I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old movie could be called a "missed opportunity."
More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."
I haven't actually seen that movie, I'm only 21. Actually I was thinking of some of the earlier Lucas Arts adventures where you would first be shown that a certain action would trigger another unrelated/unlikely event, then later be given a chance to use that unrelated event. Unfortunately, my memory fails me and I can't think of any examples...
The other suspicion I had was that saying "Superball" would have an effect similar to saying "Beetlejuice", and that while it probably wouldn't trap him in a miniature model of a city, it may trigger some funny dialog. Alas, after 10 lightning strikes, I gave up...
I don't know if choosing not to base an entire puzzle around a throwaway reference to a 34-year-old movie could be called a "missed opportunity."
More like "a guaranteed way to get everyone in the audience younger than 35 years old really annoyed at the game designers."
Nonsense, it wouldn't have required you to know the movie to solve the puzzle so why would anybody be annoyed? Like a lot of pop culture references, if you get it, you enjoy it, if you don't you won't even know you missed something.
It would've been exactly like the Moai-in-the-ground puzzle from 202. Which is actually probably why people thought it was a puzzle in the first place.
It would've been exactly like the Moai-in-the-ground puzzle from 202. Which is actually probably why people thought it was a puzzle in the first place.
Why? He didn't blindly bash it or anything. In fact, he had plenty of good things to say as well. Personally, 203 is my favorite episode, but that doesn't mean it has to be everybody's favorite.
considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.
That's the thing, though. A review isn't based on popular opinion. I dislike Ocarina of Time, and if I were to review it, I'd give it a low score... even though most gamers love it.
and thats another problem, too many bad reviewers have bad opinions.
Im sure there's a reviewer out there who could write nothing but positive things on Battlefield Earth becuase its their opinion. But getting paid to dump Sam and Max below the 7 mark in what's known to be one of the most memorable episodes yet is just crazy. shoot me for being a sam and max fanboy, or just becuase i'm opinionated.
Hey, you're preaching to the choir, man. I'm a Sam and Max fan too. But I don't see why he has to like the game just because everyone else does.
I mean, I'm a writer, and I've had people say straight out "I don't like your work." But I don't get offended or say "You should like it. Other people do." I just say "Why not?" and take their reply into consideration for whatever I write next. I'd *like* universally good feedback, but it's not possible. Even The Bard himself had critics.
considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.
For what it's worth, Evan Dickens over at Adventure Gamers had similar things to say, though he didn't score it as harshly, so that's now two critics. I wouldn't say "pretty much 99% of people." I don't agree with those assessments of the episode - 203 is one of my favorites - but I think people are well entitled to their own opinion, and my feeling on this sort of thing is that generally waging an internet war against them isn't going to do much other than put "the fans" in a bad light. That said, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I'm not the boss of you, so do what you think is best. Leave a flaming paper bag full of poo on his doorstep if it would make you feel better! Just don't expect it to do anything, since what you're really asking him to do is change his subjective opinion on a creative work.
Leave a flaming paper bag full of poo on his doorstep if it would make you feel better!
That was just too funny, now I can't get that mental image out of my head.
Just don't expect it to do anything, since what you're really asking him to do is change his subjective opinion on a creative work.
I agree that it would be a bad idea to attack this reviewer in a flame war. However, the way the review is written implies that it is not a personal opinion. The reviewer constantly talks about 'we', implying that perhaps the whole of IGN don't like the game too much. And of course if IGN gives a game a 6.8, everyone says 'IGN gave it a 6.8', not 'Reviewer X gave it a 6.8'. Which is reason enough to at least offer one's own opinion to balance that out a little, which is what the comments section is for - as long as it's all polite and nobody resorts to flaming, naturally.
considering they gave most of the other episodes over the score of 8, this is just a slap in the face. especially when pretty much 99% of the people who've played it loved it.
What Jake said. I don't see it as "a slap in the face" but as a reviewer giving his opinion of a game, which is what game reviewers do. If he'd started with paragraphs talking about himself and how he's too cool for zombies and that whole thing is played out, that'd be one thing. If he'd gotten all the details wrong, that'd be another. And if he'd spent the whole review taking offense at every single thing in the game, and saying that because he doesn't like the game, nobody else should either, then that'd be just asinine. But he just said he didn't think it was funny.
