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Sam and Max Hit the Road
Gamasutra reports on the unveiling of the 'GameTap Originals' publishing label, a brand led by the anticipated episodic revival of Sam and Max. The game is now available both via the GameTap service, and at the TellTale site. From the article: "Sam & Max: Episode 1, which launches today exclusively on GameTap, as well as the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, are two examples of franchises that GameTap has co-published and helped bring back to life. While nothing specific was announced regarding upcoming franchises set to debut as part of the new GameTap Original label, representatives did note that it will be used to identify soon to be announced episodic games based on renowned TV and film franchises. Finally, supporting its new GameTap Original label, GameTap will be the premiere sponsor of the 9th Annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the 2007 Game Developers Conference to celebrate the innovation and creativity of independent game developers." Chris Kohler, over at Game|Life, has a short review of the first three hours of content.
Can't wait to play it!
Not sure how old this news is... but it appears that people not living in the US can finally start using Gametap.
I used to have trepidations about online distribution schemes like Steam because I feared I would never really own the product. I've since warmed up to Steam but Gametap is where I draw the line. I can't wrap my head around the idea (yet) of playing games only while paying a subscription fee. Sure, lots of people do this in MMOGs like WoW but those aren't my cup of tea either. Even Guild Wars, which is a MMORPG with no monthly fee, will feel like a bargain in terms of bucks per playtime by the time it dries up.
I love Sam and Max enough to buy Season 1 for $35 as soon as it's released retail.
This is great news. It's good to see that people are still making games like this. After the death (hiatus, I still hope) of series such as King's Quest, Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island and the like, I had pretty much given up on PC games...
Now for another Grim Fandango game...
Oh, I know... My point was that if this does well, perhaps this style of interactive (albeit usually pretty linear) adventure game may see a revival. But yes, your point about LA ever making another non-Star Wars game is well taken.
Gametap just launched service in Canada today. I'm sure they are still working on licensing deals for many of the games. People in Europe have been successful in using a US proxy to sign up and even correct billing to a Europe address. After you are signed up you can use the software without a proxy.
Speaking of Lucas Arts and games that were totally awesome, does anyone remember The Dig? Man, I remember how much fun the puzzles were to solve, and how well the ambience carried through the music. It's too bad I'll never see another game like that without paying a subscription fee. I'd actually pay $50 for a new adventure game if it's done in the same style as the old-school ones. Another series I want to play again is the Legend of Kyrandia series. Oh, and Torin's Passage. Hooray Tangent!
SRSLY.
Er, wasn't Uru Live cancelled before the game was even released? I beta tested Uru but IIRC the retail release was offline only....
Another game we'll have to skip, I guess.
Aside from the office, Windows lock-in is all about games. Am I the only one who thinks it's insane to keep a 2nd computer with a different OS only to play some games? Even if you dual-boot, that means you have to pay 200$US (or whatever the price is) to buy and install a different OS only to play games? How about the maintenance of that OS, given that it's Windows we're talking about?
We need some kind of "Universal Game engine" that runs on any platform, kinda like Java (in spirit) but that doesn't suck. Most of the older AGI/SCI games from Sierra and SCUMM games from LucasArts, for exemple, can run on any platform, all you need is an interpreter/engine program. There's even people making such engines for the GBA and PDAs these days.
In looking at GameTap's website it looks like they have a free trial... does that cover playing Sam and Max? I can't check right now because I'm using Linux...
Also... to anyone out there that subscribes.... is there set number of months that you have to subscribe for? Or can you just get the first month for $10 and play Sam and Max and then cancel? Again... they won't even let me look at the subscription plans while in Linux... sigh.
Friedmud
I would love to play this next to Grim Fandango, Sam & Max was the best thing to come out of Lucas Games. I see no point in gametap though, $20 a month to maybe spend an hour getting nostalgic is not worth it IMHO. I kept all my old consoles and most of my games anyway so if I'm really feeling old school I plug one of them in. Anyone know if they plan on releasing an actual purchasable version once the episodes are all available?
