Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock

[Somefool]

http://www.fileplanet.com/169856/160000/fileinfo/Sam-&-Max-Episode-1:-Culture-Shock-Demo

Demo out without any notice. I'm rather surprised, but the fact that is it in episodes makes me wonder if the cost will really be worth the amount of time I can get out of it.

 

[Kakashi]

Not really worth your money, its maybe about a 30-40 minute playtime to play through the entire episode. I've played Episode 1 already (I have a Gametap subscription.) Its basically a point and click kind of game.

The talking gets quite boring after awhile. The story was kind of boring too.

 

[Asus]

Not really worth your money, its maybe about a 30-40 minute playtime to play through the entire episode. I've played Episode 1 already (I have a Gametap subscription.) Its basically a point and click kind of game.

The talking gets quite boring after awhile. The story was kind of boring too.

Did you play the 1st one (not talking about episode 1)? How did it compare to that? Seems very similar from what I've read. dunno

 

[Hazar]

I loved it actually

it took me about 2 hours or so to get through the first one (a lot less the second time through of course) but its worth the $9.99 or whatever for a 1 month gametap subscription imo

 

[Lucid]

I'm getting a bit irritated with this episodic crap... :|

 

[halem111]

ok i have played the demo, and omg that was oodles of fun.....i loled so hard when sam said he let the rat go lololol
i think people need to realise that games like this (sam n max) would not be possible without it being an episode......there is NNNOOOO way that any developer would have made this a full single player game....theres just to much risk due to it being a point and click adventure
therefore you should be glad that developers are embracing episodic content to bring us games that may never have made it out otherwise
then there is also the gagillion advantages of episodic content, like the quality is far higher than a normal game, there are less bugs and the story can be concentrated on, and the main part is that its FUN
dare i mention games like doom 3 where you paid £35 for a game that just repeats the same thing every 30 mins......therefore stfu xlucidx

 

[destrukt]

I'm getting a bit irritated with this episodic crap... :|

Yup, me too.

I'll try the demo anyway.

 

[Lucid]

...therefore stfu xlucidx

Wow, that was really uncalled for.

Your point is invalid, There's no way a dev could have made this a full singleplayer game?

What about the original Sam and Max, or every other adventure game made by Lucasarts?
Those were all full games, they weren't episodes that were sold seperately.

Why choose to do this crap now?

You. shut the fuck up. :|

Or rethink what you just said and come back later.

 

[StardogChampion]

I'm getting a bit irritated with this episodic crap... :|

Agreed.

The problem is that I don't think they sell well either. You might get stuck with Episode 1 & 2 and that's it.

 

[halem111]

lol sry dude i got a lil too into my post lol...didnt mean to cause offence lol

However, you cant just say oh they have done sam and max games in the past why cant they do them now
for starters

1. consoles are now huge, and pc gaming is gettin more and more a niche platform....generally an adventure game is only good on pc, therefore the sales expetancy is not there...therefore unless its a proved game, its a big risk

2. Its an adventure game.....you tell me when the last adventure game that came out sold really well....i cant think of ONE in the last few years, therefore releasing an adventure game now is a big financial risk

3. Back when s&m came out adventure games were a big thing, not so much now, unless its got super graphics and u can blow stuff up or shoot or race or whatever then its not going to appeal to the masses....therefore again a big risk financially....

