Episode 202, thoughts?

2

Comments

  • edited January 2008
    it didn't feel shorter at all!
    in fact, I think moai was THE best sam and max chapter so far!!!
    yes, even better than reality 2.0!
    1. it had the most inventory items so far! I love original quests, and a lot of inventory items, even non-use-info-only ones
    (like the book)
    are very important for the enviroment.
    2. it was really funny! XD I think few of the lines in this game, especially these:
    "we're not primitive! we have cellphone."
    "that's the second biggest bermuda triangle I have ever seen!"
    and the sea monkeys of course!
    had great impact! the last 2 made this game the best so far!
    3. and the best of all... none of the soda poppers are in there! XDXD well, except on stinky's wall.
    I don't like some of the first characters (except bosco, he's the best). I think getting rid of sybil will be as good as getting rid of the sodda poppers. the new characters are really great!
    waiting for the sea monkeys comeback!

    keep this rate please! this game was the most fun so far to play!
    it felt like original puzzle-quest game, and there were some awesome lines that just made me stop and laugh like crazy. XD
    and more inventory items! XD maybe even "item-combine" system?

    requests:
    -longer chapters (we don't care if they weight more than 100mb. 200mb for more seperate character models, more characters, more items, more puzzles, and more lines).
    -more inventory items! that's what quests are all about! :D
    -more guybrush lines! XD
    I really waited for something with "10 minutes" when S&M went underwater...


    *edit*
    omg almost forgot the BEST part of this game:
    "did somebody say birthday!?"
    ...>dances and sings<
    max: "and again, I forgot to bring my video camera!"
    god that was funny... XDXD
  • edited January 2008
    What was the point in acquiring it in 202? I can't for the life of me figure it out.
  • edited January 2008
    EFFLGuy wrote: »
    What was the point in acquiring it in 202? I can't for the life of me figure it out.

    It's a
    red herring
    :)
  • edited January 2008
    Amaterasu wrote: »
    *edit*
    omg almost forgot the BEST part of this game:
    "did somebody say birthday!?"
    ...>dances and sings<
    max: "and again, I forgot to bring my video camera!"
    god that was funny... XDXD
    Oh yeah, that was great! I do hope that will be a recurring joke in every episode!
    The Mexican singer, that is.
  • edited January 2008
    Amaterasu wrote: »
    it didn't feel shorter at all!
    wasn't short for me..it must have taken me over 5 hours.. but I did a few things wrong.. like not visit the cops for ages
    to get the horn
    and then that
    red gong/stinky puzzle had me confused..i couldnt reach the gong that threw me off
    and then i forgot to pick up that
    gold medallion
    haha which delayed me.. but the episode's length was fine with me
  • edited January 2008
    Just finished the episode. To be honest, I am a bit disappointed. I like Moai Better Blues, but for me it can't compete with the last few episodes. Mainly, it is too short. Normally I wouldn't mind, but considering that this season features only 5 episodes while costing as much as the first one, I was hoping for longer, more involving entrances.

    For me, Ice Station Santa got it just right. I prefer 5 very good episodes over 6 good ones, so i didn't mind the shorter season, since I assumed all the episodes would be roughly equal to Santa in terms of length and quality.

    Anyway, i still enjoyed my trip to Easter Island. Things I liked:

    - The sometimes more saucy humor, compared to Season 1.
    -
    Baby Sam and Max!
    - I don't know if this was a deliberate decision by the game designers, but
    I'm of the opinion that our two heroes expressed a wider range of
    emotions, both through the voice actors and the animations.
  • edited January 2008
    I also thought it was a bit short. Even though I used a long time, it just felt like less to do before I had finished.

    As always there's a but, coming.
    However there was a lot of great stuff in the episode.

    -Cowbell reference :D
    -
    Baby Sam and Max of course
    (who should get to meet, and get something from)
    -
    Birthday? guy
    -The 'useless'
    bowling ball
    , except I feel it would have been better if you had to get it. Like placing it in front of something else you needed.
    -The fact that Jimmy
    has nothing of importance in this episode.