Of course, I don't agree. Personally, I think 203 is my favorite of all the Sam & Max episodes released so far. But I'm taking it as a good sign that the reviews are contradicting each other more and more; it means you're getting into personal opinions. If everyone were making the exact same complaint about the episodes, across the board, then that would mean there's likely a fundamental problem. But as far as I'm concerned, if somebody says 202 was funnier than 203, then cool.
What Jake said. I don't see it as "a slap in the face" but as a reviewer giving his opinion of a game, which is what game reviewers do. If he'd started with paragraphs talking about himself and how he's too cool for zombies and that whole thing is played out, that'd be one thing. If he'd gotten all the details wrong, that'd be another. And if he'd spent the whole review taking offense at every single thing in the game, and saying that because he doesn't like the game, nobody else should either, then that'd be just asinine. But he just said he didn't think it was funny.
Of course, I don't agree. Personally, I think 203 is my favorite of all the Sam & Max episodes released so far. But I'm taking it as a good sign that the reviews are contradicting each other more and more; it means you're getting into personal opinions. If everyone were making the exact same complaint about the episodes, across the board, then that would mean there's likely a fundamental problem. But as far as I'm concerned, if somebody says 202 was funnier than 203, then cool.
Exactly, maybe the humor was not to his liking, he doesn't like zombies(!), he had a bad day in the moon or whatever. He is entitled to express his view (even if it represents IGN). I have found Steve's reviews to be good enough in the past, I just think he didn't get some of the jokes or references and that took away a great chunk of the score and considering the quality of the previous episodes and the "target rich" scenario (Zombies!), he ended with too much expectations.
Still, a critic/reviewer opinion is worth less than a cent if you have 500 or more people claiming, sometimes very vocally, that this episode is his/her favorite (so far!) over the net. Specially seeing the 8+ average reader score, or the near 8 average score from the press besides the 6.8 score given by IGN.
I have to say that loved this episode, I thought after solving a few puzzles it be over but so happy to see it kept on going. This time I decided not to cheat which was great
8D. I also really loved the villian character made me laugh, and the line just keep getting funnier! I loved the plotline and twists and I loved the music it was really catchy. I would spend ages just watching sam and max dance. I still don't still what the main storyline is (if there is one like season 1) which I guess is a good thing, that mexcian must mean something...
The only thing I didn't like was there was a fair amount of bugs I found, such as when you could her Vurgen in the zombie factory even though was upstairs asleep, and when I turned the hints on a bit max kept saying "lets go to stuttgart" even though we were already there...
But other than that great work telltale this is my fav episode yet the voice acting is getting better to!
I think the quickly aging Mexican will save you in the finale while being close to death (due to his age). Then again I think he will save them and then just drop dead out o' nowhere and Max will make a funny comment on his age!
The only thing I didn't like was there was a fair amount of bugs I found, such as when you could her Vurgen in the zombie factory even though was upstairs asleep, and when I turned the hints on a bit max kept saying "lets go to stuttgart" even though we were already there...
But other than that great work telltale this is my fav episode yet the voice acting is getting better to!
We released an updated version of the game on Friday which fixes these issues (as well as the floating liquor bottle issue)! You can download it from your My Telltale page, or from here. Just uninstall the old version. (Note that you will have to erase your save games and use new ones -- since the odd game states like jurgen still speaking from beyond the grave are saved into your savegame files.)
just thought I'd post this...Night of the Raving Dead was presented on Slovenian television just a few minutes ago. nothin' but good critics for the game. and they recommend it to everyone who likes puzzles and good humour! you're really spreadin' all over Europe,aren't ya?
We released an updated version of the game on Friday which fixes these issues (as well as the floating liquor bottle issue)! You can download it from your My Telltale page, or from here. Just uninstall the old version. (Note that you will have to erase your save games and use new ones -- since the odd game states like jurgen still speaking from beyond the grave are saved into your savegame files.)
I admit, a lot of the pop culture references totally go over my head (which is unusual, but Sam & Max usually is, in a good way), but I found most of them in this episode (apart from the Man With the Golden Gun, but that was because I didn't try to alchemy my gun).
Saying that, did anyone notice the two references to the game series Resident Evil? The more obvious one is the randomly placed typewriter ribbon in the zombie-filled castle followed by Max's comment that he'd prefer healing herbs. The second reference was the "You are dead" message, it's done in the exact same style, font, and bloody color as when you die in the RE games.
