Sam and Max are back with a bang.
Back in 1993, LucasArts released a game involving a dog and rabbit crime solving duo. With its humour and story, the game was a hit, so imagine fan's delight when LucasArts announced in 2002 that they were releasing a new Sam and Max adventure, this time in 3D. Then imagine the disappointment when LucasArts cancelled the title. In fact, you don't need to imagine it - there was a petition put online that over 32,000 people signed. Luckily Telltale acquired the license and is now bringing out Sam and Max games in an episodic format.
The story is that three '70s former child stars called the Soda Poppers seem to have gone into some kind of trance and now worship another former child star, Brady Culture, who has released a video on eye exercising tapes called Eye-Bo. The Soda Poppers love Brady Culture so much that they have taken to spray painting his face on walls and sneaking his videos into the local store. It is now up to Sam and Max to figure out what is going on and what Brady Culture is up to...
The interface is fairly simply. You click to where you want Sam and Max to move to and you can interact with someone or something by clicking it. Your inventory is displayed in a cardboard box at the bottom left hand side of the screen. The inventory is fairly simple however, as you cannot mix items together and there is only a limited amount of objects you can have in it. This makes solving the puzzles in the game slightly easier, but this could either be a good or bad thing, depending on how challenging you like your adventure games.
There are some hilarious moments in Culture Shock that are really well written, but are given a boost by the excellent voice acting from all the cast. The Soda Popper's voices are really funny and you will be laughing at lines they say which weren't even meant to be jokes. The only downside to the voices is that it isn't great quality and it is a bit rough round the edges at times.
Graphically the game isn't the most detailed possible, but it fits the style of the comic book roots Sam and Max came from. The animations on the characters are done well as all of it is smooth with no jumps from one action to another. There is also a jazz soundtrack which fits well to the detective side of the dog and rabbit.
Sam and Max Episode 1: Culture Shock is an excellent introduction for what's to come and although the ending wraps up nicely, will have you screaming for more. The game is the first of six downloadable games; however people may not like having to download games, so luckily all six episodes that make up Season 1 are now available on disc. Culture Shock is a great game and is really good value for money so you should really play this game long-time Sam and Max fan or not.
The story is that three '70s former child stars called the Soda Poppers seem to have gone into some kind of trance and now worship another former child star, Brady Culture, who has released a video on eye exercising tapes called Eye-Bo. The Soda Poppers love Brady Culture so much that they have taken to spray painting his face on walls and sneaking his videos into the local store. It is now up to Sam and Max to figure out what is going on and what Brady Culture is up to...
The interface is fairly simply. You click to where you want Sam and Max to move to and you can interact with someone or something by clicking it. Your inventory is displayed in a cardboard box at the bottom left hand side of the screen. The inventory is fairly simple however, as you cannot mix items together and there is only a limited amount of objects you can have in it. This makes solving the puzzles in the game slightly easier, but this could either be a good or bad thing, depending on how challenging you like your adventure games.
There are some hilarious moments in Culture Shock that are really well written, but are given a boost by the excellent voice acting from all the cast. The Soda Popper's voices are really funny and you will be laughing at lines they say which weren't even meant to be jokes. The only downside to the voices is that it isn't great quality and it is a bit rough round the edges at times.
Graphically the game isn't the most detailed possible, but it fits the style of the comic book roots Sam and Max came from. The animations on the characters are done well as all of it is smooth with no jumps from one action to another. There is also a jazz soundtrack which fits well to the detective side of the dog and rabbit.
Sam and Max Episode 1: Culture Shock is an excellent introduction for what's to come and although the ending wraps up nicely, will have you screaming for more. The game is the first of six downloadable games; however people may not like having to download games, so luckily all six episodes that make up Season 1 are now available on disc. Culture Shock is a great game and is really good value for money so you should really play this game long-time Sam and Max fan or not.
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