With Season One of Sam and Max finally at a close, it is interesting to note how the series has evolved significantly and rapidly during such a small span of time. A total of six episodes within seven months is impressive, with each episode bringing its own locations, characters, dialogue, puzzles, as well as a self-contained plot that manages to fit into the season's larger framework. The first episode, Culture Shock, was a witty, fun, but ultimately unchallenging introduction to the ‘new' Sam and Max. Since then, each following episode contained new puzzles of increasing complexity and difficulty, introduced new game mechanics and polished existing ones, and woven increasingly funny and intelligent dialogue into the plot. Indeed, Sam and Max Season One is the gaming equivalent of a crescendo.

Amid the random, surreal chaos that Sam and Max find themselves in throughout the series there was a clear theme running through the series, tying all the cases together. This plot arc, however, comes to a full stop in Sam and Max Episode Six: Bright Side Of The Moon, and players are finally given the closure they long desired. In this new episode, players will encounter various ancillary characters from the last few episodes as well as our lovable Bosco and Sybil, all of whom play a rather important role this time around. Suffice to say, while each episode of Sam and Max has a ‘save the world' imperative, Bright Side Of The Moon is a sardonic, refreshing, and ironic take on that theme, and even so, the stakes are much higher than in any of the previous episodes.

Bright Side Of The Moon - the title being only one of many, many allusions thrown into the game this time around - digs deep into cultural pockets with a very current sense of humor. This season has been very referential to current and past cultural events and influences, but this episode is absolutely drowning in them: anything and everything from The Honeymooners ("To the Moon, Alice!"), to The Matrix, to Fox News headlines, to the supposed controversy over whether or not the moon landing was staged, to jokes about Canada and a similar number of jokes about the U.S….well, the list goes on. While this episode didn't leave me in stitches nearly as much as the previous episode - Reality 2.0 - did, the humor here was perhaps more intelligent. Sam and Max's dialogue, especially toward each other, ultimately feels natural in an unnatural world. Those who have played the entire series up to this point most likely have an empathy and affinity for Sam and Max unlike those they might feel for other video game characters, and this is what Purcell and his team are uniquely gifted at: assimilating the real with the surreal (or vice-versa), and making this amalgamation both relatable and fun.

Overall, the entire series will take gamers anywhere from twenty to thirty-five hours to get through, back to back, depending on the player's experience at point-n-click adventure games and logic puzzles. The games get progressively harder as the series progresses, and Episode Six may be the first time even veteran gamers are left scratching their heads wondering what to do next, and while not the longest in the series, it may feel that way after a few thought-provoking puzzles. The qualms regarding puzzle difficulty are pretty much over: once I was able to figure a few puzzles out, I realized that they were well-designed, but they did trick me. The puzzles are more involved and craftier this time around and it should please veterans who may have stuck around for the humor alone. The humor, as mentioned, is top notch. The voice actors were expertly chosen for their roles, from Sam and Max themselves to even Jimmy Two-Teeth, the talking rat that seems to pop up in each episode.

All in all, Sam and Max Season One, and Episode Six in particular, have been a rollercoaster ride: a high-quality, fun, and well-designed rollercoaster ride. Only one caveat remains for Season Two: please, please, create new characters. Bosco and Sybil are fine, but they cannot remain central to the plot any longer. Frankly, the series felt claustrophobic all throughout. Players going through the entire series back to back instead of waiting for a month between each episode might get a different impression, but as it stands, even Bright Side Of The Moon only offers a few new rooms. One element of the first Sam and Max video game that people seemed to enjoy was the ability to (forgive the expression) hit the road and travel non-linearly from location to location. Telltale has tried to implement some element of this by requiring players to revisit areas multiple times, but it really is just an illusion and overall each episode offers very little sense of travel. This could also alleviate some complaints about the lack of difficulty. More locations and more objects to interact with would require players to use their noggins a bit more. It is understandable, though, that Sam and Max games are uniquely crafted to exhibit humor and characterization, not simply offer the same point-n-click logic puzzles other games provide, but a mixture of the two would be a welcome change for the next Season, and it would be fairly upsetting to deal with the same cast of characters all over again, albeit with a new story arc.

That said, Bright Side Of The Moon is an excellent episode in its own right and possibly the best one in the series; it is certainly the most mature (though, in Sam and Max terms, the idea of "maturity" should be regarded lightly). I highly recommend playing the entire series for reasons that should be obvious by now, but if not, this episode offers quite a bit of enjoyment, though there is a lot more allusion to the five previous episodes, as this is the one that ties all the others together. Reality 2.0 - Episode Five - is the pinnacle of the series and the funniest episode, but in all honesty, Reality 2.0 will be hard to top, even by the team that created it - particularly that impressive end game. The end game here was kind of lackluster, albeit fitting, and the montage that showed in the end credits, as well as the accompanying song, were a fitting farewell for this season. One can only hope that Season Two is not far away.

May 11, 2007 | 0 comments
Roger Helgeson