The episodic escapades of Sam, the freelance police dog, and Max, his Luger-wielding psychopath rabbit-ish companion, continue in their third point-and-click comic-adventure series for home computers -- which is also available on PlayStation 3 consoles, for the first time in the franchise. Following Season One and Beyond Time and Space, the third latter-day series of Sam & Max adventures, titled The Devil's Playhouse, presents an otherworldly story set to unravel transcendent magical mysteries of ancient and arcane energies, with tongue-in-cheek nods to 1950s-style sci-fi and spooky shows such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits along the way. Once again, the story is broken into five episodes, which can be purchased and played separately. In the first episode, "The Penal Zone," the duo discover a dangerously powerful artifact that allows certain characters to control time and space with the power of their minds. Created by artist Steve Purcell, the unlikely crime-fighting duo first appeared in an original comic book, then in the LucasArts graphic adventure, Sam & Max Hit the Road, and then starred in a short-lived Saturday morning cartoon series in the late 1990s, before enjoying a well-received revival under the handling of story-oriented independent developer, Telltale Games. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide