Sam & Max: Season One Review

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Sam & Max Hit The Road came out in 1993. 14 years ago. It was a huge success, heralded for its twisted brand of humor and memorable adventure game play. It spawned legions of fans that have been hanging out for the characters return for nigh over a decade.

In 2002, LucasArts announced that a sequel to "Hit the Road" was going into production. In 2004 with the game nearing completion they canceled it. Outrage in the form of 30, 000 signatures in an online petition greeted the news. Sam & Max are beloved characters and "Hit The Road" is considered a classic and one of the funniest games to ever be released.

Luckily ex-Lucasarts employees formed Telltale Games and have finally brought us a new Sam & Max game after 14 long years. Season 1 totals 6 episodes each about 4-5 hours in length. Sam & Max tackle a new case with each episode, while an overarching storyline pieces the episodes together.

The new Sam & Max game really retains that clever brand of humor of previous Sam & Max incarnations. Episode 1 gets off to a strong start. Episode 2 and 3 are quite funny but suffer from simplistic game play. The puzzles in these episodes won't give you any headaches. Episode 4, Abe Lincoln Must Die is where the series really reaches new heights. It's a hilarious romp in which Max runs for president against a robotic Abe Lincoln. The environments are fresh, and the puzzles require greater thought. The music across the entire series is absolutely brilliant. Jared Emerson-Johnson has created some wonderful and diverse jazz music to accompany the game. The voice acting is superb and really brings the characters to life. Episode 5 and 6 finish off the season strongly with more well designed puzzles, hilarious dialog and wacky adventures. Perfect material for Sam & Max to riff off. I can't recommend this game enough. If you want a good laugh and a return to games that are genuinely funny purchase this season. I can't wait for Season 2.

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Adventure games have been sadly sparse these last 10 years or so. But this was always one of my favorite genres, even though I don't have quite the patience to get through a game without resorting to a hint here and there. The original Sam & Max was one of my favorite games for its sometimes crude humor and its clever puzzles. This definitely fits right in with the original, but in general has puzzles that are usually solvable with a little time and thought. Some may complain that a few of the episodes are too easy but I personally find it refreshing to be able to get through them without pulling all my hair out trying to figure out some complicated puzzle that involves dozen of things that have to be done in the right order with all the right items. There's still *plenty* of challenge here while also having a fun plot and humorous dialogue to keep you entertained.

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I've loved adventure games for a very very long time. Leisure Suit Larry, King's quest, Grim Fandango, Monkey Island etc... have always been favorites of mine. I've played many since then and while many are good in their own way, none seem to have been able to capture that creative funny spark which so many from Sierra and LucasArts in days past have been able to do.

When years ago we all learned that Sierra was bring back Leisure Suit Larry I was thrilled but that quickly turned to hate when I learned Al Lowe wouldn't even be part of the team and that it wasn't even Larry Laffer and thus we ended up with a subpar game IMO. Enter Sam and Max, hit the road was is a great game and if you haven't played this original I strongly suggest you do. The question is could this new season of short games after so many years keep up the level of par that the original held? For the most part as many others have said I am pleased to say yes. Season one is funny, held my attention and was fun to play. The puzzles overall are not that challenging which is probably the only let down. However all of them make logical (and comical) sense. If you have never played an adventure game, pick this one up as you owe it to yourself to see what a game from the adventure genre can do. Overall only some of the jokes are repetitive but it's a real blast to play. Four out of five stars only because I feel the puzzles could have been more difficult. I'd say the game is stuck between easy to intermediate and you shouldn't really need a walkthrough.

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It's been a long time since Sam & Max: Hit the Road was released, and for about that long, I never thought I'd be able to see or afford the sequal-that-was-not-to-be. You can only imagine my surprise and unbridled joy when I learned that the Freelance Police were back with a new beat, a new look, and the same sarcastic wit that I know and love!

The game itself is still much of the same of what Hit the Road was, but obviously aimed for a demographic that doesn't want to spend a month doing everything. Something I no longer have time to do myself now that I'm out in the real world and not wasting away some high school weekend football game in front of my TV. While the individual episodes only take a few hours to finish, there is a mountain of hidden content in each of the episodes depending on what tasks you do and in what order you do them in. More often than not, you will find hidden jokes by simply using the wrong item in a very illogical way, which is how you also solve most of your puzzles.

Unfortunately, the overall plot is somewhat predictable. I was able to spot who the major villian was from the second episode, so the big reveal was no surprise. This is, thankfully, fixed by the episodic plots contained within each... uh, episode. Each adventure has their own plot twist or strange humor to keep them fun and engaging. The characters are fleshed out to the point where I can't help but like the side cast of crazies.

The production quality of the game is also something to be praised. The writing is on par with not only the past incarnations of Sam & Max, but that of the comics as well! The voice acting only gets better and better as you get deeper and deeper into the game, but they were still really well done from the first episode on. However, my personal favorite element of the game is the music! The sample soundtrack that comes with this version does nothing but leave me wanting more. (So much so, that I bought the official 2 CD soundtrack from the Telltale Games store.)

This game is a must own for anyone that wants to have a good time playing a video game but without the requirement of devoting a whole weekend to it. You can play one episode, take a break, and then pick up again weeks later if you want and still not miss out on the fun that is Sam & Max!

My only gripe is that my computer isn't good enough to see the game in all its high-quality graphic goodness.

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I've been waiting for a new Sam and Max adventure since playing Hit the Road more than a decade ago. I'm glad that it's finally become reality.

I think the episodic nature works well for characters like Sam and Max.

But I do have a few complaints.

1. The voices. Obviously different voice actors are used, but I feel Sam's voice lacks the snarkiness he had in Hit the Road. He plays it too straight here. It's also kind of disappointing when you select a hilarious line of dialog for Sam to say, only to have Sam rephrase it in a straight manner.

2. Many puzzles are too easy. There are limited locations and limited objects, and some of the puzzles are too obvious. In Hit the Road, there was a large variety of objects, some useless, and it was much more challenging to figure out.

3. As mentioned in #2, there aren't that many places to go or people to talk to in each adventure. Everything has a purpose. It would be nice to through in a couple extra persons, places or things in each story.

Despite all that, it's still a worthwhile game. Hopefully they address some of the above in the recently-announced Season 2!