Sam & Max Season One (Wii) - Review by jofra01

Introduction

Sam & Max, a great unlikely duo, have been around for many years now starring in comic books, tv shows and videogames all based around themselves while they be the greatest Freelancing Police. Now they have finally ventured to the Nintendo Wii with 'Sam & Max Season 1' that contains all 6 episodes of the first season. Sam & Max Season 1 is a simple port of the PC version of the same game but is together in one small package, instead of 6 seperate games, and brings meaning back to those old adventure games everyone used to love and makers gamers feel right at home with. Each episode can be played within any order and each contain their own unique story and mystery, which require Sam & Max to solve at no cost, even if it means getting innocent bystanders hurt.

Being a direct port of the PC version nothing really has actually changed at all, which isn't a bad thing, seeing how the PC version is highly regarded. Sam & Max the main characters of the game are pretty much the stars of this sitcom game each having their own unique personality, with Max being the bunny who likes to bring pain upon others, even if they are innocent. Then there is Sam the large talking dog that keeps Max under control with his sweet smart talk and threatens the numerous amount of villains with humorus comments.

Gameplay

Like all typical adventure games 'Sam & Max Season 1' contains gameplay elements that makes it no different from the rest, which is a good thing to see due to lack of great adventure games. The game has you playing episode by episode with each taking different lengths of time to complete. The game has the player using the Nintendo WiiRemote on its own in a typical point and click adventure setting. Although on the outside the game may seem like a really simple adventure game there will be moments when players will find themselves frustrated, and maybe even resorting to online walkthroughs for the game like I did.

The main gameplay within the game has you controlling Max, the dog, and sometimes Sam as you talk to many people and interact with many objects. When having a conversation with someone you will find that you have the choice to choose want you want to say, and sometimes how, to trigger certain reactions to progress in the game, sometimes however you will find yourself lost with what to say and come across many comedic dead ends. Interacting with objects is one of the strong points within the game as either Sam or Max have something funny to say about the item or will use it in a particular way that will create some form of chaos. Although the gameplay is perfect, when compared to other adventure games, the title does suffer from it's own weakpoints. Such things include difficulty trying to click a very small object and accidentally clicking something else, which doesn't really damage gameplay that much. Probably the biggest letdown gamers will find will be that sometimes the framerate drops, badly, where the game lags something terrible and in one situation I had to reset my Nintendo Wii which was off putting.

Controls

Sam & Max Season 1 really has a simple control set up with the player only needing to point at the tv and use the 'A' button to click on something or someone to cause interaction. Although control is simple it is good to see that TellTale has really made it seem like a true point and clicking adventure game as you are actually pointing and clicking.

Graphics

Similar to the PC version the graphics within the game are the best you will find on the Nintendo Wii, but they aren't the worst either. Players will find that within the game some characters are better animated and designed then others which also applies to some background settings and environments. Character animations are done well and Sam & Max do look like what you would expect them to seem like. Other than that the only thing TellTale could have improved could have been the inclusion of pre-rendered cut-scenes to make characters seem more stunning.

Sound

Another strong point within the game would be voice acting with each character well voiced, and only a few sounding corny. Bosco and Max would probably be the best voiced characters within the game, probably due to the script. A minor problem with the voice acting though is that in some scenes of the game voices do seem rather muffled or are drowned out by background noise, an example of this is when you come across the mole in the factory and the noises the machines make drown out the mole causing you not to hear everything..

Music is also great within the game containing a very jazzy soundtrack which does match up to the whole Freelance Police theme that Sam & Max do have going.

Final comments

Sam & Max Season 1 isn't the greatest game you will find on the Nintendo Wii, with the problems it does contain and some other minor flaws, but it is so far the best adventure game on the Nintendo Wii that does stand out. Containing 6 episodes each episode lasting 2-4 hours players will find that they will pour lots of their time into this game enjoying a well written story with great voice acting, music and enjoyable gameplay.

Pro: Good Voice Acting & Soundtrack, True Point And Clicking Game, Characters Well Developed & Good Humor Placement
Con: Slow Down in Gameplay, Few Extras, Some Animations and Environments a Little Too Bland
Final score: 7.9

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