Sam and Max: Reality 2.0 marks the penultimate episode in this first season of new Sam and Max adventures. Fifth in a series of semi-connected cases - the connection becoming more and more apparent with each episode - Reality 2.0 is also, by far, the best of the bunch, and is perhaps one of the very best point-n-click adventures ever conceived.

To give that last comment some context, I should note that Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders are some of my first gaming memories. I helped Sir Graham and his kin overcome great perils; I weaved many a tune with Mr. Threadbare; I have endured many a trial with April Ryan; I have lived beneath a steel sky; and so on. The point-n-click genre is one of the oldest and one that has suffered a great many hardships along the way and so has Sam and Max. LucasArts' cancellation of the sequel to 1997's Sam and Max Hit the Road was so very painful to endure for many as Hit the Road signified the pinnacle of comedic gaming at the time. When Steve Purcell was able to wrest control of his own creation back from LucasArts many were relieved, I among them.

I was also worried. "Episodic content" is still relatively untested and Telltale and Purcell's team is pretty much in uncharted waters now. With Valve's constant laughable delays, the word "episode" is nothing more than a self-awarded bit of nonsense; to me these Sam and Max episodes represent the true nature of episodic content in gaming: quick succession of bite-sized games that can both stand alone and work within a larger framework. And Sam and Max is doing quite well with this. In fact, that each episode has been bugless is rather impressive considering their rapid-fire release pattern. Also impressive is how the season has gotten progressively better, and I am no longer worried.

Reality 2.0 deserves almost none of the complaints the previous episodes did. First and foremost, the puzzle difficulty has increased a bit. While still logical (at least within the surreal framework that Sam and Max's world is made of), I believe it marks the first time in the season I actually almost wanted to check a walkthrough. And while this may actually be the most claustrophobic of the first five episodes it also manages to be the least claustrophobic, though to say more would spoil the episode somewhat. And, yes, Sybil and Bosco are back, but they are no longer annoying and I actually enjoyed their involvement quite a bit this time around. Also, obsessive-compulsive clickers are again rewarded this time around, even more so than before: almost everything that existed in the previous episodes (such as Sam and Max's office scenery) will elicit new responses, and quite funny ones. It is amazing how Purcell and company can keep things fresh in a nearly-unchanging set piece with some small dialogue changes and additions. The writing in Reality 2.0 is nothing sort of fresh, poignant, and again extremely witty and funny. It is hard not to laugh out loud at almost everything offered by this episode.

One very minor note, and this is not necessarily a complaint, is that the arc or common thread that pulls these episodes together lacks overall tension. That is, each episode has a certain degree of tension within it, but it does not really compel the player forward the same way television episodes do. What is peculiar about these Sam and Max episodes is that each case has a definable beginning, middle, and end, thus each episode builds its own, respective tension which is then diffused in the climax. I think, by this point, Sam and Max have proved that episodic content can work, but I do think the lack of "season tension" is perhaps the only downfall. Others may disagree, but the only thing that has compelled me to play each new episode is the quality of the previous one. There was no "I need to know what happens next" impulse. Perhaps this is something Purcell's team will try to tackle next season.

That aside, I truly wish I could play this again as a complete Reality 2.0 virgin. Alas, I cannot, for this game will be forever embedded in my memory. It stands out as one of the very best graphic adventure experiences ever made available to gamers, and is four hours of complete gaming bliss. It is witty, intelligent, pretty, and gloriously funny. The "purchase" rating I am giving this does not do Reality 2.0 justice, so I will frame it this way: if you are still unconvinced that games can be works of art, look no further than Sam and Max: Reality 2.0 for if it does not convince you, nothing ever will.

Apr 17, 2007 | 0 comments
Roger Helgeson