Sam & Max: Beyond Time & Space - Season Two
Review
Episode 203: Night of the Raving Dead
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
Another thrilling chapter of your favorite canine and bunny team
It is time for the third episode in the current season of Sam and Max. It seems as though episodes of the dog and rabbit duo are being released more regularly then episodes of The Simpsons on TV during the festive season (fans of The Simpsons will know what I’m talking about). For gamers, this is just perfect, as the Sam and Max installments are usually on the short side for experienced adventure gamers and normally leave you wanting more. As the closing credits roll on one episode, the next is upon you... and so it was the case with Night of the Raving Dead.
When we last left our heroes...
The team of Freelance Police has returned from Easter Island to find that the streets surrounding their office -and indeed the entire city– have been overrun with zombies, and it’s not even Halloween. (I’m beginning to see a pattern with Season 2... Christmas, Easter, Halloween...). Well, that’s not entirely true... we actually see our two stars in a disastrous predicament at the hands of this episode’s ‘villain’. The episode itself is played as a flashback to how they arrived in their perilous state.
The ‘villain’ in Night of the Raving Dead is a vampire named Jurgen. He isn’t your run-of-the-mill vampire though. He is a cross between Dracula and Carson Kressley (the fashion guy from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy). Yes, he wants to take over the world with his zombie army, but he wants to do it with style.
Apart from Jurgen, other bit-players in the cast of Episode 203 include a creature resembling that of Frankenstein’s Monster with a case of loneliness, a host of zombies and Dead Lincoln’s zombie. One of the conversations between Sam and the Lincoln zombie was simply hilarious. How was the ending of that theater show Lincoln was watching? Apart from the newcomers, most of the regular cast makes an appearance. Sybil is looking for a new man after she dumped the Stone Lincoln Head who is sulking in the diner, Stinky is still running the diner, Flint Paper is out to kill any zombies he can, whilst Agent Superball has a new job as the doorman at Jurgen’s dance club. One notable omission from the regular cast is Bosco. There is an allusion that something may have gone awry with Bosco, but I guess we’ll have to wait until the next chapter.
Meanwhile, back at the office...
If you have played previous episodes, you will notice that Sam and Max’s office gets continually updated with souvenirs from previous episodes. The closet is getting full and the office itself is now beginning to look so cluttered that it could be time for a yard/garage sale. In this episode, the office has been updated with Max’s Ceremonial Urn (from the last episode – apologies for the spoiler if you haven’t played yet) and other items acquired from the duo’s Easter Island getaway.
7.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