    About not finding the left side of the cave, I think that's just unlucky. When you are coming from the right side the camera usually pans out, and then it's usually easy to notice.
  • edited January 2008
    I solved the finale by accident.
    I picked up the medallion, stuck it into the snake puddle (just because the puddle hadn't been useful up until then and because the medallion lay next to it anyway)... I had solved the part with the gong next to the vulcano earlier as it was obvious. I stuck the medallion through the silver triangle because I couldn't think of anything else to do. And all of a sudden, the episode was over.
    But why? I loved the episode but I don't understand the end.
    Why is the pink triangle stopped by the red medallion (or mini-gong)? And why does Sam throw it inside and the vulcano erupts afterwards? Was there a dialogue line I missed which said something about the medallion triggering the vulcano?
    I'm lost.
  • edited January 2008
    Bosco said at the beginning that a red octagon causes a triangle to stop. The medallion is an octagon.
  • edited January 2008
    And the volcano was caught just in the nick of time.
  • edited January 2008
    riiiiiiight. okay. thank you guys, that makes sense. but the final puzzle steems a pinch unspectacular in comparison to all those boss-fights. i was as well looking forward to the vulcano god. but, hey, the rest of the episode was awesome as ever
  • edited January 2008
    Sorry to say, I kind of think this episode was one of the worse ones thus far. Here's my excessively wordy review.

    *NOTE: THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. I'm just going to put the entire thing in a spoiler tag, and you can choose whether to read it.*
    Maybe it was just me but some of the humor was a bit lackluster in this one. Many of Bosco's responses were predominated by reinforcing the fact that he's making a bunker, as well as reminding us once again that he's a conspiracy theorist. The first puzzle of the game isn't exactly too difficult, but there are some afterwards that I simply thought were a bit out of place. For instance, a gong in Stinky's won't make portals until you paint it red with a snail? What is the reason for that? All I saw of the gongs on Easter Island was a light-colored, barely noticable bullseye. Telling us that red paint makes things call portals seems completely nonsensical, although I'm sort of hoping I missed something. Then, near the end of the episode, you're required to stop the volcano using a similar technique to the first puzzle. The solution here lies back inside the cave, but this doesn't make sense to me; before leaving, Sam says to Max "There's nothing more we can do down here! Come on, Max!" This quote seemed like a direct hint to me that what I needed to do next to stop the volcano was above ground; a bit counter-intuitive.
    Thankfully, the infamous Soda Poppers are nowhere to be seen in this episode, but they make way for characters that I still don't find so memorable; ancient talking heads, and youth-ified versions of missing people. The talking heads had very little personality that didn't pertain to a puzzle, not many jokes, and I couldn't help but feel that the God of Storms' concept was taken from Team Fortress 2's Pyro (not really a FULLY valid criticism, but...)
    The babies didn't really have such unique personalities either. I thank the developers for not taking diaper jokes too far, but they too didn't really have many of their own jokes. Especially that musician. He just sounded like a geek. And not the amusing, dressing-as-sephiroth kind.
    I'm hoping the ideas in the next episode are fleshed out, and that there are actually a few more jokes. I realize how much writer's block settles in, but try just doing something you don't often do, and see what jokes you can derive from that. Sometimes works for me.
  • edited January 2008
    I suspect the seeming shortness of the game stems partly from the late-stage removal of a significant puzzle in the first act, as Tanukitsune pointed out in the Help forum.
  • edited January 2008
    ATMachine wrote: »
    I suspect the seeming shortness of the game stems partly from the late-stage removal of a significant puzzle in the first act, as Tanukitsune pointed out in the Help forum.

    i dunno... as i said earlier, i played both versions, and the feeling is the same... short, it was a small puzzle that was fun and funny. but yeh, it was certainly way too complicated for where it was in the game and i dont mind seeing it go, i would however have liked to see it preserved in some way, same with quite a few one liners and jokes that were removed in this version (actually i would like to see something like this for ALL the episodes... maybe teltale should release a video, of all the deleted scenes from each of the episodes
  • edited January 2008
    Dangerzone wrote: »
    i dunno... as i said earlier, i played both versions, and the feeling is the same... short, it was a small puzzle that was fun and funny. but yeh, it was certainly way too complicated for where it was in the game and i dont mind seeing it go, i would however have liked to see it preserved in some way, same with quite a few one liners and jokes that were removed in this version (actually i would like to see something like this for ALL the episodes... maybe teltale should release a video, of all the deleted scenes from each of the episodes

    Just curious, what did the deleted puzzles involve. I saw the brief description, but what made them difficult?
  • edited January 2008
    I think the first poster hit the nail on the head -- there are some pacing problems in this episode. Gameplay-wise, I'd say it's probably the best one yet. The puzzles are wonderfully convoluted, just like they should be. They definitely didn't hold your hand in this one, and anyone who says otherwise must have left the hint system on by accident.

