First review of episode 4 is up!

edited March 2007 in Sam & Max
Eurogamer gives it a 7/10.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=73291

Seems like the usual criticisms again ( Recycled locations, characters ,same routine etc etc) accounts for the average score. :(
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Comments

  • edited February 2007
    That seems to be a good review, and has my opinion (when talking about the episodes in general, I haven't played no. 4 yet) nailed pretty well.
  • edited February 2007
    That sounds strange to me, because I've enjoyed Episode 4 immensly. When playing episode 2 and episode 3 I've been thinking all the things the reviewer points out, but now I think Episode 4 is a strong departure from the first half of the season. It's funny, challenging, smart and intelligent in its satirical tones. I've beaten it in 9 hours, but only because I got stuck like a sparkling wonderful moron in two occasions. I think the episode should last not less than 5-6 hours to a smart adventure gamer, the gameplay IS deeper and more rewarding.
    For the record, it took me three hours to finish episode 1-episode 2 and two hours to complete Episode 3. My personal opinion is that the series is taking off in the best way possible. :)
  • edited February 2007
    Still too easy? :confused: sigh.. :(
  • edited February 2007
    I haven't played it yet (I'm painting my main computer's monitor), but it's obvious that for Season 2 they will definately want to introduce more diversity overall. :/
  • edited February 2007
    Well, the hints forum has been flooded with hint requests in the 6 hours or so that the episode has been available, so some people are having problems with the puzzles...

    I did find it more difficult and longer, but I also felt that the LPM (laughs per minute) was slightly diminished in some parts of the game because of those factors (not many new jokes to encounter when you're wandering around stuck on a puzzle--or because you have to wander from place to place), but those pacing issues are some of the very things people like about Hit the Road, so your mileage may vary...

    Oh, and Mel, et al are in the credits!
  • edited February 2007

    "the neighbor hood your office is located is a strange one with neighboring stores include a irresolute store owner , a paranoid drug store owner and a Michael Jackson-ish scam artist"

    :confused: :confused: :confused:
  • edited February 2007
    so numble you would say its more difficult than episode 1? I'll take that at this stage..
  • edited February 2007
    AdamG wrote: »
    "the neighbor hood your office is located is a strange one with neighboring stores include a irresolute store owner , a paranoid drug store owner and a Michael Jackson-ish scam artist"

    The drug store owner is bosco and the scam artist is for you to find out.
  • edited February 2007
    Hero1 wrote: »
    so numble you would say its more difficult than episode 1? I'll take that at this stage..

    Yes, I think it was harder, but I feel it all depends on the player. Diduz took 9 hours for example--and I think I took less than half of that.
  • edited February 2007
    numble wrote: »
    Oh, and Mel, et al are in the credits!

    Don't I get credit for...umm... temporarily reviving the Russian Reversal? No? Damn. :P
  • MelMel
    edited February 2007
    Hero1 wrote: »
    Still too easy? :confused: sigh.. :(
    Hero1 wrote: »
    so numble you would say its more difficult than episode 1? I'll take that at this stage..

    You'll give yourself an ulcer pouring over every review and dwelling on the difficulty until it's worldwide release.



    And I'm sounding very momish - sorry...
  • edited February 2007
    And would it kill you to get a haircut once in awhile?
  • edited February 2007
    The drug store owner is bosco and the scam artist is for you to find out.

    LOL Michael Jackson. LOL
  • edited February 2007
    Mel wrote: »
    You'll give yourself an ulcer pouring over every review and dwelling on the difficulty until it's worldwide release.

    And I'm sounding very momish - sorry...

    I'm slowly coming to the realisation that the episodic format has its limitations, and that in turn affects the level of difficulty. I'm quite happy to accept that and enjoy the episodes for what they are.. but Brendan did say in his blog:
    In fact, many of you have already correctly guessed that we aim to gradually increase the difficulty over time

    So I was surprised to read in the 4color rebellion review:
    As for the difficulty, I thought that this episode was on pretty much the same level as the first three episodes.
  • edited February 2007
    Well you should probably wait until you play it--as you've said in the past:
    Hero1 wrote: »
    I think the puzzles design and solutions are all very good, but because there is so few items and locations it is very simple to work out.

