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Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space by Atari
Product SummaryBrand: Atari Audio: English (Unknown) Format: DVD-ROM Release Date: 2010-03-09 Platform: Windows Vista, Windows XP Model: 27898 Publisher: Atari Product features: - Innovative built-in hint system that detects when you?re stuck.
- 5 episodes on one disc, each with self-contained plots and each bringing you closer to solving the season-wide mystery.
- The game features hours of laugh-out-loud dialogue, intrigue, romance, and zombies, as well as bonus content, including character bios, concept art and more.
- Driving mini-game with achievements that carry over from episode to episode.
- Diverse locations include the North Pole, Easter Island, and even outer space as you attempt to solve mind-boggling time travel puzzles and paradoxes.
Video Game Reviews of Sam & Max: Beyond Time and SpaceCustomer Review: Sam and Max- What more do you want? Summary: 5 Stars
What can I say? It's Sam and Max! I have played the episodes multiple times, and I never tire hearing all of the witty banter and wisecracks.
If you are unfamiliar with this duo, Sam is the dog in the suit, and Max is the naked bunny with the shark-like teeth. Together, they are the Freelance Police, a crime-fighting duo who combat evil with insane problem-solving techniques and humor. This Season is the second season from Telltale, but you don't need to have played the first or even have heard about Sam and Max before to play these episodes.
In the games, you play as Sam, with Max wandering around aimlessly. The games are a puzzle-solving kind, with a helpful (very helpful!) hint meter in the drop-down options menu. The hint meter allows you to adjust the frequency of hints given out by the game (aka Max). I often needed this to help me finish puzzles the first time, but then again, I'm not quite as crazy-minded as Sam and Max are. Also, I am not what you would call "a gamer".
Without revealing the plots, I will say that Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space is unique and immensely entertaining. You will find yourself facing opponents that you never knew could exist, and twists on those that you knew could. And, of course, the wit and humor of the games is unexpected and hilarious. I wish that I could introduce my younger friends to these games.
Now, I guess that a pros and cons list would be apt:
Pros:
Running- In the first Season, Sam has one speed- walking. Since I started with Season 2, it made me feel slightly bored when I went to 1. However, running speeds it up for me. It's a minor detail, but I appreciated it.
Graphics (?)- As I mentioned before, I'm not a hard gamer, so I'm not sure whether or not the graphics are good by a hard gamer's standard. To me, the casual gamer, the graphics are good enough to propel me through the story and not make me cringe. The graphics quality stays the same throughout, although you can adjust with a basic "High or Low" Quality option in the drop-down menu.
Storyline/Plot- Amazing! I love the quirky twists that always turn up in a Sam and Max game, and this Season did not disappoint! I think that this Season is actually my favorite so far (1-3) because of the classic feel of the games and the zany plots of the individual episodes (and the Season!). This is the main reason why I love Sam and Max.
Humor/Dialogue- Second main reason why I love Sam and Max. Whatever you choose for Sam to ask, Max always has a Maxism (yes, I just made that up) to reply with. It may be disturbing at times, or even outright gross, but more often than not, it is completely Max. (For example (This is from Season 3, because it's been a while since I played 2. Sorry!): Sam: Hey, look at this wardrobe! Max: Don't open it Sam! It will probably lead to some wonder-filled land with magic and thinly disguised religious allegory! Sam: Good point. We already wasted enough time with that tollbooth.) See what I mean?
Cons:
Erm... inability to play with younger friends or family?- I can't really think of anthing I really dislike about Sam and Max Season 2 in general, so... yeah.
Max- Don't get me wrong. I love that little fuzzy disturbed lagomorph (not sure how to spell that). My problem is that sometimes, since he's programmed to wander aimlessly, if you want to chat with him, you have to chase him around the screen for a little bit to get him. He can also wander right in front of something that you're clicking on, causing you to talk to Max instead of doing what you were trying to do. However, this is such a minor detail that it barely deserves mention.
