[bigjko]

Well, since SerialFreak made a FAQ about Project Jane-J, I thought it would be appropriate to be a copycat and make one about S&M2.

Sam & Max 2: Freelance Police
Developer: LucasArts
Producer: LucasArts
Release Date: Spring 2004

01.) Press Release:

LUCASARTS ANNOUNCES NAME AND RELEASE DATE FOR UPCOMING SAM & MAX™ PC GAME

Disturbingly Idolized Canine and Rabbit Duo Slated to Return Spring 2004 for More Chaotic Hijinks in Sam & Max Freelance Police™

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - May 12, 2003 - Spring 2004 marks the return of interactive entertainment's most freakishly adored dog and bunny tag team, as LucasArts unleashes Sam & Max Freelance Police™ onto an unsuspecting Windows PC game buying public. The long-rumored follow up to the critically acclaimed adventure classic Sam & Max Hit the Road® plunges Sam & Max™ into a whimsical miasma of fur-flying action, hare-pulling puzzles, and unnerving cross-species jocularity.

02.) Who are Sam and Max?:

The wackiest, wittiest and down-right funniest dog and rabbit duo to appear on your computer screen. Starting out as comics by Steve Purcell and later they solved the infamous Big Foot case in Sam & Max: Hit the Road. Well, they're back now to take on yet another idiotic and baffling assignment.

03.) What are our favorite canine and manical rabbit doing now?:

The main plot is still under wraps, but among the locales they'll be visiting is a low-rent space station and a lame-ass neopagan desert bacchanal. The game will be split up into six small stories that will tie loosely into the main plot.

04.) Are the mini-games back?:

You bet your ass they are. They're back with a boost. Literally. I'm talking mini-games with levels and power-ups. Except to see a weird variation of Whack-A-Rat and a seriously deranged Rythm mini-game. Once you've unlocked the mini-games will be replayeable via a techno-organism called the Gylgo with varying difficulty levels.

05.) What kind of characters can we expect to see in Freelance Police?:

Think insane. Examples are a tortilla-made AI and a honked-off Miss Congeniality. Also Flint Paper, the man who guns a smilie into the wall in the beginning of Hit the Road, will be making a re-appearance and apparently plays a big role in the sequel.

06.) What kind of engine is it using?:

It's going to be a full 3D engine using parts of various LucasArts engines.

06.) What are the controls like?:

According to this interview the game will have the classic point and click interface, so no need to fear the transition to 3D.

07.) Is there any action involved.?:

The mini-games are the only action you'll have to endure, and although some of them will not be skippable Mike Stemmle said that if you get too frustrated they'll be solvable by puzzling your way out of them (thanks Jake). Just like in the original.

08.) Is the same level of humour of the original going to be present in Freelance Police?:

I can't guarantee anything, but it has one of the directors of the original in charge of it. Mike Stemmle, the director, certainly hasn't lost any sense of humour judging by the few interviews with him recently. And the voice actors for Sam and Max in the orignal are back, so you can expect the same quality of voice work.

09.) I want innovation. Is Freelance Police going to be innovating for the adventure genre?:

Mike Stemmle said in a PC Gamer interview that after the game ships they might release additional content for the game, including new mini-games, new power-ups for the mini-games and even new cases for the animal duo to solve. I don't know if that counts as innovation, but I've never seen an adventure game offer content after shipping before.

10.) Are the screenshots and trailer that have been released in-game content?:

No, everything was rendered specifically for E3 to capture the essence of what the game will look like when finished.

Related Links:

Product Site
SamAndMax.net

Previews:
A scan of a PC Gamer preview

Interviews:
Computer and Video Games Interview.
Adventure Gamers' Interview

Screenshots/Concept Art:
Rendered Screenshot
Concept Art
Hi-res render of Sam & Max's office

Well, the info's pretty scarce, so this is doomed to be a pretty short FAQ.
And sorry, SerialFreak, for copying your style, but I thought the style's should be consistent between the FAQ's..

EDIT: Typos fixed, Company profile removed, and mini-game question extended.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

:eek: I think we're starting to see some kind of FAQ-shion trend here at AG.

[Marek]

Very, very cool. I would add a line about the possiblity of re-playing the mini-games but with greater levels of difficulty.
Also (and this goes for the Jane-J FAQ as well), I don't think you need to include the company bios in the press release. They don't really say anything about the game.

I love these FAQs. I really do.

[Jake]

Re: Mini Games - Based on a few things said the PC Gamer interview, I think there are some Mini Games that are not skippable (ie "boss battles" or whatever you call the end-of-the-case challenge). However, Mike Stemmle said in his presentation at ComicCon that many of the Mini Games are going to be designed so if you get really frustrated, you can puzzle your way out of them (I'd guess via similar means to the Derby or Mine Road in Full Throttle - aka adventure puzzles designed as action games - only with good controls so they don't suck as hard). Thats just what I remember hearing.

Also www.samandmax.net is a good related link

[D.C.]

bigjko: It's all good. I don't have a problem with the consistent layout. I think these threads have potential.

[LauraMac]

Cool - number two of the Faqtoids. Let's see who's up for one on Syberia 2

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by LauraMac

Let's see who's up for one on Syberia 2

...and Free Agent.

[Henke]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

...and Free Agent.

...and Full Throttle 2.

[bigjko]

Originally Posted by Henke

...and Full Throttle 2.

That would be a short one...

[D.C.]

I think it would be sort of funny if someone actually did make a thread about Free Agent. We don't really need one for The Longest Journey though because RaMa's site pretty much has everything.

[Marek]

There's a few snippets of info here:
http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=330

[The Seed]

What I really want to know is if there will be any more of those really memorable musical moments, like Conroy Bumpus's "King of the Creatures," but I guess we'll have to wait till it gets released before we find that out. I hope there are though.

[Peefy]

Hm..
Nice FAQ ^^ Really helpfull ^^

But in the link to the "High res. office render", the link is wrong,
This is the adress:
http://www.samandmax.net/images/free...office_all.jpg

And you could add a link to the trailer:
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/fr.../trailer_1.mov

[Jake]

Theres a much higher res nicer version of the trailer can be had right here. And its an AVI so all you QuickTime haters dont have to deal with the one from lucasarts.com.