Episode 1 vs Episode 2?

[doom saber]

Originally Posted by Lysandus

Structurally, yes, it felt very Monkey Island to me too. It has the feeling of a Monkey Island "act" where you have to perform 3 big tasks in any order you want, usually broken down into a couple of smaller tasks each.
In comparison to episode 1, I think this was even more non-linear, almost totally so except for the first shaving cream and last defeating Myra puzzle. Which is good, it gives it a very organic and "game like" feel, though it also makes the game feel a bit aimless at times. For example, why would you even want to tape that sitcom before you knew why, or do any of the other shows? It probably would've been better to place the door to Myra's studio right at the start. Give a bit more direction earlier on, don't make us accidentally solve puzzles before they're even put to us. Episode 1 suffered from this problem far less.
Still great, though, of course! Loved both!

I, too agree which is why I like ep 1 better. Ep 2 is funnier, but it lacks structure and a solid storyline, imo. If you think about it, the overall plot is about 5 minutes long with the shows as fillers. Ep 1 had a more throught out plot. I was more absorbed into ep 1's storyline than ep 2's. It seems disorganized and unrealistic even for a fictional storyline.

I agree with Lysandus that they should have had Lyra's office first to start Sam and Max's goal in entering those game shows if telltalegames wanted to make the game non linear.

I think the midtown Cowboys part flowed well since they had to auditioned to meet Lyra to get into the studio. However, the other shows, imo, didn't flow as well and seemed to be added there at the last minute. Either that or Telltalegames might have removed the linear route because of the demands from fans?

I too like the shows part, but as Lysandus said, this episode needed a more sense of direction. Even though I like the skin bodies part, I felt that it was not in order. However, it could be me and not the storyline since you pretty much knew that you had to go searching for something to enter the studio and checking at Bosco's seems like something to do. However, if does seems off, I think that Max should tell Sam to check out Bosco's to see if they can get sometime like cheese or if the new issue of any of those adult magazines are out before going to the studio. For example, something like: "Hey Sam, before we go and investigate, let's see what crazy conspiracy Bosco cooked up this time, so that we can mock him."

The whole "going to show to show" reminds me of the last LSL adventure game made by Al Lowe where you have to do win all the events to do the nasty w/ Captain Thigh. However, at the start of the game it tells you what is the goal to the game. Ep 2 just put these shows in other rooms that you are intriged to play without knowing what purpose it serves till the very end.

Overall, humor, puzzles, and graphics improved(I realize the game can be selected to have higher res unlike the previous ep. Then again, I just upgraded my pc,) but the story is lacking when compared to ep 1.

Sorry, but when I think of episodic games, I want it to have a solid storyline and gameplay. Whenever I play an adventure game, I think story is important. I may be bashed for saying this, but imo, I think most of the King's Quest games(including the fan remake of kq2) are crap for having a lackluster storyline (fun puzzles, but very weak storyline with the exception of kq6).

[jp-30]

The "story" is 2/6ths of the way through and only now picking up steam.

[Hero1]

I liked culture shock more than situation comedy. Ep2 was shorter, easier and the recurring characters didn't provide too many laughs. Highlights were hugh bliss and the refined british actor slash rooster

[numble]

I definitely thought Episode 2 was funnier than the first--a lot of the length and humor in Episode 1 was taken up by clicking things in the office/street/store, which is repeated but probably skipped in Episode 2, while Episode 2 had loads of character/dialog-based humor revolving around Hugh Bliss, Bosco, the Director, Myra and to a lesser extent, the Soda Poppers and Philo Pennyworth.

[Sp0tted]

I just saw the 4th Machina short on Gametap..... I will hold judgement until Ep 3, because the story looks crazy funny for the next episode!

[Eidolon]

Holy sweet mother of margarine, episode two seemed (was?) not only much shorter, but significantly easier than episode one. I felt like Telltale was holding my hand and leading me through the entire thing; any time I could have had the slightest chance of hitting a dead end, there was a pink neon arrow corralling me in the right direction. I only recall once being at least somewhat satisfied upon solving a couple puzzles, both of which were immediately apparent to me.

I hate complaining, as I feel I'm proofreading a friend's paper, but honestly, I'm not that good at adventure games. I don't know what type of smarts they take, but oftentimes I just don't have them. I usually have to cheat to complete a game (including, [at risk of being ostracized from the S&M community at large] the first episode). I'm only now working on finishing Hit the Road, after which I'll move on to finishing up DOTT. My most frustrating moment with "Situation: Comedy", however, was realizing that I'd just beaten it. Again, I feel like I'm telling my sister that her flagline acrobatics were off beat. But damn it, they were! And I've seen her do better!

Please let me sit at the cool kids table when you make your way up to cheerleader.

