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302: Too Easy? What do you think?

EznyEzny
edited May 2010 in Sam & Max
Before you accuse me of being 'that guy' :rolleyes: just let me say I LOVED 302 [read my review in top sticky thread if you don't believe me], just thought it was too easy... Wanna see if I'm alone on this...

Maybe I just prefer extremely hard puzzle games...:confused:
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Comments

  • lombrelombre
    edited May 2010
    In my opinion, this episode was the perfect difficulty. For me it was pretty much the same difficulty as Tales, SBCG4AP, and most of Season 2, and that's just how I like my adventure games.
  • Ray-The-SunRay-The-Sun
    edited May 2010
    I don't think it was too easy, but I did notice that the majority of the puzzles are "Switch to a different reel and then come back with a new dialogue option".
  • sam&maxfansam&maxfan
    edited May 2010
    I was actually able to figure out everything without using the guide, which is nice for a change. However, I still felt challenged and intrigued by the game's puzzles. In fact, I felt even more clever than usual because the logic was more down to Earth. Most of the episodes in Season 2 were about the same difficulty too, at least for me.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    I see some comments about Season 2.


    Personally I feel like Season 2 was more challenging than 301&302...

    In fact I think Season 2 had a PERFECT difficulty level, just about every episode. So for me personally, I'm not seeing Season 2 and 3 as having the same difficulty level. At least not yet.


    Also, the only puzzle in 302 I got stuck on for more than 5 or 10 minutes was
    getting across to put the blocks in the marquee.
  • lombrelombre
    edited May 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    I see some comments about Season 2.


    Personally I feel like Season 2 was more challenging than 301&302...
    I won't argue that 301 was less challenging. I hardly felt like any of the puzzles in that game were puzzles. Personally, if the rest of the season had the same difficulty as Sammun-Mak, I'd be a happy camper.
  • RemolayRemolay
    edited May 2010
    I felt like this was the most perfect one on difficulty, season two ones I've played were a bit too hard and season 1 too easy, except for Abe Lincoln Must Die, that was a perfect one for the free episode
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    Also, not sure if this is relevant or not but, I thought the entire season of ToMI was too easy [except maybe the beginning of Trial&Execution]. I know for a fact I'm not alone on this one...

    I hate be complain or whatever, but difficulty level is always an issue with me in adventure games. That is, if I think they're too easy...

    I never got mad at an adventure game for being 'too hard' so maybe it's just me [not that I'm mad at 302 I'm not lol]. After all, if you get stuck just look up some hints or something, or if you're desperate just seek out the solution. But if it's too easy, well, there's no real fix for that...
  • adventureaddictadventureaddict
    edited May 2010
    I found it just right. And in that, one of the hardest episodes seen from Telltale.
    Got stuck a few times, felt great!
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    adventureaddict wrote: »
    I found it just right. And in that, one of the hardest episodes seen from Telltale.
    Got stuck a few times, felt great!

    Harder than Moai Better Blues? :o


    edit: Off the top of my head I would say that's probably my pick as hardest edpisode from S&M at least. I also like this episode a lot. Haven't played Season 1 & 2 in a while though...
  • lombrelombre
    edited May 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    Harder than Moai Better Blues? :o
    I didn't find Moai to be very hard at all.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    lombre wrote: »
    I didn't find Moai to be very hard at all.

    Wow!
  • Hassat HunterHassat Hunter
    edited May 2010
    Well, it's harder than 301, but easier than season 2. Personally I think it could be a bit harder, but really a lot is probably a bad thing.
  • lombrelombre
    edited May 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    Wow!
    I mean, it wasn't easy or anything, but it wasn't as challenging as say... Chariot of the Dogs. That was probably the hardest Sam & Max episode for me.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    lombre wrote: »
    I mean, it wasn't easy or anything, but it wasn't as challenging as say... Chariot of the Dogs. That was probably the hardest Sam & Max episode for me.

    That one was tricky too.

    I got stuck on the DJ's beat machine in Night of the Raving dead for a while, I think I solved that one with dumb luck actually. : D
    I think that whole dance room in general took me a while.
  • FalancaFalanca
    edited May 2010
    I feel like this thread has turned into a brag-center for people who finished the episode two.

    Well, I finished it, too. And it was hard, twice as harder than the first episode (I know it's not saying much, but still). But the puzzles made more sense than Moai Better Blues'. So it's great, just as how I expected from Sam and Max to be.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    Hassat Hunter wrote: »
    Well, it's harder than 301, but easier than season 2. Personally I think it could be a bit harder, but really a lot is probably a bad thing.

