Sam & Max Hit The Road came out in 1993. 14 years ago. It was a huge success, heralded for its twisted brand of humor and memorable adventure game play. It spawned legions of fans that have been hanging out for the characters return for nigh over a decade.
In 2002, LucasArts announced that a sequel to "Hit the Road" was going into production. In 2004 with the game nearing completion they canceled it. Outrage in the form of 30, 000 signatures in an online petition greeted the news. Sam & Max are beloved characters and "Hit The Road" is considered a classic and one of the funniest games to ever be released.
Luckily ex-Lucasarts employees formed Telltale Games and have finally brought us a new Sam & Max game after 14 long years. Season 1 totals 6 episodes each about 4-5 hours in length. Sam & Max tackle a new case with each episode, while an overarching storyline pieces the episodes together.
The new Sam & Max game really retains that clever brand of humor of previous Sam & Max incarnations. Episode 1 gets off to a strong start. Episode 2 and 3 are quite funny but suffer from simplistic game play. The puzzles in these episodes won't give you any headaches. Episode 4, Abe Lincoln Must Die is where the series really reaches new heights. It's a hilarious romp in which Max runs for president against a robotic Abe Lincoln. The environments are fresh, and the puzzles require greater thought. The music across the entire series is absolutely brilliant. Jared Emerson-Johnson has created some wonderful and diverse jazz music to accompany the game. The voice acting is superb and really brings the characters to life. Episode 5 and 6 finish off the season strongly with more well designed puzzles, hilarious dialog and wacky adventures. Perfect material for Sam & Max to riff off. I can't recommend this game enough. If you want a good laugh and a return to games that are genuinely funny purchase this season. I can't wait for Season 2.