Sam & Max: The Mole, The Mob & The Meatball, the third in Telltale’s six episode adventure game series, drops you right in the middle of things. The freelance police get a call from the commissioner (remember him?) about extracting a mole from a maffia-run casino. There is no gradual set-up. A Toy Maffia apparently exists and Sam and Max have to deal with them because the commissioner said so. Off we go.
The episode’s structure is familiar: there’s Sam and Max’s neighbourhood, a driving sequence, and a crime scene, although they won’t necesserily appear in that order this time. As expected, local store owners Bosco and Sybil again conspicuously fit neatly into the plot. I had no feelings either way for these characters when the series began, but the quality of the writing has really elevated them — Bosco in particular, who is funniest when he is not only paranoid but also hides behind unconvincing fake identities.
While the ratio between standing sets and new locations is probably around 50/50, Sam & Max continues to be criticized for recycling assets. This is really unfair to my mind considering the low price per episode, and I also don’t really mind the recycling. However, the production team could be a bit more creative with redressing the basic locations, such as adding little details that suggest the passage of time (things other than filling a closet in Sam and Max’s office with souvenirs from past adventures). Exploration is a key part of the appeal of adventure games, so occasionally throwing in new hotspots or objects seems like a good and cheap way to keep things interesting. Sadly, this is not done all that much, resulting in diminishing returns, adventure-wise, from these locations.
Sam & Max isn’t exactly for puzzle fetishists. Yep, the puzzles are easy. But unlike most adventure games, Sam & Max doesn’t need hard puzzles to draw attention away from sloppy writing. Everything about Sam & Max is funnier, more effective and more creative than any other recent adventure games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney included. As you get closer to infiltrating the Toy Maffia in this episode, you may in fact start caring about the larger season-wide plot. Episode 3 even brings a few subtle jokes for the oldschool graphic adventure fans: there’s a little nod to the fine tradition of carrying animals around in your inventory (I found this animal to be totally hilarious) and there’s a case of the age-old “you must do these three things before I shall grant you access” puzzle structure that’s made really obvious in the dialog that had me laughing out loud.
The season has entertained me consistently so far. Not only because the games are good, but because they are managable. After the all-you-can-eat steak buffets that are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (which I’m playing and still need to finish) I may find myself on the verge of gaming arteriosclerosis. Sam & Max is lighter and comes in smaller portions. Like sushi perhaps. The individual plates may be small, but it’s healthy and delicious. And there’s a conveyor belt bringing you more soon, so you’ll have a full meal eventually. Mmm. This food analogy must be stopped.
The game is now available to GameTap subscribers. It will be released on Telltale’s website on February 8.
Sam & Max: The Mole, The Mob and The Meatball
4 out of 5 LOLs 
:D :D
is arteriosclerosis even a real word Sam?
Spaff
January 29th, 2007