Only to veterans of the RE Series. It was pretty obscure to me, having not played ANY RE games, but the healing herbs was the tip off as to what it was talking about.
I wasn't even aware there were other jokes about RPGs in the Sam & Max series. Someone should make a post listing all pop culture references, parodies, and whatnot, for people like me who have the jokes go right over their head (some of the time...and I thought I was well-educated, but subtle humor is apparently still lost on me....)
I'm pretty sure that if you were to explain all of the references in all of the episodes, the list would be longer than the combined script for the entire series.
I'm pretty sure that if you were to explain all of the references in all of the episodes, the list would be longer than the combined script for the entire series.
One can only imagine how long the list would be for the animated series compared to the writen script.
Night of the Raving Dead was presented on Slovenian television just a few minutes ago. nothin' but good critics for the game. and they recommend it to everyone who likes puzzles and good humour!
I wasn't even aware there were other jokes about RPGs in the Sam & Max series.
Well, there are a few that leap right to my mind, but that's mostly because as a former RPG'er I pick up on this stuff.
105 - Turn based combat like old console games, even newer games sometimes. The blue slime was a reference to Dragon Warrior for the NES (I loved that game), the whole end of the game was a parody of text based RPG's/MUD's. The +1Armor/+2Sword are common to plenty of RPG's
202 - Bosco says when you're trying to stop the rampaging Bermuda Triangle that if you show it a blue icosahedron (a 20 sided die), it will go to its mother's basement and draw maps, or something along those lines.
Oh, right, back to the actual topic. I'd say this is my third favorite episode after Abe Lincoln Must Die and Reality 2.0. Alot of the zombie humor might have been lost on me, where with the other episodes mentioned I laughed out loud at almost everything, including lines I've heard people call obscure. I never really liked Paper Boy, so the driving game was a bit of a let down, but I did get the Young Frankenstein reference and I'm 27. I clicked Superball like 5 times every time I chatted with him so I'd get that line. I suck at puzzle solving, I play the games for the humor using a walk-through, and this one was a little less on the humor than those other two, but that still makes it third in a series that's quite strong overall, I've re-played all the episodes to find lines I might have missed and always find something funny (who said they have no replay value?)
Comments
What he said.
I haven't actually seen that movie, I'm only 21. Actually I was thinking of some of the earlier Lucas Arts adventures where you would first be shown that a certain action would trigger another unrelated/unlikely event, then later be given a chance to use that unrelated event. Unfortunately, my memory fails me and I can't think of any examples...
The other suspicion I had was that saying "Superball" would have an effect similar to saying "Beetlejuice", and that while it probably wouldn't trap him in a miniature model of a city, it may trigger some funny dialog. Alas, after 10 lightning strikes, I gave up...
Nonsense, it wouldn't have required you to know the movie to solve the puzzle so why would anybody be annoyed? Like a lot of pop culture references, if you get it, you enjoy it, if you don't you won't even know you missed something.
:eek:
*embarrassed for not having remembered that*
*goes off to find a copy of Young Frankenstein*
http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/855/855412p1.html
Why? He didn't blindly bash it or anything. In fact, he had plenty of good things to say as well. Personally, 203 is my favorite episode, but that doesn't mean it has to be everybody's favorite.
Im sure there's a reviewer out there who could write nothing but positive things on Battlefield Earth becuase its their opinion. But getting paid to dump Sam and Max below the 7 mark in what's known to be one of the most memorable episodes yet is just crazy. shoot me for being a sam and max fanboy, or just becuase i'm opinionated.
I mean, I'm a writer, and I've had people say straight out "I don't like your work." But I don't get offended or say "You should like it. Other people do." I just say "Why not?" and take their reply into consideration for whatever I write next. I'd *like* universally good feedback, but it's not possible. Even The Bard himself had critics.
For what it's worth, Evan Dickens over at Adventure Gamers had similar things to say, though he didn't score it as harshly, so that's now two critics. I wouldn't say "pretty much 99% of people." I don't agree with those assessments of the episode - 203 is one of my favorites - but I think people are well entitled to their own opinion, and my feeling on this sort of thing is that generally waging an internet war against them isn't going to do much other than put "the fans" in a bad light. That said, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I'm not the boss of you, so do what you think is best. Leave a flaming paper bag full of poo on his doorstep if it would make you feel better!
