[GoT]

Well, this game has probably been covered multiple times already, however it's the first adventure game i've completed from start to go since Monkey Island 4. Thus, it deserves another review.

Storyline: Coming up with storylines for episodic games can't be the easiest of tasks. I'm a wannabe-author myself so I also appreciate a good tale. The whole Brady Culture thing may be a little cliche and the actual length of the episode is also a negative effect on the creators' ability to work on the character of Brady Culture. Max plays a minor role in the episode I would have liked to see more playtime thrown maxs way; However as far as an episodic adventure game goes this little tale was easy to get into and quite funny once you start getting into it. The support characters are funny and creative and the dream sequences were quite fun and a definite laugh. SCORE 6/10

Puzzles: Being the first one i've played all the way through i have only Keepsake to rate it against. And the Keepsake type of puzzles aren't the type that i normally enjoy. The Sam & Max type of puzzles are for me. I loved how pretty much every puzzle was relevant to what was happening in the game at any one time, there was no stupid puzzles within ones own inventory that can sometimes be annoying. A little thought usually guaranteed an answer to the next situation where as sometimes a bit of luck would get me through. Very well thought out puzzles. The only place where i can possibly remove some points here are the action sequences. I don't enjoy action sequences in adventure games and I am a firm believer that they be written out completely, no matter how simple and "adventure puzzle driven" they may be. SCORE 8.5/10

Graphics: At first i declined to purchase Sam & Max mainly due to the 3D graphics but once i actually started playing....i loved it! The Max Sprite looks awesome and the Sam one looks pretty neat too. Most of the graphics in the backgrounds and characters are A grade and i could not pick out any obvious graphical faults as i went through the game. I loved the music and credit sequence at the end of the game and some of the animations are quite hilarious (ie: boxing glove coming straight down from the roof). All in all, very neatly done and the little trick where certain objects follow Sam as he walks around is quite neat. As is the reaction when Max walks too close to sam. One small thing to mention. The zoom in and out sequences when Sam and Max move to another room are good however there is one that makes no sense later in the game because it zooms in on Graffiti that is nolonger there. A very small thing to pick on, but worth mentioning. SCORE 8/10

Sound: They've done a pretty neat job on the sound. There was not really anything too repetitive or annoying whilst the music and background ambience suited each scene very nicely. I still played soft MP3's in the background though, which usually suggests that im not entirely entertained by game music. The voice actors are VERY good, nothing seems forced and its all very hilarious. Both Sam and Max as well as all the support characters are well played by some great actors. SCORE 9/10

Controls: Very nice. Very simple. No confusion and a simple "Right Click" to cancel a line of conversation if you've already heard it or if you're a bit of a speed reader and reading quicker than the voice actors. Keeping it simple is the key these days to a great game. Lets not use the whole keyboard for an adventure game that doesnt require it. The only thing control wise i would have liked to see is (and this is border line in jumping into the Storyline Catagory) an ability to jump control across to Max and walk him around instead. Maybe this happens in future episodes.. but im yet to find out. But I can barely fault the control system here. SCORE 9/10

Presentation: The game was stupidly cheap. FREE. Due to the fact that i pre-purchased the new MI games and got a free CD key to get another Telltale game. I didn't have to put much thought into the fact that i wanted Sam and Max. Normally the episode is also under $9 U.S also which still works out pretty cheap in Aussie dollars and lets not forget that you can purchase games for friends quite easily on the Telltale website. (I have already purchased a Strongbad game for a friends birthday just last week, due to being so impressed with Sam&Max.) The ordering process is simple. Install and setup: Simple. Loading/Saving etc... Simple. There's simply Nothing i can pick wrong about how Telltale professionally deliver their products. Well done guys, i'm extremely impressed to see the rise of such a professional game organisation based on Adventure Gaming. You put some of the larger Game Manufactoring companies to SHAME. Very nice. SCORE 10/10.


In conclusion, I've been SOLD, so to speak. I will be purchasing Episode 2 soon and playing through that in hopes that its equally entertaining. I played through episode one over a period of about 3 weeks. I never spent more than an hour sitting down in one go and i enjoyed doing it this way. I'm looking forward to soon having about 4 adventure games on the go at once and dedicating a very small casual amount of time to each. Since most of them will be episodic i can have fun playing them small amounts at once and enjoy all the story lines... like reading multiple books at once. Telltale have impressed me and I look forward to playing the MI games and the next Sam & Max episode!

Total Score: 84%

[Bruno_Malta]

Excelent Review. I´v played until Reality 2.0 and will soon buy the rest of the episodes.

[GoT]

thanks for the comment.

I just bought episode 3 this morning. and i watched one of the previews of a season 2 episode and the graphics looks absolutely amazing!! Saw the clip with the zombies standing out the front of a castle and Sam goes "I cant eat all these brains by myself" or something funny like that. Anyway, cheers again and let me know what you think of the rest of the S&M games, i reckon they're pretty spot on.

[Bruno_Malta]

Sure...i will be updating you on my toughts. Just bought some new episodes and will be playing on the following days.

[MikeLXXXVIII]

An interesting review, I had much more negative impressions from it.
I never played the originals but wanted to give this a try, I did the same as you choosing this episode for the pre order bonus.

I did like Bosco a lot (gave me some laughs), and those 3 tv star brothers were a bit charming too. However the puzzles felt forced and ridiculous. Caffeein rush! *when you try to punch them* and the psychology part could been more humourous if it was an optional thing to do (especially the dream), but it felt tacked on proving how "insane" sam is with regards to how he reacts to things. I have to give it credit for that they were not that hard to figure out and had plenty of contexuality within the story.

I agree on the action bit should have been cut, it does ruin some of the pacing. This game didn't necessary just give a bad impression, but I am still on the fence when it comes to buying the rest of the season. I have read that the other episodes are better, which certainly is promising!

[GoT]

Yeh, i found episode 2 to be heaps better, i think i ended up scoring it a few percent higher. I've started episode 3 and so far part 2 is still better, but im playing Gobliiins 4 at teh same time so it'll be a while till i get any reviews out. And monkey island comes out in a few days so i'll have 3 games on the go.. which will be a lot of fun

enjoy the rest of the Sam and Maxs if you get them!