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PLATFORM: PC
ESRB RATING: N/A
DEVELOPER: Telltale Games
PUBLISHER: Telltale Games, Gametap
For those of you unfamiliar with the Sam and Max series, check out the articles linked at the bottom of the page for a refresher. (And shame on you for not checking out the best game series around sooner!) The rest of you, come along with me… we’ve got another great episode to check out.
THE PITCH
Sam and Max are hunting down their old friend (of sorts) Bosco, the local inconvenience store owner who’s paranoid that everyone’s out to get him, and is frequently right. Over the last few episodes Bosco has been terrified of “T-H-E-M” (don’t ever say the word in his presence), because they were apparently after him. Now he’s gone without a trace, and no one knows where the sexually-confused individual has gone.
Could he finally have been abducted by T-H-E-M?
Our heroic duo break into the store with with the help of local detective Flint Paper, guns drawn and ready for action. There’s none to be found, so they start looking around for clues. They even take a stop inside the store’s terrifying bathroom for the first time before finding out the truth about Bosco’s disappearance, and being abducted themselves.
They end up captured in a space ship where the only way to set things right is to head to the past and the future via a time-traveling elevator. With it they’ll visit themselves as kids (playing arcade games in the early 80s), themselves in the future, and even (gasp!) Bosco’s mother back in the 60’s to find out who his real father is. Will they be able to turn Max into a lady-killer? Will they be able to warn Stinky about his impending doom? At the beginning of time, will they find out what came first, the chicken or the egg? And what’s the story with the Birthday Mariachis?
All will be revealed…. mostly.
THE PLAY
Tried and true adventure gaming once again, this time without the little minigames that broke up that last few episodes.
Even though the game has you once again exploring the same locations from previous episodes (all the usual places are back, with a few surprises) just the fact that you’re jumping to them in an elevator Bill and Ted style makes it feel different. It’s good not to have to walk back and forth down the same old streets, and the locations have been cleverly dressed up for the different years.
Since there’s so much jumping back and forth from different years and
dates, a lot of the puzzles cleverly deal with the passing of time.
It’s a nice twist- do something in the past and change it in the
future. It requires a little bit of Back to the Future type knowledge and a whole lot of indifference for messing around with the laws of the universe.
The puzzles also seem to make a lot more sense this time, and while it did seem easier than most of the other episodes, there still are a few good head-scratchers.
But as always, this game’s all about the humor, and the script is sharp as ever. I laughed my head off at this one, over some of the silliest things (make sure to keep looking at the bottle of Banang on Sam’s desk). Lots of loose ends from this season start getting tied up in this episode, and you’ll like what they do with the story.
One of the best Sam and Max episodes yet.
THE PRESENTATION
Looks great, sounds great, and is scientifically proven to help lower cholesterol.
THE REPLAY
Minimal as usual, but you just know that in the years to come you’re going to revisit all of these.
THE VERDICT
Once again Telltale has done a fantastic job at advancing the story in an entertaining way, mixing some great, unique puzzles into it on the way. It’s also laugh-out-loud funny, as usual. If I can give one complaint to this episode it’s that it ends on the biggest cliffhanger yet, but since there’s only one more episode to go this season, we can forgive them.
If you’re interested in checking this out, head over to the official site where you can download it or grab a demo. It’s also available on Gametap as always. The season finale hits April 10th!