Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0 – PC – Review

Sam & Max
are back for yet another episode, and are even funnier than ever! In Reality
2.0, the Internet, online gaming, and the history of computers are all fodder
for the writers. The result is truly hilarious.

Again, it’s
up to Sam & Max to save the world from itself. In the last episode, Abe
Lincoln Must Die!, Max was elected President of the United States. He promptly
moved the Office to his office, and is merrily conducting national affairs.
But, duty calls, when Sam and Max are informed that computers all around the
world have suddenly crashed. They immediately set out to discover the cause
and help get America back online.

The whole
setup is rich with material, with jabs taken at MOP games, beta testing, game
designers, game geeks, and of course, the ubiquitous Internet, which is
portrayed by a robotic female avatar. Bosco is too funny as a half-elf, his
chosen avatar in the online gaming community. Sybil is also present again, and
this time her career of choice is as a beta-tester. My favorite joke was the
one where Bosco reveals that his online banking password was deleted from his
memory, but instead placed on an unnamed part of his anatomy for security
purposes.  I found this hysterical, given my own husband’s obsession with
security and other issues of Internet privacy.


Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0 Screenshot

The puzzles
appear to be a bit more challenging in this episode, although still not overly
difficult. They just require a little more thought than previously. Part of
the game is centered on the alternate world of Reality 2.0, a virtual online
community. Sam & Max will travel back and forth between this virtual world and
the real world to solve many of the puzzles.

The
designers had a lot of fun with the Reality 2.0 virtual world, with some great
artwork! The virtual settings mirror the actual settings, but in a bizarre
manner. Bosco’s store has been transformed into an elven-themed store, similar
to the type that would be in a fantasy RPG. There is a “hot rump” skewered on
a spit on the counter, and a list of goods for sale items hanging on a wooden
board. Of course, Sam & Max need to buy a needed item from Bosco, and this
time it’s a “long sword of incredible longness” on sale for 5 gold coins in
Reality 2.0.  Of course, this requires they find and collect these coins while
in Reality 2.0. At the same time in the real world, they need to cough up a
billion dollars for a biological weapon.


Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0 Screenshot

As in
previous games, there is a humorous song parody, this time sung by a group of
obsolete computers, game machines and output devices. The song is their
motivational song for their support group meetings. The song itself isn’t all
that funny, but the reaction of Sam & Max to this song is priceless. Players
will need to keep getting the machines to sing more verses to get the full
effect. The end of the game is too funny, as well, with a look back at text
adventures straight from the world of Infocom.

This is the
fifth episode in a series of six, and they just keep getting better! I can’t
wait for the next and last episode. If people have waited this long to
experience the new Sam & Max, I would advise to buy the whole set of episodes
for $35, which is the best price anyway.  The episodes themselves are each
only a few hours worth of gameplay, but as a whole unit, this game will offer
many hours of fun.

It’s truly a
difficult task to take a product that has a large fan appeal and a solid
reputation and resurrect it successfully many years later. I have been
disappointed many times before with similar games that just didn’t meet the
bar set by the original game. Telltale has done a splendid job with Sam & Max,
although I don’t like the episodic formula as well. However, Telltale is a
business and hopefully this particular business model is bringing in profit,
so they can continue to make great games.


Review
Scoring Details

for

Sam & Max Episode 5:
Reality 2.0

Gameplay: 8.5
The puzzles are
interesting and sometimes challenging, and the humor is spot-on. The story is
a hoot, and the voice-acting is great. What more could you ask for?


Graphics: 8.5
The designers
outdid themselves in the virtual world, with some wonderful artwork.


Sound: 8.0
The music and
sound effects are great as usual.


Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles range
in difficult, with some easy ones at the beginning, but also harder ones later
in the game.


Concept: 7.0
It’s a
traditional adventure game format, with nothing really new, but the
presentation is flawless.


Overall: 8.5
Sam & Max Season
1 is a great computer adventure game. This fifth episode is the best so far,
and I’m looking forward to the next and last episode. Do yourself a favor, and
purchase the whole set. This is a fun game that most of the family can play,
so you’ll get some bang for your buck.