Sam and Max Episode 1: Culture Shock

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2006
System: PC
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Point-and-click crime solving with a twister sense of humor.

0:01 I love the stylized, red and black intro. Looks like a classy movie opening.
0:02 I love the voice acting too. It's nice that the mouths largely match the words. After ages of Japanese games with totally awful English lip-synching, it's a breath of fresh air.
0:04 "2002 was a great year for calendars." Gets a chuckle.
0:05 Sam just threw Max across the room for no good reason. I love this game.
0:06 I find a pile o' cheese, but it isn't the Swiss that we're looking for. Time for some wacky adventure-game style solution, I'm sure
0:10 Ah ha... after four minutes of fruitless searching, I find I have a big gun in my box. That oughta make swiss cheese out of that, uh, non-swiss cheese.
0:12 Negotiating for a stolen phone with a rat. Surreal. I like being able to flip between the two main characters for some good cop bad cop action.
0:13 The conversation flows naturally and leads to a pleasantly phone-filled resolution.
0:15 I like how everything you can actively click on is labeled when you hover. No random guess-and-click here.
0:17 "I don't sign butts anymore." Only in Sam and Max.
0:19 "Vandalism is illegal... and worse, unoriginal." Preach it!
0:23 So we've got former child stars seemingly entranced by an eye exercise video. Makes perfect sense...
0:27 Sam mentions White Collar Crime Drive. What a conveniently named street
0:30 I pull out a gun and a giant boxing love hits me from the sky. Also 'This rampant weenie cannibalism turns my stomach"
0:31 The wet floor sign says "caution land mines" Hooray for sight gags.
0:33 I literally laugh out loud when Max comments on the Not'chos. "They're mine, Not'chos"
0:40 Max asks "Ugly please" after "Pretty please." Another literal LOL moment.
0:42 I totally forget about the cheese in my pocket and get another head bop as I try to accidentally shoplift.
0:44 After all this build up, I'm dying to watch the Eye-bo video I just picked up.
0:47 Eh, after all that, the hypnosis seems kind of basic ... and worse, unoriginal.
0:55 I need to knock a guy out. Lucky I have this convenient bowling ball. But he sees it coming. How to blind him... hmmm. It'll have to wait for next time.

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes
Why? The puzzles are just starting to get intriguing, and the twisted outlook, great voice-acting and laugh-out-loud writing will keep me coming back.

This review is based on a full version of the game available through GameTap.