Well it's out now... any comments?? (SPOILERS)

[Murray the Chao]

I didn't see any graphics issues.

I did notice a logical issue, however.

While Paneer was commenting on Wallace during the tournament, I heard him advertise his store - even though it had been shut down.

[Chris1]

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

The way to get to the golden key was really annoying. To find out which combination of club / tee-off line had which effect, you had to go through the same cut-scene several times.

Blue went right, and Red was left. Didn't take me too long to figure out.

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

First of all the whole story is a bit far-fetched, isn't it?

A lot of games or shows that want a big story but a small cast work like this. (The Simpsons or the Phoenix Wright series would be other examples.) Generally I don't mind putting up with all the coincidences, if it means the stories can be a little more epic.
The only thing that bothered me was Goodman Willace being placed so far in the past compared to the level of technology he had. Goodman Willace could have lived in the early 20th century and the story with the deed would have still worked.

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

Technical issues

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

W&G was their buggiest game by far

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

Personally I intend to play some European "point & click" adventures next, like "Ceville"

Given what you didn't like about Wallace & Gromit, I really don't think you're going to like Ceville at all. Cracks in the characters are an annoyance, but at least Wallace & Gromit doesn't crash every 10 minutes or have hotspots for items half the room away from where they actually are.

[Rubarack]

Originally Posted by Chris1

Blue went right, and Red was left. Didn't take me too long to figure out.

Plus the clubs are called "hook" and "slice", golfing terms for veering left and right. The closer you are to the tee the less they'll get to cirve.

[tobar]

I enjoyed it. For those that have beaten the game, what I'd like to know is why did Wallace go behind the corner before leaving the club at the end? I had to watch it again because I thought I might have missed him switch his sweater but that wasn't it.

[Shmeh]

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

The way to get to the golden key was really annoying. To find out which combination of club / tee-off line had which effect, you had to go through the same cut-scene several times.

Originally Posted by Rubarack

Plus the clubs are called "hook" and "slice", golfing terms for veering left and right. The closer you are to the tee the less they'll get to cirve.

Whether a ball is hooked or sliced also depends on the handedness of the player. So, not only do you have to know the terms, but you also need to know that Wallace will swing right-handed if you want to know which club will send the ball in which direction before you pick up a club. Having said that, a 50/50 trial and error is not really a big deal. (It's straight logic that when you are closer to the target, the ball won't go as wide as a shot from further from the target.)

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

Nobody knows how all the sand got out of the room in the sandbox riddle.

I assume there is a drain in the room, like the drain that the unused tea cups fall down, that is being held closed by the steam power. This is just over-thinking it anyway and really doesn't require an explanation.

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

There were several "red herrings" in the game. Or have I already forgotten what the wrench and the cue are needed for, for example?

There is nothing wrong with red herrings. Some people believe they add to a game, others believe they detract. I guess it's just a matter of opinion.

You could actually use the two items you listed, but nothing was gained by using them.

[aHartzell]

Originally Posted by tobar

I enjoyed it. For those that have beaten the game, what I'd like to know is why did Wallace go behind the corner before leaving the club at the end? I had to watch it again because I thought I might have missed him switch his sweater but that wasn't it.

Wallace went back into the closet to tear up the deed. You can hear him tearing it, but it's easy to miss.

[aHartzell]

Originally Posted by Murray the Chao

I didn't see any graphics issues.

I did notice a logical issue, however.

While Paneer was commenting on Wallace during the tournament, I heard him advertise his store - even though it had been shut down.

Ah! But if you had hung around and listened to Paneer, you would have heard that the advertisement turned into a rant against Dibbins and the fact that the store had been closed down.

[Ophenix]

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

1) Riddles

• The way to get to the golden key was really annoying. To find out which combination of club / tee-off line had which effect, you had to go through the same cut-scene several times.

