The ultimate question

Harald B

After seeing the comparison come up again in more and more threads, I figure that this is an appropriate time for a poll about this highly relevant matter that has been on a lot of people's minds from day 1. Can't wait to see what the general take on this issue really is.
(Please measure "betterness" by whatever arbitrary criteria you prefer. Myself, I channel the spirit of Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonian ruler, then pick Season 1:))

fajerkaos

I will let it go a few years, and then the nostalgia will be given the decision.

Yohmi

Not the same game at all, not the same technology, not the same humor, not the same format... You can't meaningfully compare them ^^ I love them both, and not for the same things ^^

ThomasMink

I'll vote "You can't meaningfully them." [sic]. I think the word 'compare' or something similar is supposed to be included there, but is somehow missing. If not.. then that's what I get for voting based on an assumption.

Harald B

Yes I managed to leave out the crucial word "compare". I suck at making polls.:o By the way, can anyone tell me how it can be that the number of votes exceeds the number of views of this thread?

Jake

Maybe views dont show up as quickly as votes. Also, fixed your typo for you.

JK1985

Season 1 feels more Sam & Maxier than Hit the road IMO actually... I think the voices, the story and the puzzles are better... It's more like the old comics

Panda90

I recently obtained a copt of HtR and really enjoyed it, however, season 1 has been the most genuine fun i've had in gaming in a long time. i found HtR far to non-linear and got really stuck a number of times (most probably from the old-school graphics making nothing stand out from the background). On the other hand with 3d games, pick-uppable things tend to be obvious and i often found this the case in season1. I've vot6ed for season 1 being better simply because i had a better time playing it, thats a good enough reason for me :P.

doom saber

I am in the "I refuse to compare them since I may be bias in my decision at this point" category

LuigiHann

I voted "Yes, definitely," although I wish there was a less extreme version of that. I think more of a "Yes, somewhat" is called for.

dloeke

Well, the first three episodes weren't quite as good as Hit The Road, in my honest opinion, but from Abe Lincoln Must Die! and on, I'd definitely say that things got better. Yeah, I have to say I enjoyed myself more during the three last episodes of the season than during Hit The Road, although Hit The Road does have the advantage of nostalgia.

AdamG

I don't really think you can compare them. They were made in very different times, to different audiences, and they were produced in different ways with different goals in mind. I just don't feel comfortable comparing the two. However, Season 1 has been quite successful. I don't know they compare financially, or in terms of the audiences reached, but they were both very successful.

And did fans of Hit the Road send gift baskets ect. to LucasArts? No, I don't think they did.

marsan

Hit the road is my favorite, but I think it's rather hard to compare them, because they were created in very different settings and with different goals(and expectations). For me, that's like comparing Broken Sword 4 to Broken Sword 1. Of course Broken Sword 1 is "better", but it was made at a time when adventure games were high budget games, and when the goals for a good adventure games(both gamewise and graphics wise) were quite different.

Teilan

Its difficult to compare the Sam & Max games against one another.

Hit the Road is like an old T-shirt...newer products may be out there but every once in a while you just gotta wear that "old favorite" again for that great comfort. I played HtR with my buds in college & now play Hit the Road with my wife. We've probably played through it three times over the last 6 years. (In fact, now that we finished Episode 6, we're planning on revisiting HtR again.)

Season 1 was an ambitious project and many fans were skeptical that a small game company could do the license justice. Well, Telltale Games blew my expectations out of the water & they captured the world of Sam & Max again. The transition to 3D graphics was spot on, the voices have a charm all their own & it was fun to participate in the forums while the game was in production. You could tell it really was a labor of love. Plus I got a kick in looking forward to another episode of zaniness every month.

Bring on Season 2!

Zeek

I had this long post ready filled to the brim with cirtical thought and comparisons, and as going to post it. Then the Internet ate it.:mad:

Anyway, bottom line is this as far as my opinion goes.

Season 1 may not be better than HTR in some elements, but it sure as hell does not suck in comparison.

maximmortal

I don't think you can compare them. It's like "comparing apples with pears", as my old colleague would say... rather annoyingly too.

Guybrush_Threepwood

maximmortal wrote: »

I don't think you can compare them. It's like "comparing apples with pears", as my old colleague would say... rather annoyingly too.

Totally agree. My vote goes to "you can't meaningfully compare them".

Hero1

Teilan wrote: »

Its difficult to compare the Sam & Max games against one another.

Hit the Road is like an old T-shirt...newer products may be out there but every once in a while you just gotta wear that "old favorite" again for that great comfort. I played HtR with my buds in college & now play Hit the Road with my wife. We've probably played through it three times over the last 6 years. (In fact, now that we finished Episode 6, we're planning on revisiting HtR again.)

Season 1 was an ambitious project and many fans were skeptical that a small game company could do the license justice. Well, Telltale Games blew my expectations out of the water & they captured the world of Sam & Max again. The transition to 3D graphics was spot on, the voices have a charm all their own & it was fun to participate in the forums while the game was in production. You could tell it really was a labor of love. Plus I got a kick in looking forward to another episode of zaniness every month.