In conclusion, Sam and Max are my favorite non-human, gun-wielding, crime-fighting without a license, insane, and funny duo ever. If you love wacky, off-the wall humor and clever puzzles, then this game should already be on your shelf!
Description of Sam & Max: Beyond Time and SpaceSam is a six-foot dog in a baggy suit sporting a trombone-sized .44 hand-cannon. Max is a three foot "rabbity thing" with a saw blade grin and the impulsive nature of the average piranha. Together they patrol the sticky streets of a fantastical New York City, righting wrongs, pummeling perps, and ridding the urban landscape of the shifty legions of "sel-propelled gutter trash" that litter their streets Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space is the second release in the single player adventure series following the animated adventures of canine shamus Sam and his hyperkinetic rabbity-thing partner Max. The game consists of five episodes, each with its own self-contained plots contributing clues to solving the season-wide mystery. Additional features include a driving mini-game with achievements, a built-in hint system and bonus content, including character BIOS, concept art and more.  Rapid fire Sam & Max humor. View larger. |  An easy to use inventory system. View larger. |  New larger than life characters. View larger. |  Desoto driving mini-game. View larger. | Story Sam is a six-foot dog in a baggy suit sporting a trombone-sized .44 hand-cannon. Max is a three foot "rabbity thing" with a saw blade grin and the impulsive nature of the average piranha. Together they patrol the sticky streets of a fantastical New York City, righting wrongs, pummeling perps, and ridding the urban landscape of the shifty legions of "self-propelled gutter trash". Join Sam and Max, the Freelance Police, on a bizarre journey ? from the North Pole to the Fountain of Youth, from outer space to Hell and back ? in the acclaimed second season of gaming?s first episodic sitcom, Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space. Zombies will dance. Mariachis will sing. A giant battle robot will trash the streets. And when their friends are caught in the crossfire, Sam & Max will risk their very souls to set things right. Gameplay Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space is a horizontally and vertically oriented, single player, point-and-click game. Players act primarily as Sam, with Max assuming the role of a wisecracking sidekick, who occasionally has dialog choices in interactions with other characters and more commonly with Sam. As the game's five episodes proceed players face a series of puzzles and/or bosses that must be solved/defeated in order for Sam and Max to physically move to the next area and make progress towards the solving of the overall mystery. Solutions to these are generally logical, or at the least based in clues found in play. Gameworld areas are reached via Sam's classic Desoto cruiser and are filled with items and characters that can be interacted with, and which are called out as such when the player's cursor is placed over them. Different dialog and character actions are made available at that point. These choices often lead to the discovery of items or hints that will be needed later on. All manner of items, including weapons, can be stored in the game's easy access cardboard box inventory system. These can be used individually to affect gameplay environments and in some cases must be combined to solve puzzles faced. Additional features include a driving mini-game and a built-in hint system. Key Game Features - 5 episodes on one disc, each with self-contained plots and each bringing you closer to solving the season-wide mystery.
- The game features hours of laugh-out-loud dialogue, intrigue, romance, and zombies.
- Driving mini-game with achievements that carry over from episode to episode.
- Diverse locations include the North Pole, Easter Island and outer space as you solve mind-boggling time travel puzzles and paradoxes.
- Innovative built-in hint system that detects when you?re stuck.
- Bonus content, includes character BIOS, concept art and more.
System Requirements | Minimum: | Recommended: | | OS: | Windows XP/Vista | | Processor: | Intel Pentium III 1GHz, AMD Athlon equivalent | Intel Pentium 4 2GHz, AMD Athlon XP 64 bit or equivalent | | RAM: | 256MB (XP), 512MB (Vista) | 1GB or more | | Disc Drive: | CD/DVD-ROM drive | | Hard Drive: | 700MB | 5GB | | Video Card: | DirectX 9.0c compatible with 32MB of videoRAM | DirectX 9.0c compatible with 128MB of videoRAM | | Sound Card: | DirectX 9.0c compatible | | Input Device: | Keyboard, Mouse | Keyboard, 3 Button Mouse | |
Adventure Games
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