning one-act play, the Cloaca Monologs..."

[unsilviu]

Favorite quote:
Sam's desk: big,manly
Max's desk: puny,infantile

[Laserschwert]

By the way, I REALLY loved the fact that the whole episode was told in a flashback, and this brings me to the only real complain I have about it: More voice-over!

Having the series appear as a whacky version of the typical film noir, I was really hoping that you guys would be using more voice-overs from Sam. I've gotta admit, I really dig movies with voice-overs, so maybe there's more vested interest than reason, but as soon as that "I can't even remember how we got here..."-line came, I was hoping for it.

It was a stroke of genius though to have the big fight at the end freeze-frame and pan to the present action.

[Hero1]

This was probably my favorite opening to an episode

[octochan]

It was a stroke of genius though to have the big fight at the end freeze-frame and pan to the present action.

Genius indeed, they avoided animating the fight sequence. :D

[AllenB]

I think the freeze-frame told us all we needed to see, actually.
The part where Flint Paper turns up and starts shooting zombies reaffirms my belief that if there were ever a live action version of Sam and Max, he would be played by Bruce Campbell.

Oh, and I'm glad that I called Telltale and how they told me about all of the hidden puzzles in the secret second half of the game that are found when you enter the code "I am an idiot for believing that there's an extra part of the game that can only be found by asking Telltale."

[Anvilania]

I also liked this:

Monster: "Happy.. birth...day."
Mariachi guy: "Did someone say birthday?"
*mariachi music*
*silence*
Max: "Kinda sucked the horror out of it hu?"
Sam: *nods*

I liked this every time this happens acculy

Mariachi guy: "Did someone say birthday?"
*mariachi music*
*silence*

[Blehboy]

Love right at the end when


You're playing as the monster and finally kill Juergen:

Sam: Hope you got the point Juergen!
Max: Yeah you suck!
Sam: Hey my line was better.

[dzosis]

I didin't read all the posts, but did anyone else notice the Grim Fandango refference in rhyming contest?

[Amaterasu]

Did you notice the monster looks and voice reminds of some Ed Edison family member with a pet hamster from DoTT?! XD
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/9480/dotthamster20ui2.th.png (http://img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dotthamster20ui2.png)

Well, except the whole turning into a zombie thing, the best scene of this game is this!~!
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5925/undeadfishaf5.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=undeadfishaf5.jpg)
Undead Fish! XDXD and one is dead!! XDXDXD
This is so cute!!! XD

[Mario]

For me, Night of the Raving Dead was of average quality, compared to the other episodes.



Spoilers ahead:



My gripe is that the dialog in 203 was not as funny as it was in some of Telltale's finest works. In my opinion, there weren't many lough out loud lines, it was always amusing but seldom as hysterically funny as for example 104. About the length - well, I'm glad that the episode was longer than 202. Still, I had hoped for more content after I read that there were only going to be 5 episodes this season. Oh, and the performance I get during the whole season is pretty bad. There seems to be a memory leak?

Those issues aside, there were many things I liked:

- Superball. (I can't understand why Sybil didn't choose him in a heartbeat.)
- The somewhat more active role the recurring characters played.
- Unexpected plot twists.
- The "boss fight" was fun.
- For me, Jürgen was the best villain yet.
- Sam and Max's gig.
- More puzzles were clever (turning the chocolate heart to gold, the turntables, figuering out how to move the bookcases) than uninspired (defeating Jesse James' hand).
- Little touches like letting the player control Max, coming up with a use for Jesse's hand, turning the first half of the game into some sort of flashback...
I was disappointed by the appearence of Flint Paper, though. With his crazy shooting and the ease with which he was knocked out, he seemed to be in very bad form. No comparison to his coolness in 201.
- Nice cliffhanger!

[jmm]

For me, Night of the Raving Dead was of average quality, compared to the other episodes.