    But it is a little anti-climactic. Ice Station Santa had the best structure, I think. (Again, echoing what the original poster said.) I have a feeling there's not much difference in length here, but in how long it feels. The underwater area was the most interesting part of the game, but it occupied the least amount of time. The island area was, frankly, somewhat bland considering that most of the game seemed to take place there, on those two screens. Lots of brilliant stuff going on, but not very exciting.




    By the way, one question: what triggers Sybil and Abe's fight? Game-wise, I mean? I was mostly just walking back and forth between locations and then that happened.
  • edited January 2008


    By the way, one question: what triggers Sybil and Abe's fight? Game-wise, I mean? I was mostly just walking back and forth between locations and then that happened.

    yeah same here .. what sets those events off?
  • edited January 2008
    if i recall correctly... after you get the wind moai to whistle, the next time you return (from either direction)... the fight breaks out
  • edited January 2008
    Okay, I think I remember that happening.


    One other thing I'd like to say is that this episode distinctly lacked a feeling of progress. This is hard to achieve in an episodic game, but I think the past 4 episodes have more or less pulled it off. It's sort of the same thing I said before about pacing, or maybe one is the cause and the other is the effect. Even though this episode had the best puzzles in the series so far, and I really enjoyed solving them, I didn't feel like I was really progressing -- which seems necessary for an "adventure" game. In that sense it's sort of like The Mole, The Mob, and the Meatball -- although I have to stress that it's MUCH better than that one due to the puzzle difficulty and still greater length.
  • edited January 2008
    i thought I was progressing..in the story..you had to get to the underground cave..you had to solve the puzzles to do so
  • edited January 2008
    It was kinda short. :( i hate when things are short! mabye longer episodes would be better
  • edited January 2008
    Just finished the game a couple of days ago for the first time, and I've gotta say I'm really pleased. My favorite lines are the dialog between Stinky and and young Sam and Max. I also like the fact that turning off the light in S&M's office now actually dims the light level in the room (yes, I've been clicking on the light switch in every episode just to see if that would work!) It's the attention to those little details that I really appreciate, and TTG seems to be getting better at this with every episode.

    As far as the puzzles go, I got stuck only about 3 times: with the
    basalt sandwich puzzle
    , the
    "anointing" puzzle
    (that one really had me scratching my head for a while), and the end-game puzzle. I didn't try to rush through the game in one night, either; whenever I got stuck, I quit, and if I good idea came to me I'd load up the game again.

    I didn't really think about the Glenn Miller puzzles too much, because after playing through eight S&M episodes, and countless other adventure games, I've realized that whenever an in-game character wants you to do something, you gotta help 'em, because doing so will help you win the game.
  • edited January 2008
    ..but helping people should also make you feel better. :D
  • edited January 2008
    Morlamweb wrote: »
    I also like the fact that turning off the light in S&M's office now actually dims the light level in the room (yes, I've been clicking on the light switch in every episode just to see if that would work!) It's the attention to those little details that I really appreciate, and TTG seems to be getting better at this with every episode.

    Ah yes, thanks for reminding me about that! Like you I click the light switch every episode, and when it actually did something it made me smile.
  • edited January 2008
    Very nice episode as a whole: Obviously more voice-over talents are employed in this episode than in any other. The cliffhanger at the very end makes my jaw drop. Just two things I don't like.

    The driving game is too hard. It is easy enough to get the quest item, but to collect the gold decal is an ordeal.

    The
    Paint-the-gong
    puzzle makes no sense, so much so that even Sam comments "I don't really expect that to work"

    Also, early in season 1 Sam used to comment that the hydrant outside Bosco's "reminds me of my childhood", but now
    that he is rejuvenated, I'm disappointed that he makes no cracks on it. I was expecting something in the line of "I am too young to mark my territory"
  • edited January 2008
    I have a couple of things to say:
    1. If Sam's tie acts as an aqualung, then why was he concerned about drowning in 106? Did it not function as such back then?
    2. Why did Sam & Max swim home instead of use the DeSoto? All they would have had to do is wait for it...
  • edited January 2008
    how would they do that? the desoto won't come to the island on it's own, or would it? it's not k.i.t.t. or anything.
    Randulf wrote: »
    The driving game is too hard. It is easy enough to get the quest item, but to collect the gold decal is an ordeal.