God yes. That was so annoying...
You use the incorrect club, and he notices. You use the correct club, and he dosn't? Why?
Seriously, I tried everything I could think of and when I finaly found the logical solution - To switch his yellow club with the one Wallace has after painting it yellow with peanute butter - I was very disapointed to find out what they actualy wanted us to do wastrial and error (using the booklet as hints of course).
Seriously, that's a cheap puzzle.

Originally Posted by Nightsurfer

2) Storytelling / Logical Errors

• First of all the whole story is a bit far-fetched, isn't it? - Wallace joining a golf club to escape marriage, while almost all the other characters from previous games happen to be members of that club, that happen to look for exactly one new member? - And one coincidence follows the next, like where Wallace shoots the ball for the 17th and 18th hole or how all characters get caught in the same room.
• Many important clues are given by written notes, like how to find the keys or where to find the 18th hole. This makes the riddles more difficult for people who do not speak English very well.

First point, its a classic Woodhouse-esque plot. Big plunder caused by protagonist that draws in all characters by stepping on all the wrong toes and fixed by the butler (or dog in this case). I rather liked it.
Second point, these notes were really annnnnnnnoying. I mean, I'm not British or American and even thought I love the superb voice acting in this series I need both subtitles and the actor's voices to understand that hellish british dialect of thiers. The main difficulty in that puzzle was just understanding what the hell the text meant >.<;

Lots of technical issues, lots of bugs, the loop audio of eight people in a panic with grinding sfx from the machinery.... Gah.
It felt unpolished and unproffesional. Same script with another week of debugging would have been a much more enjoyable experiance.

[SHODANFreeman]

Originally Posted by Ophenix

God yes. That was so annoying...
You use the incorrect club, and he notices. You use the correct club, and he dosn't? Why?
Seriously, I tried everything I could think of and when I finaly found the logical solution - To switch his yellow club with the one Wallace has after painting it yellow with peanute butter - I was very disapointed to find out what they actualy wanted us to do wastrial and error (using the booklet as hints of course).
Seriously, that's a cheap puzzle.

...all you have to do is swap his club with the hooking and slicing clubs at the right times so that you hit the paintings in the order of the booklet, no peanut butter involved. You only need the driver with peanut butter to get the Ganges grip from Dibbins, it has nothing to do with the Duncan puzzle.

[Ophenix]

Originally Posted by Pale Man

...all you have to do is swap his club with the hooking and slicing clubs at the right times so that you hit the paintings in the order of the booklet, no peanut butter involved. You only need the driver with peanut butter to get the Ganges grip from Dibbins, it has nothing to do with the Duncan puzzle.

I know, I finished the game.
But why does Duncan notice the wrong club and not the right one?
Cos the puzzle wasn't thought through. The hints helped but this episode had too many puzzles that made no sense in the context of the game.

[SHODANFreeman]

Originally Posted by Ophenix

I know, I finished the game.
But why does Duncan notice the wrong club and not the right one?
Cos the puzzle wasn't thought through. The hints helped but this episode had too many puzzles that made no sense in the context of the game.

He notices the driver because it's a totally different type of club, and he notices it so that you know that that's not the club you need him to use at any point. I solved all the puzzles in the game and found them to actually be pretty simple and obvious overall.

[DrRocketGenius]

I really enjoyed this episode. Definitely my favorite (with The Last Resort being a close second.)

I was disappointed with the credits, though. In both Sam & Max seasons they do something during the credits, but nothing happened at all in here.

[Marty]

Yeah, at least have something after the credits like in Ep2.
Ophenix, I was scratching my head over the same thing.
Few things:
The story was great and for the most part, the puzzles made sense and tied in nicely. I liked the new room, they sure did make the most out of it. However, it was still just one room. I was expecting perhaps just one more scene, maybe out on the green like the launch screen implies. I gotta admit, TT are great at recycling rooms
The most annoying thing in the game was the screaming during the final puzzle. I had to turn the volume right down it became that annoying.
I also had those graphical issues where the models had cracks or seams in them. Also, sometimes the camera wasn't focussed on the person who was talking, it would point at some random thing in the background.
All in all, well done TT for knowing how to make a W&G series good on the computer.