Spoilers ahead:



My gripe is that the dialog in 203 was not as funny as it was in some of Telltale's finest works. In my opinion, there weren't many lough out loud lines, it was always amusing but seldom as hysterically funny as for example 104. About the length - well, I'm glad that the episode was longer than 202. Still, I had hoped for more content after I read that there were only going to be 5 episodes this season. Oh, and the performance I get during the whole season is pretty bad. There seems to be a memory leak?

Those issues aside, there were many things I liked:

- Superball. (I can't understand why Sybil didn't choose him in a heartbeat.)
- The somewhat more active role the recurring characters played.
- Unexpected plot twists.
- The "boss fight" was fun.
- For me, Jürgen was the best villain yet.
- Sam and Max's gig.
- More puzzles were clever (turning the chocolate heart to gold, the turntables, figuering out how to move the bookcases) than uninspired (defeating Jesse James' hand).
- Little touches like letting the player control Max, coming up with a use for Jesse's hand, turning the first half of the game into some sort of flashback...
I was disappointed by the appearence of Flint Paper, though. With his crazy shooting and the ease with which he was knocked out, he seemed to be in very bad form. No comparison to his coolness in 201.
- Nice cliffhanger!

Careful.... rant coming on the way (Not directed particularly to Mario)

[rant mode=on]
That's it, I'm fed up with the whole "memory leak" and "bad performance" issues that people are reporting.

I run S&M on a PC that is very far below of what's cutting edge today.
I have 1 Processor (AMD Athlon 64 @1,8 GHz - 1 SINGLE Core), an AGP 8x Card (GeForce 6200, this is not a PCI express card) and 2Gb of DDR 2 RAM (Running at 800 MHz), running on Win XP Pro, 32 Bit version.
I never had problems with performance or S&M dumping me to the desktop due to memory leaks or problems (In fact, the only CTD I had was caused by messing with the Debug Menu)

People before claiming "MEMORY LEAK!!!"
a) Clean your PC (Remove virus, spyware, rootkits, unused files) and Defrag your PC
b) Update your drivers (Video, Sound, Disk)
c) Configure your graphical settings accordingly (In game and on the card's control panel). If you have "the" HIPER-BLAST-MEGA-Card, that doesn't mean you can run every game at 3072x2400 with the card settings on top.
d) Install a decent cooling solution. Overheat is your enemy.
e) Disable thinks like: Indexing software, P2P clients, Unused software (If you have more than 4 icons beside your clock on the system tray, that means you!)
f) RUN ProcessIdleTasks (command line: "rundll32 advapi32.dll, ProcessIdleTasks", no quotes) before launching the game and wait a few minutes to allow it to finish
g) Avoid using *bootleg* copies of Windows. That patched winlogon.exe file can slow things down.
h) If you have 512 MB or less RAM, get out of here and buy some RAM
[/rant mode]

I agree with you on two things:
1) The episode did have less LOL moments. In fact I found most of the jokes ha-ha moments. But the game still had its charm and the puzzles were top notch.
2) Flint was absolutely out of form. Sam sneaking that way was pretty predictable and Flint didn't saw that coming. Shameful.

[Mario]

I am thinking of a memory leak, because I have these problems only with Season 2. Season 1 still runs fine on my PC with a resolution of 1024 x 768. I replayed a few episodes only 2 weeks ago. The Season 2 episodes run well for about 45 minutes, than it becomes unplayable. I find it hard to believe that the somewhat more complex locations account for such a difference in performence.

My PC is old and maybe it's power lies exactly at the threshold where it can play Season 1 without problems but has major issues with Season 2 once I've changed locations two or three times, but that sounds a bit strange.

[Sir Lemming]

I just finished this episode, and I would say it's the best one so far. (The previous winner was Abe Lincoln Must Die.) It's either the funniest or tied for the funniest. It has the best, most exciting, most well-structured story. It has the hardest puzzles. It took a week for me to beat it, instead of a weekend. It re-uses a location (besides the streets) for the first time, and yet it feels like the least recycled episode yet.