    301 took me a little longer, but maybe because I wasn't warmed up, not playing any new adventure games in about 7-8 months I suppose. Maybe part of it is that I'm just warmed up now so it feels a little easier? That can't be all of it though..:confused:
  • lombrelombre
    edited May 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    That one was tricky too.

    I got stuck on the DJ's beat machine in Night of the Raving dead for a while, I think I solved that one with dumb luck actually. : D
    I think that whole dance room in general took me a while.

    For some reason, every time I needed to
    use the poems on the Zombie Factoriy doors
    , I was completely stumped. Not just the first time, both times.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    Falanca wrote: »
    I feel like this thread has turned into a brag-center for people who finished the episode two.

    ???? Well that's not what I intended sorry if you feel that way.


    edit: I'm hungry..
  • FalancaFalanca
    edited May 2010
    Catfish33 wrote: »
    ???? Well that's not what I intended sorry if you feel that way.


    edit: I'm hungry..

    Oh, no, I don't mean you're trying to do that kind of a thing, it just shocked me noone ever replied on this thread by pointing out that it kind of, well, takes some time to complete.
  • EznyEzny
    edited May 2010
    Falanca wrote: »
    Oh, no, I don't mean you're trying to do that kind of a thing, it just shocked me noone ever replied on this thread by pointing out that it kind of, well, takes some time to complete.

    lol ok :)

    For the record it was a 6 hour run for me, maybe a few minutes more... I don't skip cut scenes and like to milk all the dialouge, even it means restarting the reels over a few times [reel 2&4]. : )

    edit: including food and smoke breaks.
  • Hassat HunterHassat Hunter
    edited May 2010
    Falanca wrote: »
    it kind of, well, takes some time to complete.
    That's a bad thing?

    I think it's great!

    EDIT:
    Glad that when you did all 3 other reals you can do the "wrong" reel 4 answers without getting cut out.
    That certainly would have made a certain Wallace & Gromnit 2 ending a lot more bearable to get all the gaglines.
  • FalancaFalanca
    edited May 2010
    Hassat Hunter wrote: »
    That's a bad thing?

    I think it's great!

    EDIT:
    Glad that when you did all 3 other reals you can do the "wrong" reel 4 answers without getting cut out.
    That certainly would have made a certain Wallace & Gromnit 2 ending a lot more bearable to get all the gaglines.

    It may get kind of unpleasantly frustrating when you start your game at 3am.

    Yeah, it's definitely my fault, but still.
  • onlyamonkeyonlyamonkey
    edited May 2010
    it went very smooth sailing thru it. coulda been a tad harder, but im still extremely happy.
  • The Big zThe Big z
    edited May 2010
    I'd like to see harder games. The episodic games always seem too easy simply because I always know the thing I need to solve the puzzles must be withing a very limited amount of game sets. Even the more difficult puzzles really aren't that hard to figure out given with the limited amount of items, locations, and actions for a given episode.

    However, given the quality of humor, animation, dialog, and actions on most of Telltale's games... that keeps me coming back. I really would like to see what the company could do with a full production, non-episodic, adventure game in the style of TMI or SnM. I'd really like to see them do that with perhaps the Grim Fandango world, if they could get the rights. "The adventures of Glottis" anyone?
  • StrawHat89StrawHat89
    edited May 2010
    It was a bit confusing at the beginning, but once you get the ball rolling it's not too bad. I didn't think the Penal Zone was all that bad either, though. Season 2 seemed to have more difficult puzzles.
  • AvistewAvistew
    edited May 2010
    I didn't get stuck, but I enjoyed the episode (as opposed to Tales, which was "I didn't get stuck and I hated that"). Don't think it was too easy, although I find it surprising that I played on the hardest difficulty. Would make sense to me if it was the easiest or second easiest one.
    I just... Don't understand where people could get stuck, I guess.

    Anyways, I like it the way it was.
  • AvelAvel
    edited May 2010
    Only time I was stuck was the very end
    with the torch
    and that really was only a problem when the hotspots aren't revealed. Other than that, the first two episodes have been far easier (or perhaps more logical) than Season Two's puzzles, but honestly I like the level of difficulty.
  • PsyPsy
    edited May 2010
    Difficulty is something I think about a lot [NB: I'm not a designer, I don't write our games or anything, this is just me rambling]

    I came from a place where the cool thing to do was rag on game developers for making content that's too easy. And that made sense, because we devoured their content FAR faster than they could make it, and we repeatedly beat content that was too difficult for the designers themselves.