    I think Episode 4 addresses this--and pretty well with the limits they have in terms of location--there definitely is that Hit the Road feeling of going from location to location to find a puzzle's "key", that then triggers another round of location-wandering to figure out the next step in the solution of the same or new puzzle. In effect, there are those same good designs/solutions, but a greater need to wander and a higher chance of getting stuck.

    I felt the episode was great--easily some of the best writing and humor so far--with more laugh out loud moments than the ones before (my experience as an American and someone with an interest in American politics might influence that belief), but I felt it started sputtering (especially in the latter parts of the game) with the requirements to wander from place to place--I felt it started getting tedious when you started hearing "Where are we going this time, Sam?" for the zillionth time as you wander from place to place, instead of getting new material/comedy to laugh at. And I realized that, hey--this really is a microcosm of what Hit the Road was like, when, for example, I went from place to place looking for a way to get money to spend at Snuckey's
    (It was in the rathole!)
    .

    So I reached the end in I think a lengthy 4.5 hours, and really thought to myself, "Wow, there actually are people masochistic enough as to want to be stuck even longer and wander from place to place even more."

    But I can't blame them for giving them what people have asked for, and would still be happy if things were to stay like this. I simply feel that having people get stuck and making them wander around ruins the pacing of the comedy in Sam and Max (especially when many of said locations are already extremely familiar and you're basically looking for the new "pin" in the "haystack" of old items--a feeling of searching rather than exploring). I like the jokes to come at a fast clip (probably the reason why comedies on TV are usually only 22 minutes long), so I'd rather have 2000 lines of mostly new and original dialog compressed inside 2-3 hours than 2100 lines spread over 4-5 hours (with a lot of repeated dialog occurring as you get stuck or wander back and forth--for example, if you don't get stuck at all in Episode 4, you still have to listen to "Where are we going this time, Sam?" a minimum of 12 times as you travel to and fro--get stuck on something here or there and you could easily be going 15-25 times).

    That said, I realize some people also feel they can't enjoy the humor if it goes by too fast and enjoy getting stuck and/or wandering around ("too much like an interactive cartoon!" or "don't patronize me with such simple puzzles!").

    I really liked the comedy in the episode, and thought it was the best of the bunch, but I personally just felt that some parts could have been paced better in a shorter timeframe--just my opinion.

    --
    Admittedly, I played through it all in one sitting, so I might have thought differently if I split up my playtime...
  • edited February 2007
    I have to say this one is the best one yet. The humor and the writing was amazing.

    About the criticisms. I think things need to be put into perspective here.

    Complain 1: There isn't enough variety in the locations.
    When these people sit down and watch a sitcom like Seinfield, do they complain that it doesn't take place in enough locations? It's the same idea here.

    Complaint 2: They are too easy or too short.
    Again do people complain when they watch a 1/2 hour sitcom, that it's too short. No, it's meant to be short. That is what Sam and Max are, a game sitcom. Meant to be a few hours of fun.
  • edited February 2007
    numble wrote: »
    Yes, I think it was harder, but I feel it all depends on the player. Diduz took 9 hours for example--and I think I took less than half of that.

    Yeah, if I exclude the two puzzles that got me stuck, I think the game would have been a solid 5 (maybe even 6) hours experience.
  • edited February 2007
    Interesting review numble, I'm looking forward to playing episode 4. To Raynes this isn't tv, and some people prefer to be playing a video game..than scrolling through a "game sitcom"
  • edited February 2007
    I just finished episode 4, and I thought it was fantastic! It was considerably longer then usual, the puzzles were more difficult while not being absurd or unbelievable (just how they should be), and overall it was simply beefier then the past ones.
    As a matter of fact, I would rate it higher then the 92% I gave the first episode, but since some things are still used over again I have to give it a freshness penality. Don't get me wrong, it's still fresher then the last episode, in some ways.
    So...... I give episode 4 a 90% rating. :) I would penalize it more, but for less then $9 you can't really complain much. I just hope episodes #5 and #6 are as good as #4. :D
  • edited February 2007
    :D I can't wait to play this one, sounds like alot of the small problems have been addressed and improved.
  • edited February 2007
    Action Trip Review - Score: 79

    Highs The humor is getting better and better, cool story and characters;
    Lows Returning to the same locations, as before a single episode ends just as it gets going, puzzles tend to be easier than we initially expected.

    http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/sammaxepisode4abelincolnmustdie.phtml?1949
  • edited February 2007
    Abe Lincoln Must Die is easily the best entry yet. It's full of zany characters, fun puzzles, and one of the most original game plots you will ever see. Regardless of whether you're a veteran or new to the series, Sam & Max Episode 4 is a must play for anybody who likes to have a good time playing games.