I feel like in this episode more than any other, Telltale really crammed a lot of puzzle-solving into a small amount of locations. There was just always something going on.

I'm sure I'll think of more to say as I read more stuff.


EDIT: Here's more. I can't believe this episode actually had a reference to the moderately infamous flubbed line from Hit the Road: "I don't even know where I am, Sam!" (The emphasis was supposed to be on "I", because it's in response to Sam saying "I wonder where Bruno is.") I felt such nerd joy when they referenced that.

If you don't know where this is, it's any time Jurgen steals your rhymes, after the first time.


EDIT: Another gag/reference I liked was how they included "Sub-Zero!" among the various deep-voiced phrases you could play during the techno music.

[Shoemonkey]

Man did this episode rock.

Nobody's mentioned the Resident Evil "You Are Dead" screen...I was dying. Of course, I've been dying since the Metal Gear reference in 202...

I still can't believe the quality of the writing since the tail-end of last season, though. Amazing job, guys. You make me jealous.

I loves me some zombies, boy. All we need now is a Max zombie shirt in the Telltale store. And another season, of course.

I actually find that I like episodes better now that I'm older and I don't have as much time to play; it took me about a week to finish this game playing an hour or two at a time when I got a chance. That way it seems longer, and I don't have to wait forever to play another one.

It really resembles the best thing ever.

Keep it up, guys.

And of course, Max still is a zombie...

[Fongolia]

I loved the bit when Featherly is asked about what he can do with his hands for Sybil and he says something along the lines of: "Well, I'm at a distinct disadvantage since I don't actually have hands... but I was an understudy for the lead roles in Amadeus and Ray."
Then when asked repeatedly: "Again, no hands."

[Hero1]

I liked when you click on the pie and Sam says something like theres really not much to say about pie..referencing clicking on stuff and then sam & max commenting on them heh

[BinarySplit]

[rant mode=on]
That's it, I'm fed up with the whole "memory leak" and "bad performance" issues that people are reporting.

Firstly: My computer is clean of spyware, etc. and the drivers are all up to date.

SamMax203.exe uses 85MB of ram to load the title page and 110MB on average for each scene. This is the same on both High and Low graphics quality. Use Task Manager to check my numbers if you want.

It caches all of its data until it reaches a point that is just over 50% of my system ram(I have 768, so 50% = 3 levels + a few lines of dialog). Once the cache starts throwing old data out, the game starts lagging for me. At first, this is about 500ms of lag every 3 seconds, even when standing still. So it appears that the music is being thrown out of the cache first.

The system requirements (http://www.telltalegames.com/store/samandmax-season2) say you only need 256MB(<200MB available to game as OS takes >50MB), but given that this is only 1 scene + game data, you can imagine that you'd see a lot of lag when there is dialog or music.

Obviously the reason that jmm doesn't feel the lag is because he has 2GB of ram, which can easily hold the entire game in memory. I'm personally sitting on 768MB of ram, which means the game can play smoothly at full quality for the first 2 scenes, then will slow to a crawl after I enter a 3rd scene.

I propose 2 solutions to Telltale Games:
1) Manage your data better. Sounds don't need to be decompressed until they're played and textures don't need to be kept in system memory once you've loaded them into graphics memory. 203's data files were 330MB but the game seemed to want to use at least 700 to store everything. Its clear that decompressed data is sitting in memory even when it's not being used.
2) Make your cache smarter. When the game starts, check how much unused memory the computer has. If this is significantly under 50%, then set the cache size smaller, maybe 33%? Also, use prioritization or refcounts to make sure you're not throwing out music or things in use in the current scene.

Regarding the game play... I guess I'll get to see that when I have time to drag my beast with 2GB of ram out of hiding.

