It’s funny, it’s different and it’s got heart.
Whose heart, they may not say. Max might be making another necklace.
After a decade in limbo, Sam & Max are back and they’re taking the Internet by storm.
The duo originated in the early ’90s in the form of a comic book by creator Steve Purcell. In ’93, the dog and rabbit detectives took to the PC in “Sam and Max: Hit the Road.” By ’95, the IP was such a hit FOX picked it up for an animated series that lasted until ’97.
Fans have waited for more from the animal pair and, after two titles were planned and killed, Sam and Max are back in “Season 1,” a monthly episodic adventure game broken into six parts.
Episode four, titled “Abe Lincoln Must Die” puts the duo in Washington after getting a call saying the president is acting a bit odd.
Through a series of hilarious one-liners and odd circumstances, the unbalanced bunny, Max, finds himself pitted against an animatronic Lincoln Memorial for the role of president of the United States.
The title is certainly less challenging than the original PC game, but that’s not what this new “Sam and Max” is about.
“We’re trying to make the puzzle design more straightforward,” Telltale founder and president Dan Connors told The Examiner during the Game Developers Conference last week in San Francisco. “We’re trying to work more on entertaining players, not making them solve puzzles.”
For anyone looking for brilliant and funny video game writing, go to GameTap or Telltale’s Web site and check out episodes 1-4 of “Sam and Max.”
Sam and Max: Season 1
Developer: Telltale Games
System: PC
Price: $8.95 per episode
Overall Score: 5/5 stars
