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adaml Staff
Joined: 28 Aug 2003 Posts: 616 Location: In the VIP
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2004 8:37 pm Post subject: Samuel and Maxwell |
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No doubt some of our readers are more than a little irked at Lucasarts' recent cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance Police and, frankly, so am I.
"LucasArts' sudden decision to stop production on Sam & Max is mystifying," said Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell in a recent letter to The International House of Mojo. "I couldn't have been more pleased with the quality of the writing, gameplay, hilarious animation and the gorgeous 3D world that Mike Stemmle's team has created."
"It was the first cancellation I've ever seen that wasn't due to poor performance on the part of the team," an anonymous Lucasarts employee told us. "I just don't get it."
According to the official press release, the plug was pulled because the company felt that "this was not the appropriate time to launch a graphic adventure on the PC." In other words, as one editorialist put it, "Uh, we don’t know how to, um, sell this game."
While the situation seems grim for those who were looking forward to it, all hope is not lost. Check out SaveSamAndMax.com for the low-down on what you can do to help reverse this decision. We personally recommend hand-written letters, as these are met with more respect than those of the electronic variety
Any decision made by any branch of Lucasfilm should not be mystifying unless it actually makes sense. Two words for you: Phantom Menace. Two more words for you: Jar Jar.
'Nuff said. |
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lugnut Staff
Joined: 09 Sep 2003 Posts: 147
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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Nine more words:
"No 'real' Trilogy again ever, only lame 'Special Editions.'" |
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Ancient Oldie
Joined: 28 Nov 2003 Posts: 60
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2004 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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Well, sad to say, but graphical adventures aren't selling as much as they used to, so I can see where LucasArts is coming from. It does suck when a company will choose commercial whoredom over quality material, but hey, that is the nature of business. |
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TheRedEye The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
Joined: 26 Aug 2003 Posts: 4192 Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2004 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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It's not so much about this particular game being cancelled, though that does piss me off. I'm upset mainly over Lucasarts' total abandonment of what put them on the software map in the first place. This is just the final straw. It's pretty much official to me now that the makers of my FAVORITE GAMES OF ALL TIME refuse to do anything out of the Star Wars and generic FPS genres.
Lucasarts is dead. Long live Tim Schafer.
I swear I'm buying an XBox just for Psychonauts. |
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Kitsune FURRY
Joined: 20 Nov 2003 Posts: 318 Location: Mexico
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 1:21 am Post subject: |
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I've been playing the game recently and just love it. Since it's kinda like Gabriel Knight (except that this has humor. And no Tim Curry *weeps*) I got the hang of it quickly.
Now how the hell do I get out of the Tunnel Of Love? (Note, don't say anything, just venting my frustration...)
Edit:
Figured it out. Stupid Mole Man... |
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Ancient Oldie
Joined: 28 Nov 2003 Posts: 60
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:43 am Post subject: |
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TheRedEye wrote: | It's not so much about this particular game being cancelled, though that does piss me off. I'm upset mainly over Lucasarts' total abandonment of what put them on the software map in the first place. This is just the final straw. It's pretty much official to me now that the makers of my FAVORITE GAMES OF ALL TIME refuse to do anything out of the Star Wars and generic FPS genres.
Lucasarts is dead. Long live Tim Schafer.
I swear I'm buying an XBox just for Psychonauts. |
Yeah, I feel your pain. Interplay's decision to shut down BIS really pissed me off, except, unlike LucasArts, there really wasn't any sound financial reasoning behind their decision, although these decisions are coming from a guy who literal ran a once highly profitable company straight to the ground.
I'm sure LucasArts drools over other companies profits (hence the shitty rip-offs), and has decided to ignore the genre that made them. I do miss those classic adventure games, but the sad thing is, I don't know that many people with an attention span long enough to stick to those types of games.
