Remember the days of the click n’ play adventure games? Well, if you do you are certain to remember Lucas Art’s classic hit Sam & Max: Hit The Road. That game came jam packed with all the goodness of a great adventure game – interesting puzzles, great story, amusing minigames, and it was funny as all hell. When I first read that Sam & Max: Save the World was coming to Xbox LIVE I pissed myself a little. I was as frightened as I was excited. I loved the idea of a new Sam & Max game, in high-def, and on the Xbox, but I was so worried they would butcher the game, and sully this wonderful franchise – but my instincts got the best of me and I jumped at the chance to download the demo first, then after seeing that - The full Game Was a Definite Purchase!!
I was quite surprised when Sam & Max: Save the World loaded, I sighed with relief when I noticed that they had decided to stick to the classics form of gameplay – finding a decent point and click adventure game these days is not easy. The only real difference is that instead of having several different click methods; ie. talk, insult, grab, and squeeze, you only have one pointer that does it all. You can, of course, access your inventory and grab whatever is in there and use that on your surroundings.
The story progresses through six episode. Each episode ties well into the next and at the end of each you will collect a souvenir that you will find stuffed away in the closet in your office. Each story takes a bare minimum of two hours to complete, but can take longer if you get enticed by the story and are dedicated to hearing as much spoken dialogue as you possibly can. If you are not rushing and just plan on enjoying the game each episode can easily last up to three or four hours. The only downfall in this method of story telling is that it is hard to pull away from the game because, like an enthralling TV series, you just want to see how the next episode plays out, and so on.
The magic and charm from the previous games is captured beautifully in this game. The characters are still as wacky as ever and are pumping out jokes left, right, and center – some that may even make you “ROFL” your pants off. The game also features the typical cartoonish lounge music which we all got used to in the previous game, and even after hours the music still hasn’t turned me insane. There is, though, a little problem with the sound levels. From time to time both music and sound effect elements can completely drown out the vocal track. There is an option to adjust these levels but even after you’ve dropped the volume right down it just doesn’t feel right – there is still a slight inbalance in the audio no matter how you set it up.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are probably going to be turned off by the fact that this is a point and click game since the main focus of this generation is first person shooters. Sam & Max is a Godsend – a fresh trip down memory-lane – a game with soul. You will be quick to fall in love with the story and it’s characters. The demented duo did it again. I’m sure everyone will want a friend like Max at the end of this wonderful experience.
Sam & Max: Save the World is a game that many old timers will appreciate, while the remainder will take it for granted. It is jam packed with wonderful moments and comic genius and It definitely lives up to it’s predecessor. The story is as compelling as it is funny that you may find it hard to stop after just one episode. Sam & Max: Save the World is definitely worth the 1600 Microsoft Points it costs, so go ahead and download it of the Xbox LIVE marketplace!
With The Success of how this has turned out, it would be almost inevitable that we will see features like Monkey Island, and even Leisure Suit Larry Coming to xbox live arcade in the near future...well we hope so anyway ;)
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