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Old 10-31-2009, 11:23 AM   #261
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What a really great episode it was (ep.4).

Nice to see some new winds blown into the series... with more emotional side to it... and not only humour and (all sorts of) jokes. A bold move, but certainly gets 5 points in my book.

Spoiler:

I was kind of disappointed with Stan, but kudos to Telltale for bringing Earl Boen back as the voice of demon LeChuck.
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Old 10-31-2009, 12:59 PM   #262
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Yep, ch. 4 is definitely the best episode so far in every aspect.
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Old 11-01-2009, 11:01 AM   #263
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I finished it. Loved the first set of puzzles and the plot twist in the middle. The second half felt more average over all though. I think I still like the 3rd one better.

Spoiler:
I was not surprised at all the Le Chuck turned out to be evil. Also, I don't think that the Voodoo Lady is evil.

I also believe Morgan is still alive (where is the body!) and that Guybrush will be brought back with the power of the pox hand.
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Old 11-01-2009, 11:43 AM   #264
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I finished it. Loved the first set of puzzles and the plot twist in the middle. The second half felt more average over all though. I think I still like the 3rd one better.

Spoiler:
I was not surprised at all the Le Chuck turned out to be evil. Also, I don't think that the Voodoo Lady is evil.

I also believe Morgan is still alive (where is the body!) and that Guybrush will be brought back with the power of the pox hand.
qft
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Old 11-03-2009, 04:30 AM   #265
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Just finished ep4 and I liked it, not as good as the last one, but still pretty good.

I really liked some parts of it, like most of the feast (I thought all the puzzles for it were well done, maybe a bit easy, but at least it involved a lot of different style of puzzles)

And other parts were a bit 'meh' (for a lack of a better word), like
Spoiler:
Stan,
he wasn't as comical as I was expecting and feel like they really missed a opportunity for a lot of great jokes. But I did love his jacket, and for that I can almost forgive him for not being up to his own high standards (almost).

All in all I thought that it was interesting at least, don't want to go into too much detail as I know most of you are still playing it.

Now just have to hope the last episode is going to be the best one yet, for a awesome ending :p

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Old 11-03-2009, 04:38 AM   #266
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I absolutely loved the episode, but I'm getting really, really sick with that jungle. That's one of the things I'll be remembering for years when I think of TOMI: bloody jungle puzzles.
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Old 11-03-2009, 05:29 AM   #267
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I actually loved the new twist they added to the jungle! Took me ages to figure out that map...

First episode I have given 10 out of 10!

I interviewed Dom Armato today and he seemed to think this was one of the best as well, although he still loves episode 3.

It is strange as well because I thought they nailed Stan, but many people seem disappointed... I guess you can't please everyone. To me though, this is as good as it gets.
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Old 11-03-2009, 07:16 PM   #268
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The way I see it, Chapter 5 can go one of three ways. Either A:

Spoiler:
We follow Guybrush into some kind of underworld and play around with all the other dead characters (Morgan, Nipperkin, de Singe) as we try to come back to life.


Or B:

Spoiler:
We play as Elaine as she tries to use voodoo magic or de Singe's Jus de Vie to bring Guybrush back to life.


Or C:

Spoiler:
Combination of A and B, as we shift back and forth between Elaine in the mortal world and Guybrush in the Underworld, and they work together trying to bring Guybrush back to life.


(I assume that we all agree that Option D,

Spoiler:
Guybrush stays dead and we never see him again,


is in fact not an option at all and LA LA LA LA NOT LISTENING NO. )

I think option C is my favourite. I'd like to see Guybrush and Elaine working together as a team. It'd be nice for them to have some couple time, you know?
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Old 11-06-2009, 04:51 AM   #269
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Where is the review? I hope Evan didn't catch the flu or anything, because I'm getting worried.
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Old 11-06-2009, 03:56 PM   #270
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I had an absolutely great time playing Chap. 4 and that is all I want. The ending is surprising so I am eager to see what comes next as this cliff I'm hanging on is a bit worrisome!
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Old 11-12-2009, 05:14 PM   #271
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I had an absolutely great time playing Chap. 4 and that is all I want. The ending is surprising so I am eager to see what comes next as this cliff I'm hanging on is a bit worrisome!
Fortunately, we can rely on Telltale to deliver month after month. The most solid episodic games creator out there - perfect for cliff-hangers.
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Old 11-17-2009, 04:19 AM   #272
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I posted this under the review of the latest ep, but as it pertains to the series as a whole, wonder if anyone here has any thoughts on it:

I think there is a bit of a disturbing trend with lists in these games. You know, do a) b) c) (with all tasks being somehow related) in order to advance the plot to its finale. In the first it was pirate newsmaking, the second was forgettable, but I'm sure the element is present there as well, in the third it was winning over each of the mutineers, and here it was beating each of the cases against you.. followed by yet another list of related tasks in the other half.

