Telltale Games’ episodic series Sam & Max: Season One is really hitting off. Finally the gaming world is getting episodic titles that are actually episodic instead of being announced first and then delayed second. A mere one month after Episode 2: Situation Comedy (GN’s review here) was released, Episode 3: The Mole, The Mob and The Meatball is now available for GameTap users; it’ll make its way on Telltale’s site on February 8th for $8.95. Continuing the adventures of Sam & Max, Episode 3 faithfully adheres to the hilarious antics of the duo while introducing new characters and wonderful dialogue. Nonetheless, the series is starting to show its wear and tear with a less-than-expected shorter game time and easier puzzles. However, Episode 3 is still a wonderful grab at its price and gamers will be entertained for a few hours.
Episode 3 starts out with Sam & Max in their office doing God-knows-what until they receive a phone call from their commissioner. This time, the commissioner lost his mole that was gathering intelligence from the Ted E. Bear Mafia-Free Playland and Casino. Now, it’s up to the duo to infiltrate the Casino and see what’s up. Returning from previous episodes are Sybil (with a new profession) and Bosco (albeit under a new moniker), as well as some new characters, including an Indian Poker player named Leo and various adorable (yet dangerous) folks donning bear heads–Lovey Bear the door greeter, for example. The Casino is filled with obvious yet hilarious monikers that are just too funny, and often ridiculous to understand.
For example, one game the duo can play is named "Whack Da Rats." Next to the machine are the rules: "These rats are gonna pop up, see? If the rat’s keepin’ his mouth shut, you don’t touch ‘im. But if that rat’s singin’… you put a bullet in his head, cause a mistrial and walk away with a souvenir magnet." After appearing at the Casino, Sam & Max have to get a password to get into the back room. But walking up to the guard fully expecting to give them entrance is another story.
The puzzles are much easier, like Episode 2. One puzzle encompasses Sam trying to get around a cheating poker player. Even though Sam can’t see his own card, the other player can easily see his and you have to find out how to bypass his cheating. The results are rather hilarious. Like the previous episodes, the audio, voice acting and music are still top-notch. The voice acting is still perky, the voice-actors for the Bears are pretty funny, and the music is great.
The visual presentation really fits the game series and the subtle puzzle hints make sure that players won’t struggle playing the game. Sam & Max: Season One is shaping up to be what the adventure and episodic games market needs. Episode 3, unfortunately, won’t shape up against previous episodes in terms of game time. This time, it’ll be around 3-4 hours until the duo cracks the case. But make sure you spend some time exploring all the conversation trees, because there are some colorful gems in the dialogue. Max never ceases to amaze me with his quirky thoughts and whatever else goes on in his insane brain. For the price of a movie ticket, you’ll get what you want and some extra laughs. Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die! is set for release on February 22nd on GameTap, and March 9th on Telltale’s site.