    The
    Paint-the-gong
    puzzle makes no sense, so much so that even Sam comments "I don't really expect that to work"
    you're right about the driving. i still don't know how i managed to beat the last level. on the other hand it's kind of a bonus. of course, we all want gold, but if a mini-game takes to much time, i usually continue in the main story.
    gong and snail
    combination was a bit odd, but still kind of locigal. if you use the
    gong before it is painted, sam will make a remark that it doesn't work like the ones on the island, but it might. the red snail was one of my choices to alter the gong
    and my thoughts were exactly the same as sam's. it was the funniest moment in the game..at least for me.
  • edited January 2008
    Season 2 i think it's mostly about mystical legends and stuff such as the start
    and end of Ice Station Santa, and it's also about death and coming back as ghosts just like
    Mr.Spatula
    did...oh and the villan is deffinetly
    T-H-E-M & Mr. Spatula
  • edited January 2008
    1. If Sam's tie acts as an aqualung, then why was he concerned about drowning in 106? Did it not function as such back then?
    Maybe it didn't double as an aqualung back then, but after that situation, he decided to order a new tie from Bosco's (with breathing equipment built into it), in case he ever had to be able to breathe underwater again.
  • edited January 2008
    Haggis wrote: »
    Maybe it didn't double as an aqualung back then, but after that situation, he decided to order a new tie from Bosco's (with breathing equipment built into it), in case he ever had to be able to breathe underwater again.

    Bosco's ain't a store no more.foo!
  • edited January 2008
    unsilviu wrote: »
    Bosco's ain't a store no more.foo!
    It still was when he bought the new tie though! :D
  • jmmjmm
    edited January 2008
    I have a couple of things to say:
    If Sam's tie acts as an aqualung, then why was he concerned about drowning in 106? Did it not function as such back then?

    The tie used then only had two modules installed:
    Module 1: Breathing Module
    Module 2: Gravity/Stability Module

    Unfortunately, Module 3 (Underwater breathing) was under repairs after an incident involving a snow globe, a piece of limestone, some sulphuric acid and an unspecified rabbity-thing.
  • edited January 2008
    For all the good jokes, it is the non-verbal humor I think are funniest. Absolutely love Max's expression when
    Sam installs the musical horn on the DeSoto or when he removes it
    . I've done this a dozen times just to watch his face.

    (Which brings to mind another priceless moment:
    Harry's contented smile when he frisks Sam
    , in episode 106)
  • edited January 2008
    Randulf wrote: »
    For all the good jokes, it is the non-verbal humor I think are funniest.

    Agreed. I lost it when the preview screens for 102 came out, and one of them was Sam and Max with the chef's hats and huge grins. (From the Cooking Without Looking section)
  • edited January 2008
    Ah yes, thanks for reminding me about that! Like you I click the light switch every episode, and when it actually did something it made me smile.

    Yeah I loved that, especially the fact that the pop-up text dims too! :D
  • NickTTGNickTTG Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2008
    tobar wrote: »
    Yeah I loved that, especially the fact that the pop-up text dims too! :D

    stop playing with pop-up txt on. its for babies.... and turn off those subtitles already!
  • edited January 2008
    wisp wrote: »
    how would they do that? the desoto won't come to the island on it's own, or would it? it's not k.i.t.t. or anything.
    It did at the Ball of Twine.
  • edited January 2008
    right, but...but...but there was a parking lot.

    okay, you got me there. i just can't remember anything that happened aeons ago...or last year, since i replayed htr.
  • jmmjmm
    edited January 2008
    Ah... the mackerel/trout* puzzle.... good memories.


    *Max "says" it's a trout
  • edited January 2008
    NickTTG wrote: »
    stop playing with pop-up txt on. its for babies.... and turn off those subtitles already!

    Bah, I already have those pesky subtitles off but you leave me my pop-up text!
Sign in to comment in this discussion.