Now, personally, I never got too frustrated by ep. 4, and even enjoyed figuring out the challenge it posed. But, with the cliffhanger setting up.. no one knows what the hell it's setting up!, I hope we see a wide divergence in puzzle design. Remember how in the first Monkey Island, each chapter had a drastically different location, and puzzles that forced you to think on an entirely different tangent? I wish Tales felt this diverse, once looked back upon as a whole. Maybe the finale will improve its overall performance. Otherwise, playing the entire season through will feel like a gigantic fetch quest!
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Old 11-17-2009, 04:29 AM   #273
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I think you're absolutely right about that, and as far as I'm concerned it's the one big flaw in most of Telltale's efforts, be it TOMI, Sam & Max or Wallace & Gromit (haven't played the other games). On the other hand, perhaps that is the difficulty creating short, episodic adventures. A few locations per chapter and limited space to tell the story in. Would be interesting to hear a few opinions on the from the TT crew.

Puzzles are sometimes not diverse enough, and some puzzles are just rehashed a few times (the word association games in W&G or the jungle puzzles in TOMI for example). That's a setback as well in my opinion.
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Old 11-17-2009, 04:51 AM   #274
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I guess it might've showed up in S&M as well, but if it does, I never noticed or, it never bothered me. After all, those seasons aren't meant to feel like a single game, rather a loosely related set of cases. Having the office and the street outside the office feature prominently in each episode also made sense in this context.

I find I really enjoyed the episodic nature of S&M. Like an actual comedy sitcom, you have a recurring set of characters doing something extreme and insane every time, but consistent with who they are (always loved seeing which new profession Sybil would come up with, or what costume Bosco would be wearing next). All in all, I might even prefer Telltale's S&M to their ToMI. I think I'll replay..
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Old 11-17-2009, 05:11 AM   #275
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I don't really understand the destinction between the "lists" in ToMI and the needed actions in SoMI. How different is winning over each of the mutineers inside the manatee from convincing Carla, Otis and Meathook to join your crew, or beating each of the cases in court from completing the three trials? Hasn't it always been about doing this, this and this to achieve that in adventure games?
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Old 11-17-2009, 05:16 AM   #276
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I don't really understand the destinction between the "lists" in ToMI and the needed actions in SoMI. How different is winning over each of the mutineers inside the manatee from convincing Carla, Otis and Meathook to join your crew, or beating each of the cases in court from completing the three trials? Hasn't it always been about doing this, this and this to achieve that in adventure games?
My biggest gripe with it is that every episode until now has had such a thing as the main quest, so to speak. After four episodes a thing like that can get rather stale, because you're playing four games consisting of it. In SoMI these types of "list-quests" were more spread out. Or at least, felt like they were.
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Old 11-17-2009, 06:14 AM   #277
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I don't really understand the destinction between the "lists" in ToMI and the needed actions in SoMI. How different is winning over each of the mutineers inside the manatee from convincing Carla, Otis and Meathook to join your crew, or beating each of the cases in court from completing the three trials? Hasn't it always been about doing this, this and this to achieve that in adventure games?
Sure there are lists in SoMI, but everything you mentioned happened in Chapter 1. And I guess the recipe in Chapter 2 qualifies as well. But after that, I cannot recall such a structured approach to the plot for the rest of the game.
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Old 11-17-2009, 06:53 AM   #278
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So it's actually the repetition of such a structure that bothers you in ToMI? The linearity of it all?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning your point of view, I'm just trying to understand it.

Perhaps you mean that all the things you have to do in ToMI are all linked to a sort of "common goal" for that particular episode, while in the other games you had more "stand alone" puzzles to tackle small but more diverse obstacles so you could find your way to the "big goal" of the entire game?

I certainly agree the amount of jungle puzzles in ToMI are a bit too much. Makes it look more like a "puzzle game" than an "adventure game".
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Old 11-17-2009, 08:00 AM   #279
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Perhaps you mean that all the things you have to do in ToMI are all linked to a sort of "common goal" for that particular episode, while in the other games you had more "stand alone" puzzles to tackle small but more diverse obstacles so you could find your way to the "big goal" of the entire game?
Something along those lines. I think the basic story and premise of each episode (the things which, even with a cliffhanger ending, give it a sense of whole) did not require an overarching puzzle in each of them to provide that feel. What I mean is, the episode-specific task of getting off Flotsam is enough to drive the story without having to generate 3 pieces of pirate news. I actually loved this in the first episode, as it hearkened back to SoMI, but then every episode was structured the same way! I guess it just feels like filler, and a bit of a lazy design choice.

Quote:
I certainly agree the amount of jungle puzzles in ToMI are a bit too much. Makes it look more like a "puzzle game" than an "adventure game".
I liked both Jungle Puzzles on Flotsam, but was disappointed with the same jungle being used on a different island in ep. 2
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Old 11-17-2009, 10:55 PM   #280
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Okay, I think I understand what you mean now, and also how it could bother someone. Perhaps I might come to share that opinion when I replay all the episodes back to back. I played the entire Sam&Max season 2 that way and somewhere around episode 3/4 I was really getting sick of constantly having to re-check each long familiar setting for new stuff. A different aspect than puzzle structuring, but a comparable degree of annoyance maybe.

I anyone else planning to replay all the games, not just the episodes but the LA originals as well, after the final episode? I'm actually looking forward to it. It's been ages since I played MI2 and CMI (played the SoMI:SE this summer) and while I often started a new game of EMI, I always grew tired of it somewhere on Lucre.
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