[dg10050]

Just fyi, while I was playing I minimized the game to check for an online hint at one point that I got stuck (yes, I'm a wimp :P) and I noticed my computer (Athlon 64 X2 6400+, 2gb DDR2 800mhz RAM, GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB) was running very slow with nothing but S&M and a new instance of Firefox (and Vista) open. I opened up Task Manager and Sam and Max Ep203 was using 1.25gb of RAM. This may be a isolated occurance, but still that's a ton of RAM for a game that doesn't seem to be very hardware intensive at all.

[marsan]

I opened up Task Manager and Sam and Max Ep203 was using 1.25gb of RAM. This may be a isolated occurance, but still that's a ton of RAM for a game that doesn't seem to be very hardware intensive at all.

Right, there is a memory leak. Because after just playing the ending of this episode, the game was already using up over 1 gig of memory here too - while all the episodes of season one never used more than around 700 MB on my PC after playing them for a long time. I hope they can figure out what is causing it, and fix it, because it's a bit annoying with the lagging and slowdowns.

[Hero1]

Yeah I've had similar problems.. I'm sure they are working on it

[wjousts]

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than the other 2 this season. Definitely the best so far. I still think the episodes are too short and too easy though.
I did notice something rather weird that I thought for a moment might have been a bug. When Sybil asks the question about what you would save in a romantic situation and there is a pause while moleman is thinking about it, if you leave before he answers, when you come back you can click the questions anymore. I only managed to get out of this situation when I stumbled on the solution of clicking on the chocolate heart.

[Zeek]

Heh, didn't see Sam's Soul doing the "hands in the pocket" animation in his ideal (sp?) loop. I feel special. :D

[BinarySplit]

Regarding the game play... I guess I'll get to see that when I have time to drag my beast with 2GB of ram out of hiding.

Wow. Just, wow. That episode was definitely worth a little bit of suffering trying to manage the memory issue.

With an Emo, Germans, gratuitous violence, the look on the Max's face when he described Jurgen as Fruity, etc. you have combined everything I love or love to laugh at into one awesome episode that I will be forcing all my friends to play.

Now on to the constructive comments:
I had to consult the walkthrough to be made aware of the Gargoyle's Offering Plate. If you took a page out of Valve's book and did something to make things like this more obvious(e.g. stuck a crow on it or made it drip something), I'm sure you'd make those of us that despise pixel hunting very pleased.
Also, the scenes from Season 1 where we were able to select lines of dialog for Max to say were fun, please bring them back.

[freakazoid]

This is more of a request but, could someone get me a good, up-close picture of Sam & Max as zombies. It's for a bet.

[Morlamweb]

Favorite quotes:

Sam: What do vampires hate?
Max: Coffee-flavored ice cream.
Sam: Well, naturally, but I was hoping for something specific to vampires.

Max, on becoming a zombie: I've got 2 years worth of stuff that I want to do to my grade school teachers alone!

(and later) Max: Yet another of my life ambitions down the crapper.

I really like the improved driving minigame in this episode. This is the first one where I actually wanted to play the driving game beyond what I had to do to finish the main game. Up to episode 202, I was hoping that TTG would drop the damn driving sequences altogether, as in 105 and 106. At the very least, a change in venue was in order, as the same old street, basically unchanged since 101, was getting tired.

[TrogLlama]

Favorite quotes:

Sam: What do vampires hate?
Max: Coffee-flavored ice cream.
Sam: Well, naturally, but I was hoping for something specific to vampires.

Max, on becoming a zombie: I've got 2 years worth of stuff that I want to do to my grade school teachers alone!

(and later) Max: Yet another of my life ambitions down the crapper.

I really like the improved driving minigame in this episode. This is the first one where I actually wanted to play the driving game beyond what I had to do to finish the main game. Up to episode 202, I was hoping that TTG would drop the damn driving sequences altogether, as in 105 and 106. At the very least, a change in venue was in order, as the same old street, basically unchanged since 101, was getting tired.
I actually found the driving segment in 203 annoying. I spent probably half an hour just trying to get through the last stage...

