• Format: PSN (version reviewed), PC, Mac, iPad (sigh)
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Telltale Games
  
• Developer: Telltale Games
  
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

The third season of Sam & Max has been great fun so far… apart from the largely laugh – free third episode. The mistakes in this misstep are arguably attributable to the decision to cut Max from most of the script. At the end of episode four, Sam was again separated from his psychotic little buddy. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, we dived into the fifth and final episode…

The one positive that’s been running throughout the series is variety, which is still present and correct here. Although the action starts in and around Boscotech, new locations are soon introduced via giant monster Max’s innards. Telltale have clearly paid attention to criticism from previous years that their games can rely too heavily on repetition, so kudos to them for that. Two locations from previous episodes do make an appearance later on – but only briefly.

As has happened previously in the series, trying something different actually backfires at times. The fact that you have direct control over your character (as opposed to the traditional point and click format) is unwisely exploited in two ways. In order to progress at one point, you need to completely ignore your puzzle solving instincts in favour of – lil’ tip for you here – repeatedly bumping into some free standing shelving. No, really.

The second ill advised wander from puzzle solving comes when the story allows you direct control of Giant Evil Max. Taking the reins of a gigantic city – terrorising beast should be fun; but instead, it translates to stomping around bland looking buildings (very) slowly until you stumble upon the correct location/s. Less Godzilla, more Godpleasemakeitstop.

Look out! It's a... erm, its an, um...

These criticisms are easy to overlook thanks to most of the rest of the episode, which – hurrah! – still features Max. Well… sort of. Giant Evil Max produces ‘spores’, which are basically floating, flaming, talking Max heads. Telltale get to mess around with the Sam & Max partnership, the player still gets excellently written and perfectly acted lines from Max… everybody’s happy.

In fact the script is mostly quite good, even if it does at one point resort to fat jokes (come on Telltale; fat jokes?). It’s also full of quick references to previous episodes, and twists that you almost certainly won’t see coming. But therein lies the final criticism – the love/hate relationship we have with the ending.

The series finishes on an unexpected, twisted, and slightly sinister note. Perfect Sam & Max material. However, the last minute twists and turns of the story hinge on some hard to swallow behaviour from Max, so out of character that we waited for a joke that never came. Logic and consistency are two concepts that Sam & Max games have always gleefully moulded to their liking – but that’s no excuse for an attempt to turn a surreal comedy into a surreal melodrama.

"Come help me, my iPad's just crashed!"

It’s a strangely satisfying ending nonetheless – and that just about sums up the whole episode. It may not have the consistent hilarity of episode four, or the admirably inventive puzzles of episodes one and two; but it’s a great ride, and one that demands the cry: We want more Sam and Max!!

4/5

And just in case you missed our reviews of the first four episodes…

The Penal Zone

The Tomb of Sammunmak

They Stole Max’s Brain!

Beyond the Alley of the Dolls

• Format: PSN (version reviewed), PC, Mac, iPad (sigh)
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Telltale Games
  
• Developer: Telltale Games
  
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

This latest season of Sam & Max got off to a great start, and then it got even better. In last month’s episode however, the quality of the jokes took a kamikaze nosedive – seriously affecting the overall experience in a Sam & Max adventure. It was with some trepidation, therefore, that we approached the penultimate instalment.

The episode starts out promisingly enough, with a great take on the stereotypical zombie movie siege scene. A most welcome bonus is that, for the first time in this season, the top quality jokes start a – comin’ right from the off. In fact, top quality jokes are to be found throughout the three hours or so you’ll spend playing. As with all well written adventures, we found ourselves purposefully leaving any sensible or logical – looking dialogue choice that might advance the plot until last, in order to fully explore the script. Much like the inane conversations we tend to conduct with family and friends, in fact.

The canine Al Jolson tribute band didn't go down too well.

In terms of plot, Alley of the Dolls sets things up nicely for the final episode. You finally come face to face with the mysterious Dr Norrington, and learn a little more about the true nature of the Devil’s Toybox, the Toys themselves, and Max’s powers. You also of course get to the bottom of all this ‘army of Sams’ malarkey. If you guess who’s behind the clones before his/her identity is revealed then you need the services of a good psychiatrist, as your thought processes clearly aren’t in sync with those of the rest of us. Nonetheless it almost makes sense, even if three important questions (why are the clones of Sam, where did the clone master get his DNA from, and when did he get a chance to do the cloning? Or design, build, and use all the relevant equipment for that matter?) are never answered.

Mind you, it ain’t got nothin’ on the plot holes in Heavy Rain.

