Sam & Max are back, many years after their first adventure in 1993. I bought my first computer in 1995, and Kings Quest 6 and Sam & Max were some of the first games I played. I thought Sam & Max was hilarious, and I rank it up there with Day of the Tentacle for sheer fun. I was very happy when Telltale decided to release a new Sam & Max adventure.

Sam & Max Season 1 was initially released in a series of episodic chapters, one every few months, beginning in the fall of 2006. These episodes could be downloaded from their website. This seems to be a relevant and financially sound method of delivering adventure games, but I, personally, prefer to have the entire game at once. Now, I can.

GameZone has reviews of all six chapters onsite, so I won’t be reviewing the entire game, but will touch on the highlights and the new additional material.

Each episode is a stand-alone adventure, but they all tie in to a bigger plot. It seems that someone is out to take over Earth by mind-control, and all the episodes present different aspects of mind-control in some truly hysterical stories. Paranoids will be nodding their heads; urban legends abound in these stories. The episodes deal with the mafia, politics, moon exploration, computers, and virtual reality, amongst many other things.

Common characters and sub-stories thread these adventures together, like having a character named Bosco in all the episodes. He runs an “inconvenience” store, and he is in a different disguise in every one. This is because he’s determined to avoid harassment from whatever nefarious others are trying to take over his store. His funniest persona is French, and his fake French accent is too funny. His character serves as a common theme by providing a mighty weapon that Sam & Max are sure to need. Another ongoing character is Sybil, who has a different career in every episode, like a match-maker or a beta tester for virtual reality games.

And, of course, there’s Sam & Max! Telltale did an incredible job of updating these characters graphically without losing any of their cartoon appeal, and their personalities are exactly the same. Max evinces his same strange and cracked humor, and Sam is the straight guy who keeps spouting long lines of exclamatory remarks, shades of Batman meets Dragnet.

This is an old-style point-n-click third-person adventure, with lots of hot spots to click and dialogue to read. Not only is the dialogue funny, but the sight gags are numerous and pointed. True to Sam & Max, the entire game is drawn in a cartoon style, similar to a comic strip without the balloons. The puzzles are mostly inventory-based and are pretty easy. This game is more about the adventure and story, rather than perplexing conundrums.

Along with the six episodes, there is new content in the form of behind-the-scenes interviews with different people involved in this production, wallpaper, music, character bios and concept art. Some content that can be also found on the Web site is a collection of all of the trailers and the Web comic. I especially loved viewing the interviews with Steve Purcell and the others who worked on the game during production. The wallpaper is nice, and the music files are cool.

This is a great deal for $35, even if you’ve already played the episodes separately. I, for one, sure appreciate having a boxed game (I always keep the boxes of games I keep!), and the bonus content really adds to the value. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to any adventure fan, and even to those who may have never played an adventure. It’s especially relevant for families with teens, as they will love the stories and smart-alecky characters.

Gameplay: 8.5
Welcome to the wacky world of Sam & Max! It’s not the end, but the journey that is the adventure. This game is what all comedic adventures should strive to be. The puzzles aren’t too hard, but they do require a bit of thought, and the dialogue and humor is just right.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics are exactly what they should be, bright and cartoony. Sam & Max look just the same.

Sound: 8.0
The music is all great. There are some really silly songs in some of these episodes, too.

Difficulty: Medium
Not too easy, not too hard.

Concept: 7.0
This game isn’t meant to be anything startlingly new, that’s the point. It’s for people who love adventure games and humor.

Overall: 8.5
It’s everything it should be: great humor, great dialogue and funny stories. Sam & Max are as nutty as ever, and their takes on current cultural icons are very humorous. The puzzles aren’t very difficult and could be more challenging, but on the whole, this is a great game for anyone, and families with teens should especially consider it.