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Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa Review for PC

Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa Review for PC

‘Tis the Season to be Naughty

A giant destructive robot with a penchant for singing 80’s pop tunes, a shambling corporate presence, demonic possession, and an unruly Santa with a machine gun are only a meager selection of some of the marvelous antics players can expect from the latest in Telltale Games’ wacky episodic adventure series featuring the anthropomorphic “freelance” police duo Sam & Max. Injecting a much needed dose of sarcasm and dark humor into the point-and-click adventure genre, the canine detective and his rabbit-like sidekick have consistently delivered a bang-up performance in their series of short episode titles released over the past year. Following the success of season one, which culminated in a retail release containing all six episodes, it was no surprise when Telltale announced a follow-up season was in the works.

Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa screenshot

With the holidays fast approaching, what better way to kick off the second season premiere of Sam & Max than with an appropriately timed Christmas satire. Trouble is brewing at the North Pole in Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa. When a whopper of a Christmas present arrives full-force on the duo’s doorstep, they follow the trail to Santa’s workshop where all hell is breaking loose. By following leads, interrogating bystanders, and solving puzzles, Sam & Max will get to the bottom of what has Santa’s knickers in a bunch and hopefully unravel the unholy forces at work to destroy Christmas.

If it’s humanly possible, Ice Station Santa packs even more of a punch to the funny bone than any of its predecessors, and that’s saying something. The series’ unique brand of humor was thoroughly developed and explored throughout each of the previous episodes which feature a range of bizarre cases including run-ins with the toy mafia, washed-up former child actors, sentient videogames, and the president of the United States. Already, season two is showcasing a more refined, super-saturated version of this wit. The laughs will come more frequently as Sam & Max deal with a range of increasingly ridiculous situations partially set in an icy winter wonderland. How they manage to drive their Desoto to the North Pole is a complete mystery.

Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa screenshot

Players will control Sam & Max using the same point-and-click interface as in past episodes. Practically everything in each location can be examined and doing so will typically elicit some sort of pun from Sam or Max, or both. You’ll run into many familiar locales from the past games in addition to some slick new areas. Places like the office, the streetscape, and Bosco’s Inconvenience would seem like old hat had the developers not taken the time to spruce things up a bit. The extra touches are much appreciated. Puzzles in Ice Station Santa have also been cranked up a notch, requiring a bit more thought than those in some of the past games. They’re also quite clever in design and how they tie into humorous aspects of the game. There are a few noticeable improvements in terms of gameplay. Load times are significantly shorter this time around which is something anyone who’s played Season One will appreciate. If slowly meandering across the screen seemed to grow too tedious in past episodes you can now double click to make Sam & Max run faster. Also, players can switch on a new hint system which will have Max providing clues from time-to-time on where to go next. You can turn it off and on, or even manually adjust the frequency of hints to your personal liking. All of the puzzles can be solved with a little time and extra patience, but the hints are a big help if you get stuck for an extended time when a particular solution escapes you. The few improvements, though minor, are certainly noticeable in a good way.

Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa screenshot

For those you who are new to the Sam & Max franchise, it’s advisable to take the time to wade through the episodes in the first season before tackling Ice Station Santa. It’s possible to enjoy the game without doing so, but you’ll miss out on a lot of the back story and the re-occurring characters which frequently pop up in season two. Also, the earlier episodes are well worth the effort. Quite a few characters from Season One make reappearances in Ice Station Santa, and all are welcome sights (except for the Soda Poppers who have long become a bothersome annoyance). The many new characters are a real treat. Santa’s elves are creepy, the tourette’s syndrome-induced outbursts of Jimmy the rat’s kid Tiny Tim are hilarious (albeit beeped out), and how can you not love a giant robot who sings 80s pop tunes in monotone? There’s plenty more where they came from.

Sam & Max Episode 201: Ice Station Santa screenshot

The series’ cartoonish graphical style has changed very little from one episode to the next, yet each episode looks great and can be enjoyed on many PCs even without a high-end graphics card. The system requirements overall are really quite reasonable. Voice acting and character dialogue plays a big part in Sam & Max, and it’s as sharp as ever. You can turn on the subtitles if you choose although you won’t get the same effect. Max’s voice still can be a bit grating on the nerves after awhile, but the quality of the dialogue across the board is first-rate.

Ice Station Santa is definitely one of the longer episodes of the batch, and it may easily become a fast favorite. Still, even with the hints turned completely off it will only take you a handful of hours to plow through this gem. It’s a relatively short title, yet it burns brightly while it last. It’s a gut-busting adventure from start-to-finish. For the budget download price of $8.95 per episode, it seems a good trade. The rest of the episodes in season two are expected to be released one after another in the coming months. A retail release will likely follow sometime later next year if you have the patience to wait that long for a box full of Sam & Max Season Two goodness.

Features:

  • Solve crimes and puzzles with unorthodox methods only available to the uniquely talented “freelance police.”
  • Simple point-and-click interface and control scheme lets you jump right into the fun effortlessly.
  • Extensive voice-overs and quality sound effects add to the fun, 3D cartoon art-style.
  • Guide Sam & Max through interactions with a wide assortment of insane, crazy, weirdo’s.

    RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
    The same high-quality 3D cartoon art fans have grown to love. New environments and fresh takes on old locations are a nice touch. 4.1 Control
    Point-and-click controls. The ability to run is a simple and wonderful addition. 4.9 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
    The voice acting is excellent and the dialogue is simply hilarious most of the time. 4.3 Play Value
    It’s one of the lengthier episodes clocking in at around 5 or so hours. 4.5 Overall Rating – Must Buy
    Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

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