As a huge fan of the original Sam & Max PC game I was excited to hear about the long-overdue revival of the wisecracking detectives. The animal version of the odd couple returns with six new stories and all for the price of one game – genius. For those who aren’t familiar with the duo, Max is a short deranged rabbit with psychotic tendencies and Sam is a tall fast-talking dog who, as I pinch a quote from one of my favourite movies, “drives a car and wears a hat” – come to think of it, perhaps he isn’t a dog after all.

In ‘Episode 1: Culture Shock’ the pair must stop a self-help guru who, with the help of some washed-up former child-stars, is attempting to brainwash the unsuspecting public and then, almost certainly, try to take over the world!

‘Episode 2: Situation Comedy’ sees the pair become actors in order to infiltrate a TV studio and deal with a loose-hinged talk show hostess who is holding her audience hostage and demanding they accept gifts from her.

‘Episode 3: The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball’ has Sam & Max searching for the Commissioner’s Mole and in order to do this they must infiltrate the ranks of the Toy-Mafia.

‘Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!’ and the President of the United States has been up to no good so it’s up to the duo to take him down and only the statue of Abe Lincoln stands in their way.

‘Episode 5: Reality 2.0′ has the Internet running amok and Sam & Max must enter the virtual world and put an end to it.

‘Episode 6: Bright Side of the Moon’ sees the pair of detectives travel to the Moon in order to stop the world from being hypnotically enslaved.

Reality 2.0 is my favourite episode as it cleverly combines quirky wit with a satirical look at the Internet and virtual reality.

As you play through the game you’ll interact with an array of memorable characters each with their own quirky personality traits. Bosco, the owner of “Bosco’s Inconvenience” store, a deeply paranoid individual who dons various disguises to avoid the authorities, and an inventor of ridiculous ACME-style items which prove to be very useful in each of the episodes. Sybil Pandemik, the owner of an ever-changing store as she tries to find her calling in life, her short-lived careers range from licensed Psychotherapist to Queen of Canada. Jimmy Two-Teeth is a rat and throughout the game is the closest character to Sam & Max but only because he happens to reside in a hole in the wall of their office. The Soda Poppers are a bunch of tiny washed up former 70′s child stars who, despite their very best intentions, are a constant pain in the side of Sam & Max.

The ‘special features’ section on the Wii version contains concept art and character bios which are nice but it’s a shame that it doesn’t include any “behind the scenes” videos which can be found on the boxed PC version. I highly recommend this to fans of old-school point n click adventure games and to anyone with a quirky sense of humour. I can only hope that the critical success of this title will lead to other Lucasarts classics having a modern makeover.

9/10

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• Review: Sam & Max – Season Two: Beyond Time and Space (Xbox 360)
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• Review: Ghostbusters (PS3)
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