    I can totally understand hardcore adventure gamers looking at 301 and 302 and saying, "Wow these puzzles are so simple." But consider that most people posting on these forums are the high end of adventure gaming skill and are probably the minority. I feel like it's a success when people say they didn't have to look up a walkthrough, or that they could work out the puzzles logically rather than resorting to the spam-it-with-items theory of gameplay.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is that I can totally understand wanting games that are super difficult, it just doesn't make sense to alienate a huge portion of our players just because the best of the best think it's easy >_>
  • StrawHat89StrawHat89
    edited May 2010
    Psy is right. This season's difficulty is a LOT more balanced than the previous one, which did have some situations of spamming items until you find the solution. That seems to be what people think of when they mean "difficult" adventure games, but that's not really fun for a lot of people.
  • AvistewAvistew
    edited May 2010
    I've never been called "the best of the best", "a hardcore gamer" or "at the high end of X gaming skills" before.
    I feel all teary.
    You're like, topping the whole "I added you tag for you" thing.
  • Astro GnocciAstro Gnocci
    edited May 2010
    I found the difficulty perfect.
    Didn't get stuck either (i usually have to look up at least one hint or two), but still had to actually think to figure stuff out.
    To me at least, the balance was just right, even if it's obviously a piece of cake compared to the old classics, so i understand why the more "hardcore adventure gamers" could complain.
  • BaliameBaliame
    edited May 2010
    The difficulty was spot on, and finally all the puzzles made sense.
  • corruptbigginscorruptbiggins
    edited May 2010
    I feel that the difficulty was just about right in that some puzzles did make me stop and think about how to solve them and that gave moments and flashes of inspiration when I did get the solution which I love getting when playing adventure games. Gives me a sense of achievement.
  • ThijssjihTThijssjihT
    edited May 2010
    This is better then episodes with problems that are almost unbeatable. I agree, it was very easy. But to make all puzzles from a little easy to very hard, without making any puzzles too hard and unbeatable, is an impossible mission. So I think they did a darn good job!
  • The Big zThe Big z
    edited May 2010
    Addressing psy's point, even an adventure game could have a difficultly level setting to provide better balance. I'm not talking about the hint level system either. One of the original monkey islands game had a great 'expert' mode which made several of the puzzles harder by adding more, and sometimes lateral thinking, steps to obtaining key items. So, even though i agree telltale episodic games are having a good balance of difficulty for most of the audience, more can be done to provide a challenge to those of us which have more hair to pull out and like to cut the cucumber lengthwise.
  • guitarsareboringguitarsareboring
    edited May 2010
    Overall the episode was quite straightforward. I resorted to the walkthrough once and that was to find out
    I needed to be cursed in order to repel Amelia to the Elf. I guess I just didn't think to go back to the Moleman again and convince him his daughter was in love with yet another person
    - a solution that I think was a little overused in this episode.

    So I think the difficulty was about right but I didn't *enjoy* the episode quite as much as previous ones. The story, dialogue and characters just weren't as interesting and I found myself just wanting to get it finished. The reel thing was a great idea, akin to Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle's multiple settings - and at times it was like future vision without, well, future vision.
  • taumeltaumel
    edited May 2010
    Overall i was fine with the difficulty. I got stuck twice, then some riddles were too easy as you already knew what to do a few steps into the future and then sometimes i didn't get it because i was thinking into a different direction and the solution seemed kind of weird to me.

    I guess this thinking the same way like a designer thing, sometimes works better, sometimes worse.
  • HaydenHayden
    edited May 2010
    For me personally, I would have liked it to be a little more challenging than it was. At least it wasn't ridiculously easy though; there were a few moments where I actually had to stop and think for a while.
  • Hassat HunterHassat Hunter
    edited May 2010
    Avistew wrote: »
    I've never been called "the best of the best", "a hardcore gamer" or "at the high end of X gaming skills" before.
    Same here. Well, maybe aside from the hardcore gamer thingie then.

    It was rare for me to finish an episode of even the first 2 seasons of S&M without consorting to a walkthrough, let stand the games of old...
  • caeskacaeska
    edited May 2010
    I think these games have only become easier. Seasons 1 and 2 had me stumped on several occasions, then Tales was fairly simple and 301 and 302 have been even easier. I haven't had any problems on any of the puzzles and I've gotten through the episodes fairly quickly. I for one would love to see harder games, especially when it comes to the final stand-off puzzles (like Papierwaite and the toybox). Tone the difficulty up abit and it would be alot more rewarding.
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