Anyway, that's my $.02

[Keir]

I find it hard to say which was funnier - I'm glad we Bosco is a regular, and the soda poppers returned, hope we saw more of them, I expect we'll get more of Hugh Bliss, and Jimmy The Rat who we didn't see much of this time. I also hope but don't expect that we'll see more of Philo Pennyworth - what a pro! The whole Myra show was a hoot, glad I tried lots of things before the correct one. I also loved the Midtown Cowboys thing.

[Diduz]

My vote goes to Culture Shock. I liked Situation : Comedy, but ep 1 was better IMHO.

[sokuni]

Hmm. I guess I'm one of the rare that actually liked Episode 2 better than the first (although the first is very good as well). I liked the idea which was used as a general environment, and the puzzles were pretty neat too, although they weren't overwhelmingly difficult. Anyways, the humor was top notch.

Keep it goin' Telltale

[Jake]

People across the internet actually seem pretty split on which one they like more, so that's good.

[Larrin]

I'm still surprised that so many found the second episode less difficult. I had a way harder time with the second one, and was pretty pleased with myself when I didn't need any hints to complete it, but I had to work for it. With the first episode I knew pretty much immediately what to do in every situation. Granted, the puzzles seemed simple after I figured them out in the second episode. Are people thinking of the puzzles as how difficult they seem after they figured them out, or the amount of time it took them to figure it out in the first place? There is a lot of variation between people with what they figure out though. I'm beginning to think I'm just one of those stupid people that can't figure anything out. Has anyone noticed if the first or second game has yielded more questions in the help/hint section?

[Sir Lemming]

I'd say it's better. I found that episode 1 really hit its stride when it moved away from the street area. Episode 2 moved away from it pretty much right away.

[sokuni]

Originally Posted by Jake

People across the internet actually seem pretty split on which one they like more, so that's good.

Ahaa, that's good to hear. It only shows that the average quality of the episodes is quite decent then.

[fajerkaos]

Originally Posted by Larrin

I'm still surprised that so many found the second episode less difficult.
...
I'm beginning to think I'm just one of those stupid people that can't figure anything out.

I'm glad that i'm atleast not the only one.
The first episode feeled so linear that I somehow instantly knew what to do...


I thougt that both episodes was pretty equally funny, maybe it was more really-funny lines in culture shock, but the best ones occurred in Ep2.

but what really make me choose Ep2 is probably the superb animations, eyebrows and all that. It somehow gave the game a totally new feel for me.
Ep2 also seems more crazy, wierd and disturbed (in a good way).

[OnCallDoc]

I pick ep. 1 over ep. 2. Ep2 was way too short and easy. But I did enjoy it though. Keep 'em coming but it would be nice to make it at least as long as the first and a little harder.

[Linque]

I don't like the Soda Poppers that much, so I vote for Ep. 3 (hoping that they don't make a comeback there yet again).

[questionthemajority]

I think I prefer Episode 1 overall in that it feels more authentic to Sam & Max. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the humor in Situation: Comedy. It seemed darker and more fitting of the Freelance Police's sense of humor. Not to mention it was much more self-contained and didn't rely as heavily on previous games, comics, or cartoon episodes. I was starting to get a little worried that the new series would just be Sam & Max making "remember the time..." jokes, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case! (Of course, the occasional throwback joke can be pretty good. Brady Culture's hair sitting in the closet? Priceless!)

However, Episode 2 just seemed to sort of wander a little aimlessly. Sam & Max didn't seem very motivated for their cause, and nothing gave them a real reason to loathe and despise their adversary which, as we all know, is usually the only reason why they bother doing their job: For some form of satisfactory revenge against an unlikable opponent. The ending just felt sort of anti-climactic.

But no big deal. Every so often, we all have our off days, and the comedy business is no exception. You get a dull episode now and then, but then get a hysterical one later to make up for it!

[maximmortal]

I preferred Episode 2 for a few reasons:

- I thought it was funnier.
- I thought it was slightly longer.
- I liked the change of scenery.

That's all I have to say.

[peoples]

EP2 was almost par with EP1, even though I did find it a lil'bit easier and shorter than the EP1. Both are great games, but every time I play them, I want rest of the episode to come out already

[0renji]

Episode 1 was better for me. I found it more difficult (I couldn't figure out how to knock out some of the Soda Poppers. I am stupid.) and was more memorable. Episode 2 lacked a really bizarre scene like in Episode 1, so I don't remember Ep2 so well. The whole thing was generally 'weird' in Ep2 (Philo, for example), though, which comes closer to the feel of the comic book so perhaps that's good. I just didn't think it was as lol-worthy as Ep1.

Also the plot was extremely vague in Ep2. I actually forgot what the heck I was doing anyway, so I was just solving puzzles to progress, not to actually reach any goal. The skinbody part kinda threw me off, since it didn't have any kind of relevance at all.

I am looking forward to episode 4 because the title of that one is pretty awesome.