modeps
08-31-2010, 05:48 AM
Title: Sam & Max Season 3: The Devil's Playhouse
Platform: PC / Mac / PSN
Platform Reviewed: PC
Developer: Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/)
Publisher: Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/)
MSRP: $19.95 for Season 3 on PC/Mac, $34.95 on PSN
Writer: Matt 'gzsfrk' Williams
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Review
Immolation is the sincerest form of flattery
Not unlike King Graham wandering aimlessly about the desert in King's Quest 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8R5KVG5nHE), much of the past decade or so of gaming has been a veritable wasteland for the traditional adventure enthusiast. But ever since Telltale Games hit their stride around 2007, churning out chapter after chapter of high-quality (and punctual!) episodic content, there's been a refreshing oasis of point'n'click goodness for those of us who occasionally prefer to play with our brain rather than a bazooka, our inductive reasoning instead of a Metsu Hadoken.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep1_narrator.jpg
In particular, I've very much enjoyed Telltale's revival of the Sam & Max (http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax) series. As a big fan of the original Sam & Max Hit the Road (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the_Road) game from 1993, I was devastated when the LucasArts sequel--Sam & Max: Freelance Police (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiPISwKoovE)--was cancelled (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_%26_Max:_Freelance_Police) back in 2004. Fortunately, many of the same people who were working on Freelance Police (when the morons in charge at LucasArts decided to can it) left the company to form Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/) shortly thereafter. Two years later, Sam & Max were reborn in episodic form, and the rest has been history. Or I should say, the rest continues to be history as the third season of Sam & Max, The Devil's Playhouse, has been steadily flowing from the twisted, genius minds at TTG each month since April. With the season finale now available, I can finally give my impression on the full game. And to capture it in a word: fantastic.
While the previous two seasons were well done and very enjoyable, it's obvious that with Devil's Playhouse Telltale has taken all the parts that worked best from those games and added in some all new puzzle concepts which take Sam and Max to a whole new level. Story wise, the plot joins the anthropomorphic duo as they discover that Max has latent psychic powers which are tied to a collection of special "toys", each of which unlocks a different psychic ability. For example, using a Viewmaster-like device, Max can see brief glimpses of the future for certain objects and characters--a mechanic which is central to several parts of the game but which also serves as a subtle hint system for when you're stuck. There's also a type of silly putty that Max can use to rub on pictures of objects that will then allow him to become those same items.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_scoggins.jpg
But Max's psychic abilities are just one of the new mechanics introduced. In Episode 2, the detective duo use Astral "Projection" to connect with their ancestors, Sammus and Maximus, who first discovered the Devil's Toybox in an ancient Egyptian tomb. In order to complete the episode, Sam and Max must switch back and forth between four parts of the story, using information gained in one chapter to further their progress in another. Episode 3 finds Sam starting out alone as he relies on his gritty, noire style to interrogate suspects. Episode 4 features a great twist that I didn't see coming at all. And Episode 5--well, I'll let you play that one and find out for yourself. Suffice to say, it’s a very unique blend of puzzles layered on top of... a bigger one.
Puzzles and gameplay aside, this season also shines on the technical and production quality levels. It's easily the best looking entry in the series; all of the character models are well done with plenty of fine detail and smooth animation. The backgrounds and environments look fantastic and are alive with animation and dynamic lighting while still maintaining the cartoon feel of Sam and Max’s world. The music is outstanding and the voice acting is just about perfect. I still get taken a little aback by how Sam and Max don't sound quite like their "Hit the Road" counterparts (I actually like the new Max better), but the rest of the cast is spot on and fit their characters precisely.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep3_max_in_a_jar.jpg
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the writing. Telltale have once again outdone themselves in that department, crafting a story that is laden with a twisting (yet easy to follow) plot, tons of surprises, plenty of fanservice such as cameos and nods to previous chapters (there's even a copy of "Car Bomb"--the Battleship-ripoff minigame from the original "Hit the Road"), and a final shocking conclusion to Episode 5 that I dare not discuss in the slightest lest I ruin it for the reader.