[wefeelgroove]

This is totally my favorite episode out of both seasons so far. I laughed so hard at everything, and the puzzles were great I loved the one involving the turntable and the poetry.

Favorite things... where do I start?
-Jurgen. He's so obnoxious. (to whom it may concern: please give William Kasten a high five for being awesome)
-How Sam & Max would start dancing if they happened to be standing on the dance floor
-The 'subtle' way the game lets you know when you gain access a new area
- Zombie Lincoln being completely oblivious to the fact that he was dead. And his aversion to spoilers.
-Seeing attempts at conversations from Zombie Sam & Zombie Max's perspective, and then seeing them from other people's perspectives
-Zombie Max chasing his soul around in the ending. I was laughing so much I completely missed what Sam and Flint were saying the first time.


Favorite quotes:
"Superball." *thunder and lightning*

"Zombies!"
"I know!"
and subsequently,
"We're zombies!"
"I know!"

Everything Sam & Max said while they were body-swapped (the fact that Sam was talking with Max's voice and vice versa just made it funnier), and then when they were controlling the monster ("It's too crowded in here!" "Oh, no.")

If 204 is anywhere near as funny and clever as this episode, I can't wait. And I dunno about you guys, but I'm definately voting Zombie Max for president this coming November.

[BinarySplit]

Favorite quotes:
"Superball." *thunder and lightning*


I was actually expecting that this would be used in a quest. Oh well, TTG got so many things right in this episode, a few missed opportunities aren't that worrying.
BTW, did anyone check if this also happened when he was indoors, courting Sybil?

[Zeek]

BTW, did anyone check if this also happened when he was indoors, courting Sybil?Yeah. Sybil says it, which triggers the gag. If you have the widescreen format on, you see a shocked face on Featherly too. I think the thunder scared him. :D

[wjousts]

I was actually expecting that this would be used in a quest.

Me too. For a second I thought you might need to use it some how to recharge the batteries.

[Chuck]

I was actually expecting that this would be used in a quest. Oh well, TTG got so many things right in this episode, a few missed opportunities aren't that worrying.
I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/) movie could be called a "missed opportunity."

More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."

[TrogLlama]

I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/) movie could be called a "missed opportunity."

More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."
I've got that on VHS (I know, I know). Still haven't watched it.
Anyways, I think that could have been an interesting puzzle, but I don't know that it's the most intuitive concept.

[Hero1]

I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/) movie could be called a "missed opportunity."

More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."

Hey Young Frankenstein is a classic! I'm 28 and have watched it plenty of times. :p

[tobar]

Hey Young Frankenstein is a classic! I'm 28 and have watched it plenty of times. :p

What he said.

[BinarySplit]

I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/) movie could be called a "missed opportunity."

More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."

:confused:
I haven't actually seen that movie, I'm only 21. Actually I was thinking of some of the earlier Lucas Arts adventures where you would first be shown that a certain action would trigger another unrelated/unlikely event, then later be given a chance to use that unrelated event. Unfortunately, my memory fails me and I can't think of any examples...

The other suspicion I had was that saying "Superball" would have an effect similar to saying "Beetlejuice", and that while it probably wouldn't trap him in a miniature model of a city, it may trigger some funny dialog. Alas, after 10 lightning strikes, I gave up...

[tobar]

You must go see it NOW. :p Yeah no seriously, off with you!

[wjousts]

I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/) movie could be called a "missed opportunity."

More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."

Nonsense, it wouldn't have required you to know the movie to solve the puzzle so why would anybody be annoyed? Like a lot of pop culture references, if you get it, you enjoy it, if you don't you won't even know you missed something.

[Sir Lemming]

It would've been exactly like the Moai-in-the-ground puzzle from 202. Which is actually probably why people thought it was a puzzle in the first place.

