Sam & Max Save the World - Season One
Preview
Episode 101: Culture Shock
by Sergio Brinkhuis
previewed on PC
Oldschool in 3D (cntd.)
What should you expect from the first episode? Well, lots of laughter of course and the background story seems to come right out of an episode of Animaniacs. It involves a group of former child stars that have fallen from their pedestals. Misunderstood as they obviously are, they feel the world needs to be punished for their lack of taste. Backed (or perhaps controlled?) by an unnamed third party, they put together a dastardly evil plan. Our popular duo are all that stands in their way and it is up to you to help them figure out what exactly is going on.
Doing that is no easy chore. The game contains a strong storyline that, when followed, is littered with puzzles that need solving. For most people, these puzzles should be challenging but not impossible. The main focus for the game lies on its 'entertainment value' rather than its fairly ldschool 'point&click adventure' style of gameplay. The objective is to make you laugh and have fun through mad dialogues, crazy assignments and general oddness that we've come to know and love from the original.
But the game will have some action sequences as well and thus provide some of the more innovative additions to the genre. Besides walking around rooms and outside areas to find clues and evidence, the game will occasionally surprise you by taking you out of the familiar point&click environment. Shooting baddies from fast moving cars, for instance, is most definitely not what one would expect to find in a traditional adventure.
Madness, no other word for it
Almost central to the game is Bosco's Inconvenience Store. From here, many of your assignments and hints will come as Bosco seems to be linked into the underworld in many ways. He is also Sam and Max' main supplier for things they will need on their missions. Bosco is one of the funnier characters in the game, but he is by no means the only NPC that you will interact with. Throughout the game you will encounter all sorts of odd looking characters, most in a very chatty mood.
Many of your conversations with these 'people' will leave you scratching your head, wondering what on Earth was just said. Only afterwards will you realise their significance in the storyline.
Of course, all of the above is filled with the rather violent but playful banter that Sam and Max are known for. As you get closer to the end of the episode and unravel the evil plot, you realise that the child stars are merely marionettes in a much larger conspiracy. All in all, fans of Sam & Max can look forward to seeing the 'series' taken to the next level without straying too far from the original formula. Hilarity assured!
