Sam and Max Again!

If you enjoyed PC games in the 1990's, it was quite an exciting time as the technological development of the gaming industry was really revolutionary. Without us geeks messing with video card jumpers, writing batch files for distinct game boot-ups, and running separate diagnostics for specific mouse and joy-stick setups, we wouldn't have the mainstream gaming market, with those state-of-the-art consoles, that we see today. Sadly, a certain gaming genre did not survive the chip revolution, as more and more people were concerned with graphics capabilities for action games, first-person shooters, and sim-games. That genre was the puzzle adventure game, which lives on in today's role-playing games, but not as the sole focus. Gone are the great scripts, funny scenes, and suspenseful reveals. Lucasarts was the master of those games, and I always feel a twinge of nostalgia when I look through my old PC game boxes at The Secret of Monkey Island and its sequels, and the Indiana Jones titles. I never played Grim Fandango, and I feel all the lesser for missing it when I had a computer which could play it. But, by far, the most audacious, silly, and rude of those Lucasarts titles was Sam & Max Hit the Road.

Now there was a game that had ultimate replayability, honored the kitchiness of roadside tourist attractions that are uniquely American, and was just down-right hilarious as its main heroes, Sam the detective dog and Max the voracious sharkbite bunny, interacted with each other and the game environment. Thankfully, the fastest growing gaming sector, casual gaming, is rediscovering the old puzzle adventure genre, and repackaging those kinds of games in episodic titles. And the failed and frustrated sequel to Sam & Max was resurrected by Telltale Games, releasing "episodes" for quick, funny PC gaming. I have not yet played any of the games, but now that I've found out how the game engine and voice acting appear, I will definitely be picking them up. So, here's a preview of what the new Sam & Max can do for your funny bone.

"Hey Sam, why are we here?"