Review: Sam & Max Season 2 (PC)

The Sam & Max series from Telltale Games is the episodic adventure game series succeeding the famous LucasArt series (itself an adaptation of a comic by Steve Purcell). This then is the second season of this series, and while it's technically 5 separate games, each of them is short enough (3 hours each) to consider the season as a whole a complete game. The episodes of a season are typically bundled together anyway so if you're going to play all the episodes, you'll probably save by buying the whole season.

Sam and Max in their office (now the presidential office)

The story is of two private investigators, an anthropomorphic dog (Sam) and rabbit (Max), who get the most extraordinary cases and resolve them in the craziest way possible. An example of this was that midway through season 1, Max is elected as US president. And as those aware of Max's penchant for violence will realize, that's going to be trouble. (And maybe it carries just a smidgen of political commentary.) As we begin season 2, Max is still technically president though he appears to govern in abstentia as he is more concerned with saving Christmas (episode 1) and tropical island paradises (episode 2).

Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa

The game itself is firmly of the LucasArts adventure game mould (and the series is considered by some to be the archetype of the episodic adventure game). It's point-and-click with most puzzles boiling down to finding the right item to use in the right place or in the right combination. These are often unusual - one puzzle's solution even had Sam saying "I really didn't expect that to work" - and require lateral thinking or trial and error. The number of items and locations is generally small enough that trial and error will get you past almost all the puzzles eventually. There's also walkthroughs and hints but I personally haven't found the need for such help in any of Telltale's Sam & Max games so far and would consider these among the easier adventure games that I've played.

Season 2 is redeemed by the occasional really good puzzle, such as the portal-based puzzles on Easter Island (and I love a good portal-based puzzle). The rest of it is merely kept afloat by the humour. Sam and Max are a good comedic duo, and they're surrounded by plenty of wacky characters and scenarios. The problem is that it all gets a bit tired after a while. What was funny in season 1 is merely routine in season 2. I said the same thing about Friends so this might just be a case of me tiring of certain types of humour quicker than other people.

Orange and blue portals remind me of another game

As it is, I haven't finished the season. I took a short break from it about three weeks ago because of the World of Warcraft Firelands release (trailer) meaning to come back and finish it before review. It didn't happen, and with a bunch of games now filling my Steam library after their summer sale, I don't feel a great compulsion to finish it.

Final Score: 5 / 10 - Funny at times with some interesting puzzles, but there's not enough here to compel you to play the next episode. Consider buying each episode individually if you want to give the season a try.

Notes on my personal rating scale: They are entirely based on my personal feelings about the game - I don't rate a game on its own merits but rather how much I've enjoyed and how much time it's sucking out of my life. Strategy games will do well and shooters poorly because those are my gaming preferences.

0-4 = Poor game that I won't be bothering to play any more
5-7 = Decent game - fun enough that I'll try play it some more if I have the time
8-10 = Good game that I'll be playing a lot more or have already finished and greatly enjoyed