[BinarySplit]

It would've been exactly like the Moai-in-the-ground puzzle from 202. Which is actually probably why people thought it was a puzzle in the first place.

:eek:　

*embarrassed for not having remembered that*

*goes off to find a copy of Young Frankenstein*

[Marty]

this reviewer can suck my balls
http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/855/855412p1.html

[Hero1]

really thats mighty friendly of you.. I left a comment to his review

[ShaggE]

this reviewer can suck my balls
http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/855/855412p1.html

Why? He didn't blindly bash it or anything. In fact, he had plenty of good things to say as well. Personally, 203 is my favorite episode, but that doesn't mean it has to be everybody's favorite.

[Marty]

considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.

[ShaggE]

That's the thing, though. A review isn't based on popular opinion. I dislike Ocarina of Time, and if I were to review it, I'd give it a low score... even though most gamers love it.

[Marty]

and thats another problem, too many bad reviewers have bad opinions.
Im sure there's a reviewer out there who could write nothing but positive things on Battlefield Earth becuase its their opinion. But getting paid to dump Sam and Max below the 7 mark in what's known to be one of the most memorable episodes yet is just crazy. shoot me for being a sam and max fanboy, or just becuase i'm opinionated.

[ShaggE]

Hey, you're preaching to the choir, man. I'm a Sam and Max fan too. But I don't see why he has to like the game just because everyone else does.

I mean, I'm a writer, and I've had people say straight out "I don't like your work." But I don't get offended or say "You should like it. Other people do." I just say "Why not?" and take their reply into consideration for whatever I write next. I'd *like* universally good feedback, but it's not possible. Even The Bard himself had critics.

[Jake]

considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.

For what it's worth, Evan Dickens over at Adventure Gamers had similar things to say, though he didn't score it as harshly, so that's now two critics. I wouldn't say "pretty much 99% of people." I don't agree with those assessments of the episode - 203 is one of my favorites - but I think people are well entitled to their own opinion, and my feeling on this sort of thing is that generally waging an internet war against them isn't going to do much other than put "the fans" in a bad light. That said, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I'm not the boss of you, so do what you think is best. Leave a flaming paper bag full of poo on his doorstep if it would make you feel better! :) Just don't expect it to do anything, since what you're really asking him to do is change his subjective opinion on a creative work.

[Haggis]

Leave a flaming paper bag full of poo on his doorstep if it would make you feel better!
That was just too funny, now I can't get that mental image out of my head. :D

Just don't expect it to do anything, since what you're really asking him to do is change his subjective opinion on a creative work.
I agree that it would be a bad idea to attack this reviewer in a flame war. However, the way the review is written implies that it is not a personal opinion. The reviewer constantly talks about 'we', implying that perhaps the whole of IGN don't like the game too much. And of course if IGN gives a game a 6.8, everyone says 'IGN gave it a 6.8', not 'Reviewer X gave it a 6.8'. Which is reason enough to at least offer one's own opinion to balance that out a little, which is what the comments section is for - as long as it's all polite and nobody resorts to flaming, naturally.

[Chuck]

considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.
What Jake said. I don't see it as "a slap in the face" but as a reviewer giving his opinion of a game, which is what game reviewers do. If he'd started with paragraphs talking about himself and how he's too cool for zombies and that whole thing is played out, that'd be one thing. If he'd gotten all the details wrong, that'd be another. And if he'd spent the whole review taking offense at every single thing in the game, and saying that because he doesn't like the game, nobody else should either, then that'd be just asinine. But he just said he didn't think it was funny.

Of course, I don't agree. Personally, I think 203 is my favorite of all the Sam & Max episodes released so far. But I'm taking it as a good sign that the reviews are contradicting each other more and more; it means you're getting into personal opinions. If everyone were making the exact same complaint about the episodes, across the board, then that would mean there's likely a fundamental problem. But as far as I'm concerned, if somebody says 202 was funnier than 203, then cool.