[Murray the Chao]

That was so annoying...
You use the incorrect club, and he notices. You use the correct club, and he dosn't? Why?
Seriously, I tried everything I could think of and when I finaly found the logical solution - To switch his yellow club with the one Wallace has after painting it yellow with peanute butter - I was very disapointed to find out what they actualy wanted us to do wastrial and error (using the booklet as hints of course).
Seriously, that's a cheap puzzle.

I first thought of that, and of somehow making a club out of the Snooker cue.

[taumel]

I only had some minor glitches with a few objects but not with the characters. There were some sound issues like that the same person was speaking and laughing at the same time or that the volume of certain people strangely got decreased for some comments. The german translation had some minor issues.

I found it to be the weakest of all the W&G episodes so far. My ranking would be The Last Resort, Muzzled, Fright of the Bumblebees and then The Bogey Man. I found the story not interesting, some of the situations and puzzles kind of strange, it just didn't feel interesting, round and well designed, dunno this wasn't my cup of tea.

I did enjoy the sand riddle. How much more fun would it have been if they would have done a trip to the pyramides instead and experience some adventures on the trip and there.

[The Commissioner]

Originally Posted by Pale Man

He notices the driver because it's a totally different type of club, and he notices it so that you know that that's not the club you need him to use at any point. I solved all the puzzles in the game and found them to actually be pretty simple and obvious overall.

I also had no problems with the golf club puzzle. In fact I solved it in one go - not with multiple trial and error like the other guys above. There was no trial and error.

I simply folllowed the pictures from Ms Flitt's leaflet like the Gold clue tells you to. I had already tested which club was left and right at the beginning when first arriving at the club and before I found the rest of the clues. Once you know that, you can steer the ball to any panel you want (or get Duncan to do it for you! - I was quite happy when I realised instantaneously I could manipulate him by switching the club I wanted for the next panel).

It all just flowed logically and I felt quite satisfied at the end when the key popped out. Actually, I also felt that with the other keys too.

[SHODANFreeman]

Originally Posted by The Commissioner

I also had no problems with the golf club puzzle. In fact I solved it in one go - not with multiple trial and error like the other guys above. There was no trial and error.

I simply folllowed the pictures from Ms Flitt's leaflet like the Gold clue tells you to. I had already tested which club was left and right at the beginning when first arriving at the club and before I found the rest of the clues. Once you know that, you can steer the ball to any panel you want (or get Duncan to do it for you! - I was quite happy when I realised instantaneously I could manipulate him by switching the club I wanted for the next panel).

It all just flowed logically and I felt quite satisfied at the end when the key popped out. Actually, I also felt that with the other keys too.

Yeah, I thought the clues were laid down pretty well for that whole section.

[Randulf]

Just finished the episode, and for sure it is my favorite in the series.

The story as a whole is well written, with a host of surprising developments that I did not see coming. However, I wished it did not end with a cop-out in which Duncan simply gives up golf in order to grab the girl. Given that the whole Prickety Thicket business is an age-old feud between the Flitts and the McBiscuits, I'd rather see a throughout reconciliation between the families, with Prudence Flitt's anti-golf bigotry neutralised.

The puzzles are simply the best-designed in the series, perhaps even the best in any games by Telltale. They are very deep, requiring multiple steps for their solution, and there are just the right number of red-herrings along the way. People coming from the "Golden Age of Adventure Games" will find them stimulating challenges. However, young fans of W&G, many of whom haven't been baptized by Sierra or LucasArt games, will likely find them too difficult.

The yellings during the "Boss Puzzle" is annoying, especially as the puzzle takes some time to work out.

[gixmi]

yes, first time I notice facial cracks on characters.