QJ.NET reviews Sam & Max Season Two: Night of the Raving Dead

It’s a little late for a Halloween bash, but Sam and Max are back with us again for a frightful third installment of their episodic game series. This latest adventure brings us to the territories of Europe, where an undead scourge threatens to take over the world.

Will our favorite anthropomorphic pair somehow beat the odds, or will this case prove to be the Dawn of the Dead? Find out in our game review via the full article!

Before we get started on this duo’s latest caper, it may be best to run you through whatÂ’s transpired in the previous episode. First off, the pairÂ’s back from their leisurely adventure in the tropics with Max now packing the title of a High Priest aside from his post as the President of the United States. So much for separation of church and state. 

TheyÂ’re certainly going to need MaxÂ’s new-found divine powers as the commissioner rings them up for a new case: A city-wide zombie attack that soon has them hot on the trail of some unsavory bloodsucker – no, not the IRS – based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Making their reappearance are Sybil and Abe, though their relationship is now on the rocks (no pun intended). SybilÂ’s dumped the ex-president due to his skirt-chasing back on Easter Island, and has reopened her shop as a dating service. AbeÂ’s been spotted over at StinkyÂ’s Diner, still moping (perhaps a better word is stalking) over his recent breakup.

Also making a comeback are Stinky’s “granddaughter” and Flint Rock, who’s just wrapped up his last assignment keeping an eye on Bosco. Moving on, let’s take a look at Night of the Raving Dead’s plot, and the new cast that’ll come a-haunting.

 

Dead and Loving It

Enter Jurgen – that’s him on the lower right – a vampire with a self-pronounced penchant for brooding, dancing, and “assimilating” the latest cultural innovations that arise. In other words, heÂ’s an emo wannabe who follows the latest fads like a lemming – whether they’re healthy or not – with dance moves that’d make even a lame duck cry.

 

Jurgen also happens to run the aptly-named Zombie Factory, a night club that doubles as his base of operations for a zombie army he plans to use to take over the world. Zombies, rave parties, heavy techno beatÂ…at least we know where they got the title name.

 

Speaking of zombies – theyÂ’ll be following you throughout most of the story as wallpaper, though theyÂ’ll play a more pivotal role halfway through. LetÂ’s just say itÂ’s an out of body experience that’s to die for (cue in teaser screenshot to the lower left).

  

Gameplay

The gameplayÂ’s very true to the formula set in by the devs since Episode One. Solving the case in Night of the Raving Dead will require plenty of footwork and a sharp mind. More importantly, what makes this case different from the past two is its subtlety –  a lot of the problems will require both keen eyes and ears to understand the clues hidden within the story’s subtext.

It also helps to tweak SamÂ’s hint  settings in the options menu just in case you get stuck. Hey, even that hyperkinetic rabbity thingÂ’s crazy insinutations make sense once in a while.

 

Of course, this just wouldnÂ’t be a Sam & Max game without the pairÂ’s patented brand of satiric humor. Jurgen, the melting pot of all that is pop goth and emo, is one of many gags just waiting to be discovered. And while we canÂ’t spoil anything specific, be prepared for the occasional pot shot at other popular horror icons. 

Choice cuts for this game include references to Resident Evil (donÂ’t worry, there’s no mention of “Jill Sandwiches”), Frankenstein, and George Romero. Keep a sharp lookout for Romero in particular – his likeness has been spotted over at Stinky’s.

 

The lowdown:

We have to say Telltale‘s doing a good job of keeping their episodic fun. This latest bit of storytelling certainly keeps true to the core form of Sam & Max that the readers have grown to love, even as it keeps the jokes updated to current trends and cultural icons.

Not that this game’s perfect. On one hand, this game’s more subtle approach at puzzle solving and clue-dropping will cater to the more hardcore snoops, and is a refreshing breather from some of the annoyingly obvious problems from episodes one and two.

On the other hand, the same puzzles may prove to be frustrating for newcomers to the franchise – can you imagine spending hours on end just clicking on every object just to figure out what you’re supposed to do next? It’s not a pretty picture, though thankfully Sam’s hints go a long way to remedy this problem.

On a more technical note, we did pick up a typo in the game text during our play-through. That’s the screenshot over on the right.

Not that this impacts the gameplay any, though the devs may want to keep an eye out before it gets serious.

That said, we enjoyed this latest case. Join us again next month when we preview the fourth episodic release of Sam & Max Season Two!