[jmm]

What Jake said. I don't see it as "a slap in the face" but as a reviewer giving his opinion of a game, which is what game reviewers do. If he'd started with paragraphs talking about himself and how he's too cool for zombies and that whole thing is played out, that'd be one thing. If he'd gotten all the details wrong, that'd be another. And if he'd spent the whole review taking offense at every single thing in the game, and saying that because he doesn't like the game, nobody else should either, then that'd be just asinine. But he just said he didn't think it was funny.

Of course, I don't agree. Personally, I think 203 is my favorite of all the Sam & Max episodes released so far. But I'm taking it as a good sign that the reviews are contradicting each other more and more; it means you're getting into personal opinions. If everyone were making the exact same complaint about the episodes, across the board, then that would mean there's likely a fundamental problem. But as far as I'm concerned, if somebody says 202 was funnier than 203, then cool.

Exactly, maybe the humor was not to his liking, he doesn't like zombies(!), he had a bad day in the moon or whatever. He is entitled to express his view (even if it represents IGN). I have found Steve's reviews to be good enough in the past, I just think he didn't get some of the jokes or references and that took away a great chunk of the score and considering the quality of the previous episodes and the "target rich" scenario (Zombies!), he ended with too much expectations.

Still, a critic/reviewer opinion is worth less than a cent if you have 500 or more people claiming, sometimes very vocally, that this episode is his/her favorite (so far!) over the net. Specially seeing the 8+ average reader score, or the near 8 average score from the press besides the 6.8 score given by IGN.

[bpullen]

Best quote for me had to be from Bluster Blaster...

<subdued>I like wearing short pants!</subdued>

Had me in stitches! :D

[Kitmit13]

I have to say that loved this episode, I thought after solving a few puzzles it be over but so happy to see it kept on going. This time I decided not to cheat which was great
8D. I also really loved the villian character made me laugh, and the line just keep getting funnier! I loved the plotline and twists and I loved the music it was really catchy. I would spend ages just watching sam and max dance. I still don't still what the main storyline is (if there is one like season 1) which I guess is a good thing, that mexcian must mean something...
The only thing I didn't like was there was a fair amount of bugs I found, such as when you could her Vurgen in the zombie factory even though was upstairs asleep, and when I turned the hints on a bit max kept saying "lets go to stuttgart" even though we were already there...
But other than that great work telltale this is my fav episode yet the voice acting is getting better to!

[Mysterysheep]

I think the quickly aging Mexican will save you in the finale while being close to death (due to his age). Then again I think he will save them and then just drop dead out o' nowhere and Max will make a funny comment on his age! :D

[Jake]

The only thing I didn't like was there was a fair amount of bugs I found, such as when you could her Vurgen in the zombie factory even though was upstairs asleep, and when I turned the hints on a bit max kept saying "lets go to stuttgart" even though we were already there...
But other than that great work telltale this is my fav episode yet the voice acting is getting better to!

We released an updated version of the game on Friday which fixes these issues (as well as the floating liquor bottle issue)! You can download it from your My Telltale page (http://www.telltalegames.com/mytelltale), or from here (http://www.telltalegames.com/download/nightoftheravingdead). Just uninstall the old version. (Note that you will have to erase your save games and use new ones -- since the odd game states like jurgen still speaking from beyond the grave are saved into your savegame files.)

[Zeek]

Had me in stitches! :D
I think in the next TTG Newsletter, Busterblaster should have a recipe for... wait for it..... wait for it....

....

BANANA BREAD!

[zozenka]

just thought I'd post this...Night of the Raving Dead was presented on Slovenian television just a few minutes ago. nothin' but good critics for the game. and they recommend it to everyone who likes puzzles and good humour! you're really spreadin' all over Europe,aren't ya? :p

[marsan]

I think in the next TTG Newsletter, Busterblaster should have a recipe for... wait for it..... wait for it....

....

BANANA BREAD!