To be fair, the game is by no means perfect. The movement controls are still awful, and while I played the PC version using a mouse rather than the PS3 version of the game, I know from my experience with the XBLA release of Season 2 that playing these titles using a gamepad is painful. Even using a mouse, navigating Sam around most screens using the "virtual joystick" is an inexact chore at best. Additionally, the constant camera angle switching can be disorienting and characters sometimes get in the way of an object you need to click. I also ran into a glitch that causes both my desktop and laptop to get an error message when starting two of the episodes (although just clicking “OK” on it caused it to go away with no apparent detrimental effect). However those complaints, while legitimate, do little to detract from the pure enjoyment adventure gamers will experience when playing through this season.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep3_cruising.jpg
Incidentally, it should be pointed out that Telltale is the only publisher I know of that both gets and delivers on the concept of episodic gaming. They have broken what would be a large game down into affordable 3-4 hour chunks which they then release on schedule each month. For this, they should be commended by consumers and (hopefully) imitated by other would-be publishers of episodic content.
If I were recommending this game strictly to those I know who either love adventure games or want a reason to love them again, I'd give Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse a hearty 5 out of 5. However, since it's likely not going to do much to convert non-enthusiasts to the genre, I feel that I should probably dial it back a bit. Still, make no mistake; if you're a fan of traditional adventure titles that are heavy on zany humor, then you HAVE to play this game (along with Seasons 1 & 2 if you haven't already). It simply doesn't get any better than this in the world of point'n'click puzzlers.
Score: 4 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good
Telltale does episodic gaming right; they get it. You hear that Valve? THIS IS HOW EPISODIC GAMING IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
The story and dialog are top notch. The humor just keeps getting better with each season.
Excellent production values; character models, environments, music, voice acting and animation are all extremely well done.
Puzzles are zany but fair and make sense once you figure them out. Plus, there's almost none of the item-combining that some detractors of adventure games (modeps) like to cite as a reason to hate the genre.
The Bad
Walking around is still awful. Why they don't implement a simple click-pathing engine is beyond me.
Camera issues frequently proved to be momentarily frustrating; often had to move Sam to just the right location to be able to click on the needed spot.
The Ugly
Kuato from Total Recall has nothing on one of the characters in this game. (No spoilers!)
Platform: PC / Mac / PSN
Platform Reviewed: PC
Developer: Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/)
Publisher: Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/)
MSRP: $19.95 for Season 3 on PC/Mac, $34.95 on PSN
Writer: Matt 'gzsfrk' Williams
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Review
Immolation is the sincerest form of flattery
Not unlike King Graham wandering aimlessly about the desert in King's Quest 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8R5KVG5nHE), much of the past decade or so of gaming has been a veritable wasteland for the traditional adventure enthusiast. But ever since Telltale Games hit their stride around 2007, churning out chapter after chapter of high-quality (and punctual!) episodic content, there's been a refreshing oasis of point'n'click goodness for those of us who occasionally prefer to play with our brain rather than a bazooka, our inductive reasoning instead of a Metsu Hadoken.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep1_narrator.jpg
In particular, I've very much enjoyed Telltale's revival of the Sam & Max (http://www.telltalegames.com/samandmax) series. As a big fan of the original Sam & Max Hit the Road (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_%26_Max_Hit_the_Road) game from 1993, I was devastated when the LucasArts sequel--Sam & Max: Freelance Police (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiPISwKoovE)--was cancelled (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_%26_Max:_Freelance_Police) back in 2004. Fortunately, many of the same people who were working on Freelance Police (when the morons in charge at LucasArts decided to can it) left the company to form Telltale Games (http://www.telltalegames.com/) shortly thereafter. Two years later, Sam & Max were reborn in episodic form, and the rest has been history. Or I should say, the rest continues to be history as the third season of Sam & Max, The Devil's Playhouse, has been steadily flowing from the twisted, genius minds at TTG each month since April. With the season finale now available, I can finally give my impression on the full game. And to capture it in a word: fantastic.
