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Episode four reviewed 26 Mar, 2007, 03:30 / 26 comments


"The Tingler" split Mojo readers in half (all six of them!) with his radical review of The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball. Some of you were enraged to the point of constipation; others were in full agreement. Now prepare for another onslaught of opinion, as the highly controversial Tingler tingles you with his review of Abe Lincoln Must Die!

Except I think he actually likes this one.
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26 Comments

  • The Tingler on 29 Mar, 2007, 23:19…
    Gotta ask this - did anyone get that Police Squad! reference? It was the only Abe Lincoln comedy nod I could think of at short notice.
  • NatsFan on 27 Mar, 2007, 21:15…
    Am I the only one who thought that episode 3 was great too? I was in stitches after the "No Mafia Here" song.
  • jp-30 on 28 Mar, 2007, 00:35…
    I've loved all of them so far. Ep 4 was the funniest, but I certainly don't agree with much of The Tingler's review of Meatball.
  • hierohero on 28 Mar, 2007, 11:36…
    i thought episode 3 was funny and had a great story.. the puzzles wern't for my taste tho.. episode 4 i loved.. episode 5 looks brilliant
  • hierohero on 27 Mar, 2007, 10:30…
    Episode 4 was great.. I was worried after episode 3 as well.. now with renewed faith in the sam and max season i'm itching to play episode 5
  • MarioColbert on 26 Mar, 2007, 19:24…
    In case you didn't get the triple homage-a-thon:

    It's a two-headed squirrel of the Zak McKracken fame, three-headed monkey of Monkey Island, and Steve Purcell of Steve Purcell. Telltale homaged three things at once all like BYAH! Tsk, tsk, your fanboy status is now under question, maestro Tingler. :)
  • Udvarnoky on 26 Mar, 2007, 19:37…
    I think the two-headed squirrel reference might be stretching it.
  • The Tingler on 26 Mar, 2007, 20:24…
    Zak McKracken is the only LucasArts Adventure I haven't played to the end. The only version I could find didn't have mouse support - and frankly, was too much of an effort.
  • Udvarnoky on 28 Mar, 2007, 00:35…
    It's probably the hardest LucasArts adventure to get into, but if you ever give it another go, there's a lot to appreciate about it.
  • numble on 26 Mar, 2007, 18:29…
    No mention of Chuck Jordan's contribution at all? My expectations from a Lucasphere-devoted fan site once again are too high.
  • The Tingler on 26 Mar, 2007, 20:21…
    There's really no pleasing you, is there?
  • numble on 26 Mar, 2007, 23:24…
    The thing is that I see Mojo as an enthusiast/fan website, so my expectations are higher than what I would expect from a user-contributed review at Gamespot or IGN. Chuck Jordan emerges from his adventure game writing slumber (he previously worked on Grim Fandango and Curse of Monkey Island) and is definitely a big part of Episode 4's success--I would expect a site like Mojo to mention this a bit. If this was Dave Grossman's favorite detail about Episode 4, and if Mojo often goes crazy about Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, and Sam and Max-related news, then the involvement of Chuck Jordan in Episode 4 should be a big deal for Mojo--one of the few guys that have worked on a holy triumvirate of Mojo-obsessed games.
  • Udvarnoky on 27 Mar, 2007, 02:14…
    If Mojo is such a fanatical, enthusiastic web site, why were all its staffers apparently unwilling to write reviews for episodes 3 and 4 when every other game site on the planet had them up, you know, when the games came out?
  • The Tingler on 27 Mar, 2007, 10:52…
    Because we don't get paid?
  • jp-30 on 27 Mar, 2007, 01:23…
    To be fair, Chuck Jones' contribution to Episode 4 was mentioned in this Mojo news post.

    As with all news posts and articles written for Mojo, there's no committee meeting. It's just a collection of thoughts from individuals. If Tingler doesn't mention Chuck Jones in his review, well that's his perogative and no fault or oversight of Mojo as a whole (especially seeing Jones had been mentioned in a previous news report).
  • Jake on 27 Mar, 2007, 04:31…
    I don't know if Chuck Jones is alive anymore... and if he is, I don't know if Telltale can afford him.
  • jp-30 on 27 Mar, 2007, 07:43…
    Heh. Freudian Slip.

    // eyes pop out of head //
  • Gabez on 27 Mar, 2007, 01:02…
    Who?
  • The Tingler on 27 Mar, 2007, 10:52…
    Frankly, I didn't mention him because there is NO WAY of telling what he wrote. He may have written all of one joke for all we know.

    Just because the episode's better doesn't mean he had anything to do with it.

    I also don't think it's important to have a massive discussion of this in the review. The game is what matters. The only specific name I mentioned was Jared Emerson-Johnson, because he's the only one who deserved it.
  • jp-30 on 27 Mar, 2007, 19:40…
    Still, episode 4 was the funniest in the series to date, and Chuck did contribute to the writing. So it's pretty easy to conclude that his participation had something to do with that.
  • The Tingler on 27 Mar, 2007, 23:01…
    Possibly, but we can't guarantee how much. Still don't think it matters that much.
  • jp-30 on 26 Mar, 2007, 07:31…
    That man is a Flip-Flopper!
  • The Tingler on 26 Mar, 2007, 10:34…
    Hey, make a good game, get a good review! Make a bad game... get the opposite.
  • jp-30 on 26 Mar, 2007, 19:53…
    I know, just making a "Presidential" joke.
  • The Tingler on 26 Mar, 2007, 20:26…
    Ah. Don't live in a country where that joke would make sense, which explains why I didn't get it. It's telling that I probably didn't get half the jokes in this episode and yet still thought it hysterical! Kudos to Telltale!
  • NatsFan on 27 Mar, 2007, 21:18…
    The "Flip-Flopper" joke probably refers to John Kerry, the democrat's presidential candidate in '04. He was famous for saying that he supported and opposed the war in Iraq in the same debate.