Developed by: Telltale Games
Genre: Adventure Compilation
Number of Players: 1
Release Date: US: June 17, 2009
ESRB Content Descriptors: Mild Language, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
D&W Reviews Editors Choice Award
DM - 8.5/10: Episodic gaming is a difficult thing to master. The promise of releasing small chunks of gameplay month after month, season after season is something that few developers can handle. For some, the development process takes so much time, that the launch of each episode is treated like a major Holiday release, even though the game contains only a few hours of frantic, fast-paced gunplay. For others, the lack of interest in the first episode, mirrors the level of consumer interest in their game, and allows for them to cancel future episodes faster than NBC canceled Joey.
It seems that only one company, Telltale Games, truly understands what episodic gaming is---they are the only company to deliver their episodes promptly (within a reasonable timeframe), and pack in enough gameplay to satisfy their fans until next month. It is through 
this “mastery” of episodic gaming that Telltale has once again made themselves a well-known game developer. And their continuing success can be heavily attributed to one key series: Sam and Max.
Sam and Max Save the World is the entire First Season of Telltale's Sam and Max games released on PC (and later on Wii). Advertised as “Gaming's first sitcom”, the six-episode season follows the adventures of Sam & Max - Freelance Police, as they attempt to save the world from being hypnotized.
As the player, you control Sam, an anthropomorphic dog dressed in a navy blue suit. And by control, I mean “tell him to interact with something.” The game is entirely point-and-click; you move the pointer on something and “click”. To those who have never experienced a “point-and click” adventure game before, the control scheme may be a hindrance at first, because it doesn't allow for complete control of Sam. However, it does stay true to the series' roots, and after a few hours with the game, moving the pointer around will become quite natural. To progress through each level, you must solve logical puzzles to meet your goal. For example: A game system is trying to make the hardest game ever using an item you need. After playing the game, you realize that what it has made is incredibly easy to beat. So, to trick him into giving you the item, you must intentionally LOSE, convincing him he has made the hardest game ever.
Usually, puzzles are more difficult than that, forcing you to attempt to pick up and combine different items with the environment and other characters. Attempting something that is a wrong solution, like trying to use an item on the wrong person, will result in Sam and Max coming up with some witty banter that will let you know you goofed up. Make the right combination, and you'll be treated to a cut scene that will continue to move the story along. The season features six episodes, all of them memorable in their own unique way. Each episode features a different, but similar plot involving hypnotism, and builds up to a much larger, overarching storyline that spans through the entire season. The first episode, “Culture Shock”, is about Sam and Max stopping a crazy 70s child-star from hypnotizing other 70s child-stars into worshiping him. Episode Four, “Abe Lincoln Must Die!”, focuses on the Freelance Police stopping a mechanized Abraham Lincoln from hypnotizing the entire world while making every single political joke you can think of. And those jokes are what make the game so enjoyable. No matter what you decide to investigate in the environment, Sam always sets up Max, his wolverine/rabbit-type companion, to deliver funny one-liners. And it's not just the dialog that is clever and charming; from the crazy disguises of the paranoid Bosco, to the visual jokes and occasional show-tune, Sam and Max Save the World oozes charm that no gamer could ever hate. The overall presentation of the game is great. The cartoonish graphics and smooth jazz tracks compliment the general gameplay and environments nicely, creating a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Audio quality is impressive, and the voice-acting is incredible, giving each individual character their own memorable My only concerns with the game are problems that can be blamed largely on the process of creating episodic games. The first couple episodes seem lackluster in comparison with later episodes, and that is due in many parts because when the games were released separately, there was time to develop the game to adjust to the complaints of critics. The feedback Telltale received from Episodes 1-2 helped to make the remaining episodes better; so Episodes 1-2 couldn't be helped. Another problem I have is the environments in each episode. Every episode features what I call your “Main Stops”, which are base characters and stores that change every episode, as well as an entirely new area to explore. While the new areas are always unique and hysterical, the Main Stops grow to be repetitive and dull. Once again, Episodic gaming is at fault, seeing as how using the same assets each episode generates for less time spent making new ones. Sam and Max: Save the World shows console gamers what they've been missing out on. Each and every character is unique, the storyline is interesting, and game is full of nonstop laugh-out-loud comedy. Despite the not-so-great opening episodes, Save the World is a fresh, new type of gameplay experience that screams out “gaming's first sitcom”. So I guess that means they did their job right.
Pros: Comedy, Storyline, Dialog Cons: Inconsistent puzzle difficulty, slow opening Unexpected moment: A White House War musical number
personality.
Score: 8.5/10