While the previous two seasons were well done and very enjoyable, it's obvious that with Devil's Playhouse Telltale has taken all the parts that worked best from those games and added in some all new puzzle concepts which take Sam and Max to a whole new level. Story wise, the plot joins the anthropomorphic duo as they discover that Max has latent psychic powers which are tied to a collection of special "toys", each of which unlocks a different psychic ability. For example, using a Viewmaster-like device, Max can see brief glimpses of the future for certain objects and characters--a mechanic which is central to several parts of the game but which also serves as a subtle hint system for when you're stuck. There's also a type of silly putty that Max can use to rub on pictures of objects that will then allow him to become those same items.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_scoggins.jpg
But Max's psychic abilities are just one of the new mechanics introduced. In Episode 2, the detective duo use Astral "Projection" to connect with their ancestors, Sammus and Maximus, who first discovered the Devil's Toybox in an ancient Egyptian tomb. In order to complete the episode, Sam and Max must switch back and forth between four parts of the story, using information gained in one chapter to further their progress in another. Episode 3 finds Sam starting out alone as he relies on his gritty, noire style to interrogate suspects. Episode 4 features a great twist that I didn't see coming at all. And Episode 5--well, I'll let you play that one and find out for yourself. Suffice to say, it’s a very unique blend of puzzles layered on top of... a bigger one.
Puzzles and gameplay aside, this season also shines on the technical and production quality levels. It's easily the best looking entry in the series; all of the character models are well done with plenty of fine detail and smooth animation. The backgrounds and environments look fantastic and are alive with animation and dynamic lighting while still maintaining the cartoon feel of Sam and Max’s world. The music is outstanding and the voice acting is just about perfect. I still get taken a little aback by how Sam and Max don't sound quite like their "Hit the Road" counterparts (I actually like the new Max better), but the rest of the cast is spot on and fit their characters precisely.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep3_max_in_a_jar.jpg
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the writing. Telltale have once again outdone themselves in that department, crafting a story that is laden with a twisting (yet easy to follow) plot, tons of surprises, plenty of fanservice such as cameos and nods to previous chapters (there's even a copy of "Car Bomb"--the Battleship-ripoff minigame from the original "Hit the Road"), and a final shocking conclusion to Episode 5 that I dare not discuss in the slightest lest I ruin it for the reader.
To be fair, the game is by no means perfect. The movement controls are still awful, and while I played the PC version using a mouse rather than the PS3 version of the game, I know from my experience with the XBLA release of Season 2 that playing these titles using a gamepad is painful. Even using a mouse, navigating Sam around most screens using the "virtual joystick" is an inexact chore at best. Additionally, the constant camera angle switching can be disorienting and characters sometimes get in the way of an object you need to click. I also ran into a glitch that causes both my desktop and laptop to get an error message when starting two of the episodes (although just clicking “OK” on it caused it to go away with no apparent detrimental effect). However those complaints, while legitimate, do little to detract from the pure enjoyment adventure gamers will experience when playing through this season.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/samnmax_ep3_cruising.jpg
Incidentally, it should be pointed out that Telltale is the only publisher I know of that both gets and delivers on the concept of episodic gaming. They have broken what would be a large game down into affordable 3-4 hour chunks which they then release on schedule each month. For this, they should be commended by consumers and (hopefully) imitated by other would-be publishers of episodic content.
If I were recommending this game strictly to those I know who either love adventure games or want a reason to love them again, I'd give Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse a hearty 5 out of 5. However, since it's likely not going to do much to convert non-enthusiasts to the genre, I feel that I should probably dial it back a bit. Still, make no mistake; if you're a fan of traditional adventure titles that are heavy on zany humor, then you HAVE to play this game (along with Seasons 1 & 2 if you haven't already). It simply doesn't get any better than this in the world of point'n'click puzzlers.
Score: 4 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/4.gif
The Good
Telltale does episodic gaming right; they get it. You hear that Valve? THIS IS HOW EPISODIC GAMING IS SUPPOSED TO WORK.
The story and dialog are top notch. The humor just keeps getting better with each season.
Excellent production values; character models, environments, music, voice acting and animation are all extremely well done.
Puzzles are zany but fair and make sense once you figure them out. Plus, there's almost none of the item-combining that some detractors of adventure games (modeps) like to cite as a reason to hate the genre.
The Bad
Walking around is still awful. Why they don't implement a simple click-pathing engine is beyond me.
Camera issues frequently proved to be momentarily frustrating; often had to move Sam to just the right location to be able to click on the needed spot.
The Ugly
Kuato from Total Recall has nothing on one of the characters in this game. (No spoilers!)