I agree that it would be a bad idea to attack this reviewer in a flame war. However, the way the review is written implies that it is not a personal opinion. The reviewer constantly talks about 'we', implying that perhaps the whole of IGN don't like the game too much. And of course if IGN gives a game a 6.8, everyone says 'IGN gave it a 6.8', not 'Reviewer X gave it a 6.8'. Which is reason enough to at least offer one's own opinion to balance that out a little, which is what the comments section is for - as long as it's all polite and nobody resorts to flaming, naturally.
Of course, I don't agree. Personally, I think 203 is my favorite of all the Sam & Max episodes released so far. But I'm taking it as a good sign that the reviews are contradicting each other more and more; it means you're getting into personal opinions. If everyone were making the exact same complaint about the episodes, across the board, then that would mean there's likely a fundamental problem. But as far as I'm concerned, if somebody says 202 was funnier than 203, then cool.
Exactly, maybe the humor was not to his liking, he doesn't like zombies(!), he had a bad day in the moon or whatever. He is entitled to express his view (even if it represents IGN). I have found Steve's reviews to be good enough in the past, I just think he didn't get some of the jokes or references and that took away a great chunk of the score and considering the quality of the previous episodes and the "target rich" scenario (Zombies!), he ended with too much expectations.
Still, a critic/reviewer opinion is worth less than a cent if you have 500 or more people claiming, sometimes very vocally, that this episode is his/her favorite (so far!) over the net. Specially seeing the 8+ average reader score, or the near 8 average score from the press besides the 6.8 score given by IGN.
Had me in stitches!
8D. I also really loved the villian character made me laugh, and the line just keep getting funnier! I loved the plotline and twists and I loved the music it was really catchy. I would spend ages just watching sam and max dance. I still don't still what the main storyline is (if there is one like season 1) which I guess is a good thing, that mexcian must mean something...
The only thing I didn't like was there was a fair amount of bugs I found, such as when you could her Vurgen in the zombie factory even though was upstairs asleep, and when I turned the hints on a bit max kept saying "lets go to stuttgart" even though we were already there...
But other than that great work telltale this is my fav episode yet the voice acting is getting better to!
We released an updated version of the game on Friday which fixes these issues (as well as the floating liquor bottle issue)! You can download it from your My Telltale page, or from here. Just uninstall the old version. (Note that you will have to erase your save games and use new ones -- since the odd game states like jurgen still speaking from beyond the grave are saved into your savegame files.)
....
BANANA BREAD!
Not a banana phone? bo-pi-do-po-dop
oh cool awesome 8D Glad to see that got fixed
Saying that, did anyone notice the two references to the game series Resident Evil? The more obvious one is the randomly placed typewriter ribbon in the zombie-filled castle followed by Max's comment that he'd prefer healing herbs. The second reference was the "You are dead" message, it's done in the exact same style, font, and bloody color as when you die in the RE games.
Only to veterans of the RE Series. It was pretty obscure to me, having not played ANY RE games, but the healing herbs was the tip off as to what it was talking about.
Reality 2.0 had turn-based combat sequences! Woo!
One can only imagine how long the list would be for the animated series compared to the writen script.
Woohoo! Thank you, Slovenia!
Well, there are a few that leap right to my mind, but that's mostly because as a former RPG'er I pick up on this stuff.
105 - Turn based combat like old console games, even newer games sometimes. The blue slime was a reference to Dragon Warrior for the NES (I loved that game), the whole end of the game was a parody of text based RPG's/MUD's. The +1Armor/+2Sword are common to plenty of RPG's
202 - Bosco says when you're trying to stop the rampaging Bermuda Triangle that if you show it a blue icosahedron (a 20 sided die), it will go to its mother's basement and draw maps, or something along those lines.
Oh, right, back to the actual topic. I'd say this is my third favorite episode after Abe Lincoln Must Die and Reality 2.0. Alot of the zombie humor might have been lost on me, where with the other episodes mentioned I laughed out loud at almost everything, including lines I've heard people call obscure. I never really liked Paper Boy, so the driving game was a bit of a let down, but I did get the Young Frankenstein reference and I'm 27. I clicked Superball like 5 times every time I chatted with him so I'd get that line. I suck at puzzle solving, I play the games for the humor using a walk-through, and this one was a little less on the humor than those other two, but that still makes it third in a series that's quite strong overall, I've re-played all the episodes to find lines I might have missed and always find something funny (who said they have no replay value?)