4. production costs are a lot higher now days then they were 10 years ago....sam and max could be produced by a couple of people....nowdays you need a team of highly paid professionals.....and again if the game flops its a financial deficit

OK so now we know the reasons why producing a FULL single player game is financially incorrect lets examine why its correct to do an episodic game

1. in episodes quality is generally alot higher than in a single player game.....how many times have you played a game that after a cuple of hours seemed repetitive or just adding more levels for the sake of prolonging the hours u need to complete it....if i had a few quid for every time thats happened id have a nice little savings account

2. Financially it costs less to produce episodes.....therefore less risk if it bombs

3. Less money spent on advertising (especially in the case of sam and max) because as more episodes come out more people will have heard of previous episodes.....getting good reviews..... and because the episodes are going to be released in a short time span sam and max will stay in the minds of potential consumers

4. By releasing an episode, things can be learnt quickly....for example a gameplay element people may not like they can learn from and take out or modify that kind of gameplay in the next episode....also things that people liked they can add more of in the next one........ala hl2...how boring was the speedboat level it went on faaarr to long....but it was absolutly awesome for like an hour but when it got to 2 hours it was just boring...valve learnt from this and changed in next episodes

5. They can get publicity and interest by offering exclusivity to things like gametap...who in turn advertised the whole we have sam n max thing....which is good for both gametap and sam n max.....good for sam n max because it means digital distribution ie low cost....therefore are able to charge lower and also make a higher profit margin

6. NOW THIS IS THE BIGGEST POINT OF ALL......game companys are sticking to make a 12 hour single player game model and release it all at once.....lucasarts for example....now the reason for their not being a sam and max game all these years is BECAUSE of lucasarts not wanting to make a full single player adventure game....because it just WOULD NOT be profitable for them in any way....which proves that episodic gaming has its place.....awesome games like sam and max would never ever ever be made unless episodic gaming was an option....now i dont know about you but that sucks, and if anything if episodic gaming wasnt an option we would get more ea drivel from more companies....better graphics, same gameplay as last game (exact the same in most cases), one extra feature, some taken away, and oh so many other things that are wrong with ea games.

oh and 7. episodic games cost less than full 12 hours games...so they DONT have to sell as much as normal games.....however if you put all the episodes together and then added all the figures up you will probably find that episodic games outsell a normal game...unless its hl2 or summit, so comparing a full games sales to an episodic games sales is a moot point its like comparing oranges to a bycycle

Now tell me that you think episodic gaming is crap.....with valid points that you can back up....because i know that you wont be able to

 

[VictimOfScience]

I hate episodic gaming, but I understand the reasons for it, esp from the perspective of a smaller, independent developer. It is much more cost-effective, you get great feedback and can change the game on the fly (sort of), its much easier to meet deadlines, and you don't have to worry about finding a publisher if you release it digitally. Makes tons of sense but it doesn't mean I have to like it which is why I am waiting until all of the episodes are out before I make the purchase.

 

[destrukt]

Finished the demo, took about ~ 5-7 mins.


The voice for Sam is annoying / trying too hard and the one for Max is bearable though for the other character in this scene, a rat, it's decent.

I liked the dialogue a lot for the most part and made me laugh a few times.

The puzzle was incredibly simple so hopefully the full game requires some thought.

Graphics are good (Relatively) and suit the game.

The GUI is really good too though I was a tiny bit annoyed by the buttons (Or lack of) though in options I only changed the resolution so there might be something.


I'm going to buy it and most of you should too.

 

[halem111]

yeah i agree with destrukt, however i did like the dialogue, espeically of sam...and the rat was awesome too. me also getting the game

 

[clarky003]

I have to agree episodic stuff is a bit annoying when everyone seems to want to do it, but it's Sam and Max! yay.

 

[Tamer17]

Sam&Max took episodic to the extreme , which isn't good. 2hr of gamplay is just weak no matter how it costs. More so with adventure games which are best experienced from start to finish and I wonder if you have alot of interactions in a 2 hr game.

Downloading the demo.

 

[halem111]

for starters its a 4-5 hour game
2ndly it costs 6 quid...now it costs that much to go to the cinema let alone play a game
3rdly its sam and max
4thly its sam and max

 

[Lucid]

overkillrly

Episodic stuff is still annoying.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

I liked the demo, seemed like a good old adventure game but with sparkling new graphics, voice acting was good, too. I think I might just buy this one, t'least the first episode, see if it's worth it.