    - Gaming Nexus

    http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=Article&I=1399

    Telltale took fans' reactions and made a longer, funnier and overall more exciting fourth episode.

    http://gamernode.com/PC/Reviews/2196-Sam--Max-Abe-Lincoln-Must-Die-Review/index.html
  • edited February 2007
    Hero1, you don't feel that reading so many reviews before you play the game might spoil things a bit for ya?
  • edited February 2007
    paper_comedy_log.jpg

    This Joystiq review seems interesting (I haven't read it all the way through yet). Basically the Joystiq reviewer has been keeping a running tally of "laugh out loud" moments for each episode he plays, and Episode 4 has the most laughs yet.
    The writing in Abe Lincoln Must Die! is by far the sharpest in the series, which automatically makes it the best episode released thus far. My silly scrap of paper is testament to that and it helped me realize that every time I wrote down a hilarious phrase, I was actually writing down one more reason to play the game.
  • edited February 2007
    Do my eyes spy on that paper a Nader joke?
  • edited February 2007
    Zeek wrote: »
    Do my eyes spy on that paper a Nader joke?

    Good eye. Obviously that paper is spoilery, but you have to stare into your monitor to see what it says.
  • edited February 2007
    Yeah, the the point where I'll need my 6-month eye check up bumped up to next friday.
  • edited February 2007
    numble wrote: »
    Hero1, you don't feel that reading so many reviews before you play the game might spoil things a bit for ya?

    I skip over anything about the game or what happens in it.. :)
  • edited February 2007
    Hero1 wrote: »
    To Raynes this isn't tv, and some people prefer to be playing a video game..than scrolling through a "game sitcom"

    But this is a game sitcom. It is what it is, and people looking for it to be something else are looking in the wrong place.
    That said, it's not flawless, and while it was disheartening to see episodes 2 and three get easier and shorter, Episode 4 puts the series back on the right track. I hope they keep going in this direction for the rest of the season, and I hope there's a season 2, because that's where most good sitcoms start to be really good.

    As for the comment about locations, I don't think there necessarily have to be more of them, but it'd be nice to see more done with them. The recurring offices should be changing a bit more with each episode. And it would have been nice to explore a few more rooms inside the White House.
  • edited February 2007
    The only gripe I could have with this game is the difficulty. Episode 4 felt a lot more grueling than the other ones appeared, with some puzzles requiring some real out-of-the box thinking. It's a dividing issue, and finding a balance that pleases people on both sides can be very difficult. Also, while it is nice to see that the game was longer than past episodes, there is way too much backtracking. If anything, it would have benefited the pacing if players didn't have to travel back and forth so much.

    http://www.got-next.com/reviews_read.php?id=557

    Eye of the beholder...
  • edited February 2007
    With the usual focus on short, easy game play structured like a television episode, Sam & Max once again delivers hilarious entertainment in their fourth installment, Abe Lincoln Must Die! While the previous episode felt considerably shorter than most, this new one gets things back on track with more one-liners and some great political humor -- especially as Max becomes president of the United States. Surprises, like the not-to-be-missed musical score and
    killing Abe Lincoln
    truly make playing this episode a pleasure. The video game industry needs more games like this.

    http://www.gamedaily.com/sam-andamp-max-episode-4-abe-lincoln-must-die/pc/game-reviews/5796
  • edited February 2007
    I will reiterate: Hero1, you are spoiling yourself.

    That and what ShaggE and Mel said =P
  • edited February 2007
    -klackon-

    Warning! Spoilers above!
  • edited February 2007
    For those who played the Gametap version,
    how does Abe Lincoln looks like?
  • edited February 2007
    Abe Lincoln...
    looks like a 25 foot tall cement version of Abe Lincoln
  • edited February 2007
    AdamG wrote: »
    Abe Lincoln...
    looks like a 25 foot tall cement version of Abe Lincoln

    I believe he's actually
    marble
  • edited February 2007
    Actually, I think they did say he was now that I think about it. :P
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