"Sam: Looks to me like we've got a marginally volatile hostage situation here, Max."
Hit the Road's suitably ridiculous plot perfectly represents just how off-the wall the game's humor is. Sam and Max travel to a variety of wacky locations across the country in search of Bruno, such as The World's Largest Ball of Twine, Bumpusville, and the Celebrity Vegetable Museum -- just to name a few. And, of course, it soon spirals into a far grander tale featuring an underground, endangered bigfoot society. There might be some aliens in there, too.
"Sam: It's things like this that make me wish I were Canadian."
Like most of the Lucasarts adventure titles, the humor in the story is what keeps you coming back again and again until the end of the journey. Thanks to Purcell's wit and the game's impeccable writing, there's hardly a single conversation that's not worth listening to. Hit the Road's sense of humor is also pretty biting; Purcell retained much of the dark humor from his comics, and while it's certainly a game kids can play, a lot of the edgier dialogue will sail over their heads. Still, Sam's verbosity and Max's bloodlust make for dozens of absolutely classic lines (such as the ones scattered throughout this column), and most of the characters you'll meet are equally hilarious -- especially the swearing psychic and Woody Allen-inspired fisherman.
"Sam: I've got an inexplicable urge to buy some suitcases."
Gameplay-wise, Sam & Max follows a pattern familiar to anyone who's played an earlier Lucasarts adventure such as Monkey Island, though with a streamlined user interface. Instead of having a bank of words displayed on-screen to perform certain actions, such as Look At, Walk, Pick Up, etc., the right mouse button cycles through these actions, while the left button performs them. There are keyboard shortcuts, as well, but the simplified setup allows for a single icon, leading to the inventory, to be displayed on-screen. Tons more room for the action!
"Max: My innocence has been shattered by this blatant tourist trap."The gameplay is almost entirely puzzle-based, and you'll quickly discover that exploring every inch of every environment is critical. Thankfully, the game gives you plenty of hints -- for example, the Look icon will change when it's hovered over an object that can be interacted with. Sam will also frequently give hints about certain situations when you're on the right track by spouting lines like "I'm sure this thing is somehow useful, but I'll be damned if I know how." It's a good thing, too, because Hit the Road can be pretty challenging. The hints especially come in handy when trying to figure out what items to use in what context, especially considering items frequently must be combined to perform a new function. On occasion a solution is difficult to come by simply because the puzzle is so off-the-wall, but a little persistence and some out of the box thinking will do the trick. Way out of the box.