Bring on Season 2!

what he said :rolleyes::)

ShaggE

No comparison. It's like comparing Final Fantasy 1 and Final Fantasy WhateverNumberThey'reAtNow... two completely different animals.

Eater

I'm torn between "no way" and "not comparable" because I don't think it comes close to being as good as Hit the Road, but I can't really fault them for that. The fact that it was non eposodic meant there was alot more places to go and less reusing same areas, but then again noone was waiting on the game so eagerly back then so they could easily take there time to make a complete game all at once. Plus I love the original voice actors but its noones fault(except maybe Bill and Nick) that they couldn't get them. I think its valid to compare them, but not really fair. Its hard to live up to that kind of greatness, and as a whole they did a fantastic job trying to with season 1.

marsan

Eater wrote: »

I'm torn between "no way" and "not comparable" because I don't think it comes close to being as good as Hit the Road, but I can't really fault them for that. The fact that it was non eposodic meant there was alot more places to go and less reusing same areas, but then again noone was waiting on the game so eagerly back then so they could easily take there time to make a complete game all at once. Plus I love the original voice actors but its noones fault(except maybe Bill and Nick) that they couldn't get them. I think its valid to compare them, but not really fair. Its hard to live up to that kind of greatness, and as a whole they did a fantastic job trying to with season 1.

Agreed. Hit the road is a classic. Not many games goes down in the history books as classics, and like you said they did a good job on the season, just that it's really not fair to compare them, but if I have to compare I would say no way. Just that, one can't really expect another classic just because the first game became a classic. That's one of those big mistakes publishers of all medias have done since the dawn of capitalism. The mistake lies in that they(the retail publishers) have seen a game/movie/whatever... that became a classic, and then they try to make a new sequel which is supposed to be "another classic which we can get a big fat wallet from". The problem is that classics are not made, they are discovered. Just like you can't ask a musician to sit down and make another "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", even if the guy is really talented, there is no guarantee that it will be a classic.

Of course, I know TTG wasn't trying to make a classic, so I think they have performed over anybody's expectations.

Sp0tted

I think that there is no way you can give a good comparison between the two games. I think that if the technology existed for HtR that existed now, the game would look a lot like Season 1.

I think Season 1 did a great job of both taking the series in a new direction, yet still paying tribute to the old game. Is it the same as the old game? No, it's different by design. That doesn't make it better or worse, just different.

If telltale decides to make seasons all the way up to season 15 and beyond, and they are as great of quality as season 1, I'll be just as amped for that season as I was for season 1.

... I'd REALLY love for them to get in on the Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion franchies.. :-D

jmm

You can't compare them, while similar in spirit, they are too different.
All I can say is: both HTR and S1 were great in its own way, both had some flaws, and both were fun to play.

Harald B

Well, it looks like it's a good thing I was feeling philosophical enough to include that fourth option. What a bunch of intellectuals we are
Thanks, everyone. I'm note sure what I expected but this outcome definitely took me by surprise. Though I guess it explains why this forum has never seen any heated Überthreads on the issue.
There is one nice conclusion we can draw from all this: Season 2 doesn't have to be burdened by a need to live up to Hit the Road. Here's to a bright and unfettered future!

Agent Calavera

Yeah, that's exactly what I was (and i gave my vote for not comparable).. HTR is a brilliant piece of computergaming history.. Furthermore, it's quite compact and coherent.. The Humor is BRILLIANT (I like it, to be honest, more than the Season-Humor.. but just a little bit).. The Seasons are going to be a long-running thing (i hope).. They also got lots of humor, but they're not really a oneness.. Both is brilliant, i like both very well (not for different things though), and I'm happy the Season is there :-)
Who knows, perhaps Season 2 will be so cool, I change my opinion..

some nerdy guy

If you try to compare them then you miss the point of Sam & Max. When you read the books you never tried to say witch is better. When you watch the cartoon you never say which episdoe is better. Instead I look at Sam & Max as a whole. They are all part funny and all enjoyable. So to me Sam & Max is just Sam & Max!

Kaldire

many staff at telltale have been quoted as saying they never dared try to aim at the same mark that hit the road did. In fact, most thought the classic puzzle style and insane nonsensical items wouldnt cross over to this generation very well. Steve purcell and Al lowe both have told me the reason they think the puzzle aspect is not as hard these days and its simple. Doesnt take as much to use a pc these days. Just turn it on .. click ...and poof.
Back in the dos days you had to know what you were doing and most of us were and still are geeks. So the higher ups are told dont make to hard of puzzles! Which is why if you compare hit the road to season one you will just get confused. HTR was a masterpiece but it wasnt the only one of its gen :P No you cant possible compare the two but if someone were to compare of course htr would be better.. its the original.. and what I grew up on. I get warm fuzzies just seeing the box lol. Same with my old Sierra collection XD
Hope someday to start a telltale one. Hurry up and get posters and sticker out telltale! I want a I break for telltale or.. I heart TTG or something!
Long story short both games are great!

Imapus Sylicker

I believe that neither one is better or worse.

They're just different - and I love 'em both.