Still, if you’re prepared to accept a giant anthropomorphic rabbit with incredible psychic powers and his fully dressed 6ft tall canine friend, you shouldn’t really be worried about such matters. Of more concern are a few minor blips in the gameplay. Generally speaking, Alley of the Dolls is a straightforward point – and – click (well, walk – and – click) adventure. That’s no criticism in itself; but after the effort Telltale put into giving previous episodes fresh ideas and clever puzzles, the ‘you know the drill by now’ attitude here is a tad disappointing.

Away from our keyboards, this is as sophisticated as our humour gets.

Ironically perhaps, it is the one time the episode tries something new and convoluted that stands out as the one disappointing, pace – breaking moment. The Cthonic Destroyer may sound like a 19^th century euphemism for a penis, but it is in fact a new Psychic Toy Max needs near the end. The puzzle you need to crack to grab it centres around a combination of setting four dials and – a little help for you here – two of Max’s existing abilities. It’s supposed to be a process of elimination but, whether you beat the puzzle on your first attempt or your tenth, it will almost certainly be down to luck.

Ultimately however a game of this kind lives or dies on its script and puzzles. The script is the best yet and the puzzles, while slightly less inventive than in previous episodes, are solid (the one mentioned above excepted). This is almost Sam and Max back on top form. We hope that for the final episode next month, we can take away the word ‘almost’.

4/5

• Format: PSN (version reviewed), PC, Mac, iPad (sigh)
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Telltale Games
  
• Developer: Telltale Games
  
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

The latest season of Sam & Max is now in full swing with this, episode 3, marking the halfway point. It’s been a triumphant return for the dysfunctional duo so far – can Telltale Games keep it up?

As suggested by the end of episode 2, you start off here with Max’s pedigree chum Sam going solo. This is used as an excuse for a slightly different style of gameplay; rather than directly controlling Sam’s movement and exploring the environment, each time you visit an area Sam automatically jumps into interrogating the NPC lurking around there. With the emphasis on dialogue, you’re prompted to interrupt the story your NPC is giving at the right moment – and with the right technique, such as a threat or an accusation of lying – to glean more information from them. In this way you pick holes in the witness accounts you’re given, and go back and forth between interrogations until you work out what to do next.

"Put the doggie treats in a bag! DO IT!"

It’s yet another way The Devil’s Playhouse prevents the experience from becoming stale, and is a welcome example of something completely new. Unfortunately however, the humour of the whole of this first act’s script is dead on arrival. You can see where the jokes are, but they just don’t work. After the slow starting but ultimately hilarious first two episodes, it’s like being given the keys to your local sweet shop – which you then find has been turned into a very small Jehovah’s Witness hall.

The second act returns to traditional Sam & Max gameplay. Although you find Max, most of your time here will be spent with SammunMak at your side and, frankly, we wish it wasn’t. As a character, he’s fine; but he has a typically irritating Saturday morning cartoon kid’s voice. You know, one of those ones where a woman in her late thirties supposedly sounds just like a ten year old boy?

At least the puzzles remain enjoyable and clever.

Max remains at your side for the whole of the third act and perhaps because of this, the comedy finally threatens to stutter into life. Threatens to; it occasionally stands up before collapsing again, like a rotting zombie. The episode is enjoyable from start to finish thanks to the ever – enjoyable puzzles and solid game design, but a Sam & Max game without a tidal wave of successful jokes is like a simile without… you know… one of those things at the end that makes it… never mind.

Poor Max, he accidentally watched five seconds of Big Brother.

Episodic games always seem to suffer from dips in quality. We believed that the latest season of Sam & Max would be different, but we’re sorry to say we were mistaken. As previously mentioned, the game design is as excellent as ever – but if the quality of the script doesn’t climb back up to match it again (and stay there), this is one season that will go out with a fizzle rather than a bang.

3/5

• Format: PSN (version reviewed), PC, Mac, iPad (sigh)
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Telltale Games
  
• Developer: Telltale Games
  
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

The latest season of Sam & Max got off to a good start with ‘The Penal Zone’ (ahem). The quality of episodic games can vary wildly however, and Telltale Games have often been afflicted with this problem themselves. So does The Tomb Of Sammunmak grab onto one of Max’s lucky rabbit feet, or does it smell like dog’s… dinner?

The story picks up exactly where episode one left off, With Sam and Max confronted with what seem to be their own skeletons. An unexplained yet terribly convenient projector and roll of film reveals what’s going on.. to an extent. The whole story behind the skeletons, and a little more information about the mysterious Devil’s Toybox, is then pieced together over the course of the episode.

"He's just projecting his anger." "What an interesting project." "To project and serve." FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET A NEW CAPTIONIST!!!

There are a total of four reels for the projector, each one playing a different chunk of the chain of events leading up to the skeletons. Sam and Max can take direct control of their ancestors in the movie reels via Max’s new power of astral projection (ho ho). ‘Sameth’ has a moustache and ‘Maximus’ will on a few occasions turn into a cow, but apart from that it’s business as usual. Sameth and Maximus even sound exactly the same as our heroes, which is convenient for a) character empathy, and b) the Telltale Games budget.

