Sam & Max Hit the Road - Final Rating

Written by Michael

I asked OpenAI for “a tall anthropomorphic dog wearing a blue sports jacket and wide tie with a shorter anthropomorphic white rabbit as a sidekick.”

So, our road trip was successful, I guess.  We set out to find the stolen bigfoot from the carnival, and found him.  We were tasked with restoring the exhibit, so the carnival wouldn’t go out of business.  We did that.  Of course, the Kushmans probably expected us to do it a different way, but a win is a win, am I right?

Actually, I’m kind of sad to be done.

And so with that, we come to an end.  How does this game stack up to the past?

Sam & Max Hit the Road — Won!

Written by Michael

Last time, we ended with a cliffhanger.  Who DID shoot Mr. Burns?  Was it the drunk father?  The drunk guy in the bar?  The chain-smoking aunt?  Or maybe the gun-toting dog and bunny?

So, much like the tar in the pool below us, the end of this game is almost within reach.

New Diet Coke.  Lower Tar, Tastes Great

Last time around, I suspected that I was going to need to dress as a bigfoot in order to enter the party.  Seeing a vat of tar made me think of something getting “tarred and feathered” and so, with my pile of fake bigfoot hair, I’ll try to do the same thing.  When I has hanging over the tar pit, I noticed that I was given control of the mouse and icons as I bounced around a few times. 

Sam & Max Hit the Road — Hangin’ Out Down the Street

Written by Michael

I’m sure some people accuse me of this for my writing style.

Welcome back! When we last were here, our favorite crimefighters had just been given a slightly less than subtle hint about where to continue their search for the missing bigfoot and giraffe-necked girl. That destination was, of course, Graceland. Or is it Dollywood? I suspect it’s meant to be a mash-up of the two. It’s more of a Elvis/Graceland-style home/museum, but with the musical tastes (and perhaps some of the forward attitude) of Dolly Parton. Whatever it is, let’s start exploring!

 Wish me love a wishing well to kiss and tell; a wishing well of butterfly tears.

Looking around the front of the mansion, we see what has become a trademark in this game: lots of artistic detail that you cannot interact with in any way. So, the bird droppings on the statue of Bumpus in the middle of the water fountain just bring a smile, but no description.

Sam & Max Hit the Road — The Sun is Settin' like Molasses in the Sky

Written by Michael

And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

When we last visited the carnivorous crimestopper and his bouncy buddy, Sam had just rescued Max from the hold of a dunk tank, and found a souvenir from another roadside attraction that might get us closer to solving the case.

For those just tuning in, we’re on the hunt of a missing bigfoot from the carnival. So far, it looks like an admirer helped rescue Bruno from his 9-to-5, and as we comb the country looking for him, it seems that other bigfoots have also been liberated as well. This is annoying our semi-nemesis, a county/western singer named Conroy Bumpus who has failed to treat us with the respect a suit-wearing puppy dog deserves. It seems he wants to purchase/hire/obtain these bigfoots for his own purposes. I can only suspect a music video featuring lots of large, obnoxious creatures, but I’m probably wrong about that.

Sam & Max Hit the Road — Leisure Suit Conroy

Written by Michael

A surprisingly okay game, considering it was just one big ad for pizza.

I would have been back sooner, but I ordered pizza delivery to the house and this joker in a red outfit kept trying to take it away from me. I just HAD to defend my dinner. Now that I’m fed, I’m in a better mood and I’m ready to stomp out crime (or at least bunny-kick it).

So, after carefully searching Trixie’s trailer with the assistance of a proper search warrant and a crack CSI team, it’s time for our intrepid investigators to head out. At the end of my last post, I made a plan. First, stop at Snuckey’s to get that jar opened, and then on to the World of Fish.

I decided to check out both the other locations of Snuckey’s, to see what was different.

Sam & Max Hit the Road — Lluvia de Peces

Written by Michael

But wait, we just got here!

When we last met up, Sam had just finished grilling the couch potato, and amazingly, Max hasn’t yet threatened to turn him into home fries. You see, Doug has offered us a trade. If we bring him some pecan candies, he’ll give us the key to Trixie’s trailer. It’s the only place we haven’t been able to explore at the carnival so far.

Going back out to the disfigured swan car, it seems we need to turn the ride back on. Good thing there’s a big giant switch in Doug’s apartment to reset the power, so I can leave.

If I go back in, I now go directly to and from Doug’s apartment, without seeing the ride, so I think it’s safe to say there’s nothing else I needed in there. The broom on the wall, being held by the skeleton of probably a past custodial worker was just another artistic red herring.

Sam & Max Hit the Road — Bruno and the Hendersons

Written by Michael

We almost missed it!

It might be changing into a new year for many of us now, but in Chinese culture, the new year isn’t until February. So we can rejoice that it is still the year of the rabbit for another month or so. (The water rabbit, specifically. Not the hyperkinetic one. But close enough.)

But that’s the future. Let’s talk about the past. In the last post, I started the first few minutes of the game. I did a cursory examination of the offices of metropolis’ finest, and then took a break for the holidays. So, back to the strip-search.

You’re hitting a little close to (my) home, Sam.

I keep looking around the room, which is easy with the look icon, the eyeball that, sadly, has the eyelid closed most of the time. But I notice the mouse hole across the room from the closet, reach in, and grab out a stack of loot that somewhat resembles Guybrush’s inventory at the start of his second adventure.

Game 139: Sam & Max Hit the Road — Introduction (1993)

By Michael

The box cover art gives us subtle clues to our future destinations.

In the spirit of the holidays, we are about to head out on a buddy road trip game. These stories are always the best when the partners are equally matched, such as in this Thanksgiving favorite, this cop-car classic, or this other Thanksgiving favorite... actually, that last one is significant, because the two actors would later become police detective buddies in a TV series 10 years later. And here we are, about to discuss another police game of sorts.

Wait, why do I hear knocking at my door?

“Ahem, I heard there was a police game being played, and... wait! You’re not Alex!”