Not a banana phone? bo-pi-do-po-dop

[Kitmit13]

We released an updated version of the game on Friday which fixes these issues (as well as the floating liquor bottle issue)! You can download it from your My Telltale page (http://www.telltalegames.com/mytelltale), or from here (http://www.telltalegames.com/download/nightoftheravingdead). Just uninstall the old version. (Note that you will have to erase your save games and use new ones -- since the odd game states like jurgen still speaking from beyond the grave are saved into your savegame files.)

oh cool awesome 8D Glad to see that got fixed

[GAThrawn]

I admit, a lot of the pop culture references totally go over my head (which is unusual, but Sam & Max usually is, in a good way), but I found most of them in this episode (apart from the Man With the Golden Gun, but that was because I didn't try to alchemy my gun).

Saying that, did anyone notice the two references to the game series Resident Evil? The more obvious one is the randomly placed typewriter ribbon in the zombie-filled castle followed by Max's comment that he'd prefer healing herbs. The second reference was the "You are dead" message, it's done in the exact same style, font, and bloody color as when you die in the RE games.

[Jake]

The more obvious one is the typewriter ribbon?

[Zeek]

The more obvious one is the typewriter ribbon?

Only to veterans of the RE Series. It was pretty obscure to me, having not played ANY RE games, but the healing herbs was the tip off as to what it was talking about.

[MaxFan]

I thought the healing herbs was just another joke about RPG's, didn't realize it was a specific reference.

[GAThrawn]

I wasn't even aware there were other jokes about RPGs in the Sam & Max series. Someone should make a post listing all pop culture references, parodies, and whatnot, for people like me who have the jokes go right over their head (some of the time...and I thought I was well-educated, but subtle humor is apparently still lost on me....)

[langley]

Wow, that would be a full time job in itself.

[Zeek]

Especially given Episode 104 alone.

[Jake]

I wasn't even aware there were other jokes about RPGs in the Sam & Max series.

Reality 2.0 had turn-based combat sequences! Woo!

[Will]

I'm pretty sure that if you were to explain all of the references in all of the episodes, the list would be longer than the combined script for the entire series.

[Zeek]

I'm pretty sure that if you were to explain all of the references in all of the episodes, the list would be longer than the combined script for the entire series.

One can only imagine how long the list would be for the animated series compared to the writen script.

[Emily]

Night of the Raving Dead was presented on Slovenian television just a few minutes ago. nothin' but good critics for the game. and they recommend it to everyone who likes puzzles and good humour!

Woohoo! Thank you, Slovenia! :D

[MaxFan]

I wasn't even aware there were other jokes about RPGs in the Sam & Max series.

Well, there are a few that leap right to my mind, but that's mostly because as a former RPG'er I pick up on this stuff.

105 - Turn based combat like old console games, even newer games sometimes. The blue slime was a reference to Dragon Warrior for the NES (I loved that game), the whole end of the game was a parody of text based RPG's/MUD's. The +1Armor/+2Sword are common to plenty of RPG's

202 - Bosco says when you're trying to stop the rampaging Bermuda Triangle that if you show it a blue icosahedron (a 20 sided die), it will go to its mother's basement and draw maps, or something along those lines.

Oh, right, back to the actual topic. I'd say this is my third favorite episode after Abe Lincoln Must Die and Reality 2.0. Alot of the zombie humor might have been lost on me, where with the other episodes mentioned I laughed out loud at almost everything, including lines I've heard people call obscure. I never really liked Paper Boy, so the driving game was a bit of a let down, but I did get the Young Frankenstein reference and I'm 27. I clicked Superball like 5 times every time I chatted with him so I'd get that line. I suck at puzzle solving, I play the games for the humor using a walk-through, and this one was a little less on the humor than those other two, but that still makes it third in a series that's quite strong overall, I've re-played all the episodes to find lines I might have missed and always find something funny (who said they have no replay value?)