It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of point-and-click adventures. The freelance police officers known as Sam and Max have held a special place in my heart ever since their 1993 adventure, Sam & Max Hit the Road. After being revived by Telltale for an episodic gaming series, the first season eventually made its way to the Wii and XBLA as well. Season two, renamed Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, also made the jump to the Xbox Live Arcade recently. Despite being similar graphically and gameplay-wise, the second season actually manages to improve upon the zany humor of the first six episodes. Although the console version still has a few technical hiccups, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space features fantastic writing broken up into five perfectly paced episodes.

In season one, now known as Sam & Max Save the World, the canine and his "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" sidekick foiled a far-reaching hypnotism plot, Max become President of the United States, the pair traveled to the moon, and they kept a cheating gambler tied up in a closet as a souvenir of one of their most memorable cases. Beyond Time and Space continues shortly after Save the World, with many repercussions from the first season still being felt. Max is still President, Bosco has the trillion dollars given to him by the government, and Sybil is continuing to switch professions like, well, like it’s her job. The writing style makes Beyond Time and Space really feel like an interactive sitcom, and I mean that in a good way. It’s incredibly well written, with hilarious dialogue, including many thinly-veiled references to other popular things in geek culture, like Lost, Duke Nukem Forever, Metal Gear Solid, and Resident Evil, to name a few. I even caught a sly throwback to Maniac Mansion near the end, which I assume was developer Dave Grossman’s nod to his earlier days at LucasArts. The use of continuity is also a big factor in making this story so entertaining; the writers clearly had a good grasp on the franchise, and understood perfectly how these episodic adventures should play out.



Beyond Time and Space features five episodes, one less than Save the World, which upset me a bit at first. However, each episode seemed slightly longer than those in the first season, and with the story being as good as it is, it's hard to complain. Like the previous season, the entire thing will take ten to twelve hours to complete, with a few achievements giving you optional goals to tackle. Beyond Time and Space also makes use of a very clever hint system in which Max will say random things to try and subtly point you in the right direction. At first, I thought he was just spouting nonsense, as he tends to do, before realizing he was attempting to help. The player has the option of changing the hint level, so the clues can either be extremely understated or fairly obvious. I kept the level low, and found that Max would come in handy if I was wandering around aimlessly for ten or fifteen minutes. He didn’t tell me exactly where to go or what to do, but would say things like “I’m bored. Can we go somewhere fun?” It was up to me to make something of that, and the only thing that was clear was the fact that I didn’t need to be where I currently was. There were a couple of instances when Max would spoil my fun just as I was on the verge of figuring out a puzzle, but for the most part the hint system is implemented in a useful way.

The gameplay itself remains unchanged from the previous season, and point-and-click adventures in general. Moving the cursor with the thumbstick and hitting the A button will cause Sam to move from place to place, and items collected will go into a cardboard box that serves as an inventory. While the gameplay itself is fine, there were a few technical issues I could have done without. Since Sam walks pretty slowly, waiting from him to get across a screen can be a little tedious. Double-clicking the A button makes him run, but this only seems to work about half the time. Sometimes when successfully advancing the plot, the game will freeze for a few seconds—almost long enough to make you think that your system is frozen the first few times. There are also random times when Sam will walk in the opposite direction from where you clicked, an issue left over from the first season. None of these problems are deal-breakers, and for the most part, they are minor annoyances, but they still detract from an otherwise great experience.



Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space looks just as good as its predecessor in all of its 3D glory, but the best part of the game’s presentation is the attention to minor details. If you look at any bulletin board in the game, you’ll find hilarious bits of information unnecessary to the plot. Environments are decorated with little things to view, like the pictures in Stinky’s diner, the dartboard in the Freelance Police headquarters, or the insane conspiracy theories plastered around Bosco’s inconvenience store. Many of the things you will find, and even some items you can pick up, serve no story purpose, but are charming reminders of the game’s wonderful writing.

Despite having one less episode than the previous season, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space seemed to improve upon Save the World in almost every aspect. The storytelling in the game is top notch, and Telltale has really delivered a unique gaming experience with their episodic model. The most disappointing thing about the game is the fact that it had to end, with the next season nowhere in sight. It took almost two years for Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space to make the jump from PCs to a console, but it was worth the wait.