Sam & Max Hit the Road

Contents:

The Intro

The Game

The Replay

The Verdict

The Intro

Title: Sam & Max Hit the Road

Release year: 1993

Developed by: LucasArts

Genre: Point-and-click adventure

Platform replayed on: PC

An anthropomorphic dog and a hyperkinetic rabbity thing go traipsing around small-town American tourist attractions trying to find a missing bigfoot and his giraffe-necked girlfriend…

…Is a sentence I never thought I would ever use in my life.

But that is essentially what Sam & Max Hit the Road is all about.

It is also regarded as one of the greatest graphic adventure games ever made, and has a very vivid place in my young gamer life in the mid-90s.

I remember the first time I saw this game at a friend’s place, probably in 1994. By that stage, the old computers I had been learning on and having fun with in the late 80s/early 90s were showing their age. The 512KB of RAM and CGA display just weren’t cutting it anymore. As such, I wouldn’t be playing Sam & Max Hit the Road on my own computer any time soon.

Fast-forward to 1995 though, and my family bought a new home computer, and Sam & Max Hit the Road was top of the list of games I wanted.

Despite not knowing about Sam & Max prior to playing this game (it’s based on a comic book series, debuted in 1987 by Steve Purcell), it immediately struck me. I think it was the visual appeal, and the fact that this was fully voice acted (CD-ROM version). I had never experienced anything like it.

This game also led to me becoming a lifelong fan of the series. Though it would be a long while before we would return to Sam & Max in video game format. 

In my blog on The Walking Dead (2012) by Telltale Games, I traced a connection in my gaming past from playing The Walking Dead right back to playing Sam & Max Hit the Road. Telltale Games picked up the licence after it expired with LucasArts in 2005, and resurrected the series with Sam & Max Save the World (originally Sam & Max: Season One) in 2007. Finally, I was able to return to the wacky world of these two vigilante private investigators!

I might return to Sam & Max Save the World in a later blog, but for now, let’s take a look at Sam & Max Hit the Road!

The Game

Sam & Max Hit the Road is a point-and-click adventure game. For those unfamiliar, this term refers to the use of a mouse or keyboard to manipulate a character and an interface of commands. In this game, Sam is the main controllable character, with Max following you around. 

However, there are times when you will need to manipulate Max to take certain actions. You can also talk to Max at any time.

The interface in this game uses the SCUMM engine (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion). Not surprisingly, it was used for Maniac Mansion (1987), as well as another game I’ve featured here on Present Perfect Gaming: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure (1989).

In this game, the interface features many “verb” actions you can click on. In Sam & Max Hit the Road, this is simplified down to four actions: look at, talk to, pick up, and use.

Dialogue is not simplified like actions are, but conversation options are only represented by icons and not words. As this game was fully voice acted and had a humorous tone, it made sense not to spoil any dialogue on-screen before it was voiced.

The game does turn into a bit of an item hunt around the various locations, which then means deciphering how to use or combine items in the right place and right time. It’s an easy to use interface.

Travel is also simple. As you uncover new locations to investigate, they appear on your map. By the end, there are quite a number of weird and wacky tourist attractions to visit.

And if you get bored road-tripping around America, why not pick up one of the three mini-games to purchase from your local Snuckey’s roadside convenience store.

Unnecessary to the plot, but I thought the inclusion of these little distractions was well implemented, and fits the quirky nature of the game.

Finally, a word on unwinnable states in point-and-clicks, which I feel is necessary when reviewing this type of game. This is a term used in point-and-click adventure games where you can get to a point in the game where it is impossible to progress further because you missed doing something earlier. It could be an item not picked up, or an action not taken at an earlier location. It can also be that you end up in one of these states and don’t even know it. You would have to decide that you’re stuck, and try again, potentially from the beginning.

In this game, there’s no such worry, and you can play it knowing that there’s always a way to progress (compared with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure, which does feature unwinnable states). I must admit, I much prefer this approach in point-and-click adventure games (mostly for my own sanity).

That’s not to say this game isn’t hard, as we shall soon find out.

The Replay

The intro to this game is memorable. So much so, I can almost recall every line of dialogue.

It’s completely unrelated to the plot of the game, but it does quickly get you up to speed with who Sam and Max are: a completely crazy crime-fighting duo. 

And it’s just as well we get this intro, as I’m guessing most who played or play this are coming in without prior knowledge of Sam and Max.

It’s a violent beginning, but the ridiculousness of it all really draws you in. It’s also well animated, and well voice acted, which at the time really impressed me.

With the exponential growth in computing (and therefore graphical) power in the 90s, the visual upgrades we got as gamers I feel was a huge attraction. I’d played point-and-click games before, but none as visually stunning as this, and none with voice acting.

Following the intro, we join Sam and Max at their office. At the time this was just another location in another point-and-click adventure game, but after the series was revived, it would feature prominently in each release.

It’s here we get the start of the story, with Sam and Max receiving their next assignment.

It’s also here I encountered one of many iconic lines I’ll never forget. I don’t know why I recall so many of the lines in this game; this is only the second time I’ve played since the mid-90s. Perhaps it’s the fact it was the first voice acted game I played, I’m not sure. I just know that sometimes I’m going about my life and these lines just come to mind at random times. I guess just like people repeating iconic lines from movies or TV shows.