Recently my girlfriend began playing Maniac Mansion on my GBA through PocketNES, and she is hooked. She said that the game looked boring, but once she began playing it, she really got into it (which parallels my experience with the game way back when I first played it). That proves to me that the genre does have potential, it just depends on how a company markets the game so that gamers can play it long enough to get into it. |
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TheRedEye The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
Joined: 26 Aug 2003 Posts: 4192 Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:48 am Post subject: |
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Ancient Oldie wrote: | it just depends on how a company markets the game so that gamers can play it long enough to get into it. |
They market it by having MAX THE NAKED PSYCHOBUNNY WAVE AROUND HIS NAZI GUN BEFORE BITING SOMEONE'S FACE OFF. It's Sam & Max for god's sake, it's a no-brainer. |
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Richter Belmont
Joined: 16 Jan 2004 Posts: 285 Location: Murfreesboro, TN
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 10:20 am Post subject: |
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Might seem a little heretical, but I've actually never played Sam & Max. (Not much of a PC gamer, I play consoles almost exclusively.) I've ALWAYS heard great things about it though, and I was disappointed to hear that LucasArts cancelled the new one. Yeah, graphic adventures DID make them, it's too bad they've forgotten, because they used to make so many awesome ones. On to the segueway...
I AM a huge fan of Maniac Mansion, however. I would rank the NES port among my top 10 favorite games. You and your g/f have great taste Ancient Oldie, MM is a fantastic game with a lot of replay value. I spent a lot of hours with that game, getting the different endings, or just goofing around to see each character's reactions to things. Plus, I got one of the first edition copies with the microwavable hamster... ahahaha. Animal cruelty at its worst. I'm surprised PETA didn't go ballistic. But Weird Ed's reaction if you show him the remains is classic. |
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Kitsune FURRY
Joined: 20 Nov 2003 Posts: 318 Location: Mexico
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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Wanna know the sad thing?
http://www.aarongiles.com/scumm/index.html
Aaron Giles rewrote the engine that Sam & Max runs on to work natively on Windows. And apparently only the Europeans got it (unless you got the Armed & Dangerous disk, whatever that is).
Damnit. |
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Ancient Oldie
Joined: 28 Nov 2003 Posts: 60
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, Maniac Mansion was an excellent game. I remember I thought my friend had ripped me off when I traded for that game, but I was very wrong. Heh, looking back, I was introduced to many excellent titles because of him, especially my addiction to Rpg's and SRPG's ever since I played my first games of "Treasures of the Savage Frontier" and Warsong thanks to his games...
Anyways, I recently bought Armed & Dangerous for my X-Box a couple of days back. Does anyone know if that version contains the Sam & Max game also? |
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Li Wang SnHX WiIYrd
Joined: 29 Aug 2003 Posts: 798
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:27 pm Post subject: |
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I guess we can still pray that the guys working on the new Leisure Suit Larry game know what they're doing. |
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TheRedEye The Internet's Frank Cifaldi
Joined: 26 Aug 2003 Posts: 4192 Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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Kitsune wrote: | Wanna know the sad thing?
http://www.aarongiles.com/scumm/index.html
Aaron Giles rewrote the engine that Sam & Max runs on to work natively on Windows. And apparently only the Europeans got it (unless you got the Armed & Dangerous disk, whatever that is).
Damnit. |
Oh well, there's always ScummVM. Which, by the way, comes with my highest recommendation. This is quality stuff.
Li Wang wrote: | I guess we can still pray that the guys working on the new Leisure Suit Larry game know what they're doing. |
I'll give it a shot, if they release a demo, but I'm still pretty disgusted that they didn't even CONSULT Al Lowe, the creator and mastermind behind the original series. He's said, publically, that he'd gladly put his hand into another Larry game, given the chance. |
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Kitsune FURRY
Joined: 20 Nov 2003 Posts: 318 Location: Mexico
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2004 10:55 pm Post subject: |
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I'm already using ScummVM, you know. :) And Leisure Suit Larry was one of my first adventure games... I didn't quite get it at the time, but it was fun.
Sadly, Sierra nixed their entire adventure-type game division a long time ago. Which is why there hasn't been a Leisure Suit Larry 8, which I believe was planned but it never came to be.
And goddamnit, I want Gabriel Knight 4. I wanna know where Gracey ended up... *weeps* |
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