Sam & Max: Hit the Road

The Good
Undoubtedly one of the funniest, best adventure games I’ve ever played (and I’ve played a LOT!)

Released in 1993 (wow, is it that long ago already??), Sam And Max is a classic comedy adventure game from LucasArts, ranking right up there with Day Of The Tentacle and the God-like legend that is Monkey Island.

As much as I love just about all the classic Sierra adventure game series (the Space Quests, the Kings Quests, the Leisure Suit Larrys, etc.), this game has more "laugh out loud" material than many of those titles, particularly late ones where Sierra just seemed to run out of steam.
Even by LucasArts' often bizarre standards, Sam And Max is REALLY weird – when a game stars a big overgrown canine and a hyperactive, occasionally psychopathic little bunny, you just KNOW your in for something not exactly run of the mill!
There’s some truly bizarre humour that has to be seen to be believed, and as with most bizarre humour, much of it has an underlying dark side to it. But I loved it. Its strange sideways humour, laced with many various pop-culture references, is great is what makes it so memorable.

Many of the gags are of the so-bad-they’re-good variety, but they’re done so knowingly, so tongue-in-cheek and rather self-mockingly that they work.
The often laugh-out-loud material continues throughout the game and barely lets up the pace at all. Even if you hit a spot in the game-play where you're not quite sure what to do next or how, the comical dialogue, supported by top-notch voices, ensure that the game never gets boring.

Asides from the main game, there's also a number of great sub-games tucked around in various areas of the game, such as Wak-A-Rat, Highway Surfing (Max stands on top of the patrol car and has to jump on-coming signs), a very crazy game crazy golf game involving crocodiles, and a wonderful Battleships-type game, Car-bomb (that should be developed into it's own game!). Some have to be completed in order for a certain outcome to somehow advance the game; Others are there for the pure fun of it.

As with most LucasArts games, there’s several nods to other LucasArts characters – IS that Bernard from Day Of The Tentacle working in one of the Snucky’s stores??

The voices on the CD-ROM version bring the characters to life superbly, and are particularly spot on for the two leads.
The graphics look great (especially taking into account the age) and hold up well age-wise.

One of the notable things about the whole game and it's packaging was the instruction manual. Far too often companies dish out a few-paged handbook just with installing instructions (that are usually apply to multiple games anyway), but with this game, the whole book was a little comedy publication of it's own. Complete with little gems like "Make your own Max out of an old paper bag", and a hilarious Sam And Max board game, the instruction manual was a joy in itself. If only more games were as creative with their packaging and extras.

I completed this game a couple of weeks after I got it (it’s one of those games I just had to keep on playing until I completed it). I was actually really sad when the end finally came - I had such a great time playing it, I wanted it to go on forever!!
Even though pretty much linear as to the puzzle solving, the game has re-playability value, as it’s great just to hear the unlikely duo’s comments and responses to everything – especially when you deliberately try something wrong.

All-in-all, a classic, VERY bizarre, VERY funny adventure game; one that ranks right up alongside with the mighty Monkey Island in terms of greatness, and one that will stick in your mind. I'm a HUGE Monkey Island fan, but, dare I say it (shock horror) I think I may like Sam & Max even better - and that's really going some!!

**The Bad**
I think I can honestly say that there isn't a single thing I didn't like about this game, it was just such fun to play.

The only bad thing is that it has to be that it eventually had to come to the end. I wanted it to go on forever! The one big problem I did have was not game-wise, but on the technical side. I found this one particularly hard to get up and running happily, particularly with regards to the sound. On my old 486 system (with a SoundBlaster 16 card), it took a boot-disk with LOT of poking and tweaking of Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files to A) run without coughing and spluttering, and B) to get it to run with any sound at all!

Some players might find the humour in this game a little too dark and too far out – even by Day Of The Tentacle and Monkey Island standards (but personally, I loved it!)

But the worst thing about this game - there's never been a sequel! Criminal! Come on LucasArts, it's never too late (and the adventure games market isn’t exactly crowded these days)!!

**The Bottom Line**
Classic, bizarre LucasArts adventure. Some really warped puzzles; some really funny dialogue. What else can I say? One of my all-time classic adventure games. If you've ever played Day Of The Tentacle, or one of the Monkey Island games, and have remotely enjoyed it, then I suggest... no, I demand that you find a copy and play Sam & Max. It should be made law!!

The Good
When I first saw this title in the stores I wasnt very impressed with the idea of a comic book game. But when I gave this title a chance WOW! I was impressed that this game could made me laugh that much. Years later when I got married I showed my wife the "wack a rat" scene. She still laughs about it. One of the things I usually dont like about adventure games is that when you finish the game there is virtualy no replay value left. Some games will try to help this with more than one path to finsh a section or multiple endings. But not Sam & Max, they simply placed all kinds of great jokes and comments and hid them all through the game. A good example is in the begining of the game when you are outside for the first time, you can enter a baby products store and talk to the owner. (I wont spoil it for you) I dont know how many times I have played this game but when I cant find a good adventure title on the market (which is been just about every day for the last 4 years) I play this great old classic. Rest assured this game has more laughs per square inch of cd than any other game.

The Bad
They didn't make a sequal.

ENOUGH AREADY LUCASARTS! WHERE IS SAM & MAX II?

The Bottom Line
The age of this title may be showing. But if you can stand a little out of date graphics then..... YOU HAVE TO GET THIS TITLE. WSM

The Good
HAHAHAHA!!!! Ahem, sorry, I was just reliving some of the very funny moments in this game. You see, Sam & Max Hit The Road has to be one of the funniest, most oddball adventure games ever released on the PC platform. You play Sam AND Max on a roadtrip across America, stopping off at some of the weird roadside attractions such as the world's largest ball of twine attraction - you know the kind of thing on Route 66...well you do now!

The puzzles here are completely off the wall and the difficulty level is high. This will count as a 'con' as opposed to a 'pro' for some people but i like it - I love a challenge and this certainly provided one. The weird humour continues on into the puzzles themselves as well, so you have to tune yourself in or you'll not stand a chance here!

Graphically its looking a little on the dated side these days, very cartoonish though and cartoon graphics never really grow TOO old, but be aware its not top quality artwork boys and girls! you also need to ensure you find the CD-ROM version or you'll lose out on sound effect on te floppy disk version - which sucks.

Its difficult to say WHY you'd love this - you just WILL. Its a simply hilarious game, very irreverant and not afraid of poking fun at some icons along the way. A few of these are American 'celebrities' who other countries will have no clue about(trust me, I'm a Brit and they passed over my head until they were explained!), but they're still funny. To play this is to love it - 'nuff said(and its cheap ;o)

The Bad
Ermmm...I'll say it again - I LOVE THIS GAME! But in the interests of objectivity, here's some reasons why you might not:

Too tough: some of the puzzles are ridiculously obscure and some STILL make no sense to me once they have been solved. You will almost certainly find yourself stuck struggling to find a solution which is ultimately impossible by any other means than trial and error...an then still expect to be stuck! f you hate turning to walkthroughs or get frustrated easily then this is NOT the game for you.

Dated: As I said, its looking a little on the old side now, but I think the cartoon graphics mean its not going to age that greatly.

That's Disgusting! : yes it is, sometimes, certainly irreverant most of the time, so if you are easily offended then this isn't for you. Its not bad enough to gain a certification, but if you're particularly protective of your young'uns then you might like to steer clear of this title

The Bottom Line
Simply the funniest game I've played(aside from the Monkey Island series) and well worth a purchase if you can find a copy...