Now, back to the next assignment, your orders have been left with a courier outside the office. It turns out it’s a cat (continuing to raise the level of weirdness), and it turns out he’s swallowed the orders.

Without spoiling it, you do need Max’s help to retrieve the orders, in a rather unique (and unsurprisingly violent) manner.

Apparently something bizarre has gone down at the carnival, and it’s up to Sam and Max to investigate. This leads to your first encounter with the DeSoto, Sam’s car. It’s almost like another character, as this DeSoto will also feature prominently in the future releases.

It’s at this point, as I’m writing this, that I realise I’m failing to capture what I believe is the greatest strength of this game: the interplay between Sam and Max. It’s impossible to really capture, as you have to experience it for yourself by listening to their interchanges.

We get lines like:

And this:

Again, these are lines that I just can’t forget. Thinking about this a little deeper, like any good duo, it’s the interaction between the partners that makes or breaks their success with audiences. I’m thinking Batman and Robin, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Mulder and Scully from the X-Files, Ponce and John from CHiPs, and Sonny and Rico from Miami Vice.

As such, for those who haven’t played this before, here’s a quick video showing the intro. This will give you a taste of the crazy interaction between Sam and Max.

Moving along , we finally get to the “fiercely thickening plot”. It turns out the star attraction at the carnival is a bigfoot named Bruno. He’s gone missing, and so has his giraffe-necked girlfriend Trixie (if you haven’t played this, yes, you’re reading that right—stay with me).

And so begins what is effectively part one of the story: find Bruno and Trixie.

It’s here that your ridiculous road trip starts taking you to some of the more unique tourist attractions across America.

There’s the World of Fish:

And the World’s Largest Ball of Twine:

You can try your hand at Gator Golf:

And even visit one place you might recognise:

If that wasn’t weird enough for you, how about Frog Rock and the Mystery Vortex:

Sam even ends up in VR:

And you might even end up in a few familiar scenes:

As mentioned earlier, this game comes down to item hunting. This is where the difficulty comes. There are quite a number of items in this game, and it’s not just a case of always picking something up and using it somewhere else. There are times where you will need to combine items with other items, or manipulate items in some way before they become usable. An example is a tightly-sealed jar you pick up. It’s too tight for Sam or Max to open, so they’ll need to find something or someone to help them.

I’ll tell you right now that when I was younger, I couldn’t solve all these item puzzles by myself. Whether I ran out of patience, or some were just too challenging, I can’t remember. I also had the cluebook with me from the start, so I think it was just too tempting not to use.

I also think that some of the puzzles are just plain random, and then it becomes the classic method of trying every item in every possible interactive location, or trying to combine each item with each other, and trying to get lucky.

I think the fact that some of the puzzle solutions are so “out there”, is also the reason I find this game so easy to finish now—it’s impossible to forget them! This replay is only the second replay I’ve done of this game since playing it in the 90s. The other was over ten years ago, yet I have no issue recalling what to do. This is not the same for other point-and-click games.

Now, if you can find your way to locating Bruno and Trixie, you will then find Sam and Max following them to a bigfoot (bigfeet?) conference. Part two of this unusual adventure begins…

It turns out, Sam and Max are now asked to save the bigfoot race from their impending doom by solving the mysteries of four totem poles. I’m not making this up. (I swear it’s getting harder to write this stuff…)

If you can solve the mysteries, then you’ve helped Sam and Max save the day. At least for the bigfoots and Trixie, that is.

All in all, it took me about two hours to complete. Of course, that’s with me knowing exactly where to go and what to do. Now back when I first played this, well, there would have been a whole lot more hours spent hopelessly lost. Without that hint book, I doubt I ever would have completed it. It actually makes me wonder if I ever would have.

So overall, what did I make of this all?

The Verdict

I’ve realised while writing this, just how strange it has been to explain this game in words. Playing the game and thinking about the game, it feels so normal, given how not normal I know it is. But trying to write it all down and describe the experience? It was a challenge, given that the plot makes absolutely no sense.

Okay, so why didn’t I objectively know this? Because I had looked past all that, and bought into this crazy world of Sam and Max. Again, I’ve gone back to their stories since their return in 2007. All I can put it down to is that something “clicked” for me with Sam & Max Hit the Road when I first played it.

And yet, had I not played it when I first did, I’m not entirely convinced I would have been very interested in what this game has to offer.

I played this first as a young teenager in the early to mid-90s, and computing and graphical power was increasing exponentially it seemed. Games were looking better and better. I’d argue that that “wow” factor had more appeal than gameplay or story. Remember, my home computer was struggling and out of date. Then all of a sudden we upgraded, and the first game I wanted (as well as NHL 95) was this game I’d been wanting since I first saw it but couldn’t run it: Sam & Max Hit the Road.

It looked amazing, it sounded amazing, and it was a little bit edgy too with its violence and occasional bad language.

Today, or really any time after the 90s probably, this wouldn’t have impressed me. All games look and sound amazing, and violence in video games doesn’t appeal to me as it once did as an impressionable teenager exploring this exciting new medium.

Well, just like the plot in this game that really doesn’t go anywhere, am I somehow stumbling to a conclusion here as well?

I think I encountered this game at the right time and place for it to become one of my most memorable and long-lasting gaming experiences. There’s no doubt I wouldn’t have continued to play the series over a decade after Sam & Max Hit the Road if it hadn’t made an impression.

There. It’s an ending. That’s enough.

Thanks for reading!

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