Yea, I remember the Dig, it had Robert Patrick, the T1000, voicing the protagonist and he'd done a magnificent job. The great atmosphere was underlined by a beautiful soundtrack by Michael Land and stunning visuals, not to mention the epic story. "Full Throttle" was also a cool game and the "X-Wing/TIE Fighter" simulator franchise just begs for a revival (maybe one that resembles the movies' dynamics better, i.e. short fast bursts instead of the slow endless "phat phat phat phat.."). A game with the Death Star trench run in full 3D high res textures shader model 3 splendor (and in which Han shoots first) - now that would be a game that would do the Lucasarts legacy justice.
And when you gaze long enough into the code, the code will also gaze into you.
It's more like they're renting their entire library. When they add new games, you get them automatically. It's not like you have to rent individual games on a month-by-month basis (although MMORPGs do that and nobody seems to mind).
Against stupidity the Gods themselves contend in vain.
I know alot of people do call it one, but guildwars isn't a mmorpg. Its not massively multiplayer, you play with fewer people than in counterstrike. Its just like diablo 2, its certainly online, but you are just playing little 8 player instanced missions.
From the official site:
"Rather than labeling Guild Wars an MMORPG, we prefer to call it a CORPG"
The rental model looks good when you tire of spending hours trolling the P2P nets for files that would be a one-click download from a legit, trusted source.
---and all the better, if it means a painless install, updated graphics and sound, and perhaps other enhancements to a classic game.
If you want some death star trench, most games from the rogue squadron series feature one. My personal favorite is rogue leader on the gamecube. You can get it for like five bucks used, and that trench is the very first level of the game.
If I may quote from their site, after clicking on the "Play Now" link...
"Sorry, GameTap is only available in the United States."
The rest of us are not important... or are not considered to be as wealthy... or something.
If I had a DeLorean... I would probably only drive it from time to time.
I think it has more to do with market size.
Pay license fee to whoever owns the US distribution rights, get access to the US market and a decent chance of making back your investment and then some. Pay license fees to each of the companies that own distribution rights throughout the EU, and still not reach as many gamers as in the US. Not a tough choice when you're not an international megacorp.
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
Depending on just what you mean by 'in the same style...', you may be in luck.
Adventure games haven't died--they've just moved to Europe. Syberia was gorgeous, and a pretty good game. The Longest Journey was an excellent game--in the same category as Grim Fandango, if not _quite_ up there. I'm playing Runaway right now, which is also quite good, and very much in the old LucasArts vein.
They're out there. You just have to look harder.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Indeed the Rogue Squadron series looks pretty good (for Gamecube games), definitely better than the original "X-Wing" (which had a very "crude" Death Star trench run, but that was way back somewhere in the 1800s).
Now, the greatest thing with the technology nowadays would be to port it back to the PC, and create something like a MMORPFS (..flight simulator) where real human squadrons could (virtually) sit together and define the objectives and strategies before the battle and then when in battle do some cool team-based maneuvers etc. Just picture a battle with dozens (hundreds?) of fighters and huge spaceships piloted by other humans that can talk to you through the comm link. Now add a nice AI with its own squadron tactics and we have something that really recreates the epic battles we've seen in the movies.
And when you gaze long enough into the code, the code will also gaze into you.
Because many people prefer renting over buying. Personally, most games I would prefer to rent than buy. There are very few games that I expect to play for many years, for the most part I will play through a game, then sell it on ebay. Renting makes more sense for games that you will play through only a few times.
How many more reasons will copyright infringers cite to rationalize piracy. If a game is not available the way you want it, how about just skipping it? What urgent need is there to play a game no matter what?
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
"Make it longer. I know -- nine bucks for three hours of gameplay isn't that bad of a deal. But I couldn't help feeling disappointed at watching the credits roll on the same night that I started the game. At any rate, you don't necessarily need to add more content to lengthen the experience."
If you can add more, fun, content then please do but never force us to do shit we don't want to do just to get to the next level (where the game *might* get fun again).
:)
A short, well thought out, fun game is sometimes exactly what I want to play. If I want a timesink, I'll load up a MMO or free-cell.
This game sounds almost exactly what I want. I can't wait to play it.
Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!