It’s possible to complete the four reels in chronological order – there’s a trophy for doing so in the PS3 version – but you don’t have to. You will have to switch between reels several times though, in a vague approximation of the use of ‘future vision’ in the first episode. For example, at one point in the first reel, you need to give an idea for a brilliant new toy. In order to find out what this idea is however, you must progress far into the third reel where the toy is already being developed.

As in The Penal Zone, the script gets off to a slow start in terms of good jokes. Once it gets going however it’s far more hit than miss, and is undeniably Sam & Max. One of the highlights is surely the brief yet hilarious description of the board game Monopoly, which we shan’t spoil by repeating here. The sharp script works in an unholy alliance with very smart gameplay and gameplay design. Each of the areas in the four reels is quite small; but by making the player switch between reels on a regular basis (which in turn unlocks new characters, dialogue choices and rooms) Telltale Games have grabbed repetition and boredom, smashed their heads together, and thrown the lifeless corpses into a gigantic blender. And allowed the player to help.

That, sadly, is not Mr Bean.

You will most likely find that, even if you switch the hint system off altogether, the solution to virtually every puzzle will present itself to you straight away. That isn’t important. What’s important is that the puzzles are funny, they’re clever, and the whole episode is damn fun. This is a game to be played with, laughed at, and enjoyed.

The Tomb Of Sammunmak will last you approximately three hours, which isn’t very long. However, that’s three hours packed full of great jokes, clever game design, and a proudly displayed love for joy and laughter.

And, now and again, very childish humour.

5/5

• Format: PSN (version reviewed), PC, Mac, iPad (sigh)
  
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Telltale Games
  
• Developer: Telltale Games
  
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax/thedevilsplayhouse

An evil neurotic space gorilla is searching the galaxy for magical children’s toys, which will allow him to take over the universe. It’s up to you – you being a 6ft tall dog in a suit and fedora, and a 3ft tall psychotic rabbit wearing nothing but a predatory grin (whose human ex – girlfriend is now a ghost) – to stop him. Welcome to the world of Sam & Max.

The original Sam & Max game was a hilarious and addictive point and click adventure, and if you didn’t already know that, shame on you. Telltale Games resurrected the dysfunctional duo in much the same way as they have with Monkey Island, and this is actually the third season of the new Sam & Max games. This first episode is titled The Penal Zone and yes, it is the subject of a joke or two.

"What have I got in my pockets, little buddy?" "Your hands, Sam?"

Telltale’s adventures tend to noticeably vary in quality between episodes, thanks to their bizarre decision to keep swapping writers around. How does The Devil’s Playhouse start off? Well the script starts firing one liners at you almost as soon as you start the game up; but unfortunately, some of those jokes fall a little flat. Overall the episode has some really great lines in there but, the problem is, they’re surrounded by dozens of significantly less impressive efforts. It’s never less than entertaining, but you can’t help but wish that it hit you with a belly laugh a little more often.

The art design is a blessed million miles from the reeking mountain of grey shooters that looms over the industry, with the closest comparison being Psychonauts (or, er, the previous two Sam & Max seasons). On a technical level it’s only marginally more impressive than season one on the Wii but we don’t care, and nor should you. The graphics suit the Saturday morning cartoon style voices (though in terms of adult content, the script sits somewhere between The Simpsons and Family Guy) perfectly, and the acting here ranges from competent (the space gorilla) to perfect (Max). One character sounds exactly like Scrooge McDuck, and we hope it’s the same guy doing the voice. Duck tales, woo oo ooh! Etc.

You can switch between control of Sam the dog or Max the rabbit at any time. This, and the aformentioned magic toys, are used for some very clever puzzles. Plotwise, Max is able to take advantage of the powers the toys contain, and the main two you’ll be using are ‘future vision’ and teleportation. Future vision allows you to see a very brief glimpse of the future relevant to the person or object you point it at, and teleportation allows you to teleport to the location of any mobile phone you have the number for. Generally speaking teleportation is used to quickly move between areas; but in a few instances it’s used for some truly inspired puzzles, which we stand up and roar applause in the general direction of Telltale Games for.

If you haven't played the game and only 'Food' makes sense to you, don't worry, that just means you're not as crazy as everyone thinks you are.

Speaking of the puzzles, you shouldn’t find that they give you much trouble. If you do struggle there’s a hint system which you can adjust the helpfulness of as and when you wish, or turn off altogether. You can expect, depending on your puzzle skills and whether or not you seek out every last line of dialogue, 3 – 5 hours of gameplay. The Penal Zone is certainly worthy of the Sam & Max name and, if future episodes retain the quality of the gameplay while improving the consistency of the script, The Devil’s Playhouse will be an essential purchase.

4/5