Sam & Max Hit the Road was also nefariously infamous for its departure from the original tried-and-true
SCUMM interface. Instead of
DOTT's relatively elegant (but, as it were, not completly
full-screen) interface,
LucasArts adopted a slightly more
Sierra-esque interface. A lot of fans griped and complained that it was not as intuitive or even as pleasant to use as, say,
DOTT or
Monkey Island 2.
That is, until these people figured out how to use the keyboard.
The shortcuts on the keyboard greatly help. If you keep your finger on the W key while playing, you can instantly switch back to WALK. Since LOOK is only one right-click away, and GET is two right-clicks away, the WALK key is essential for fast gameplay. Even better, the USE key - found by pressing U - is so damn conveniently near the W key.
The reason for the change, it seems, was to provide the player with a more in-depth gaming experience - that is, full screen graphics. While not intuitive or as elegant as the previous SCUMM games, at least it's not as much of a pain in the ass as the single-click "one-cursor-does-all" hell of King's Quest 7 or Phantasmagoria.
One thing the game cannot run from, however, is the desperate fucking lack of a TRAVEL icon somewhere. Or, at least, a speed control. You can fall asleep waiting for Sam to waltz his way around the Mystery Vortex!