Sam & Max: Beyond Time & Space - Season Two
Review
Episode 204: Chariots of the Dogs
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
If you need a little hint...
Again, as with previous Season Two episodes, a scalable hint system is contained in the game. Getting stuck at a particular point will result in Max telling you "I want to go back to..." or "Isn’t there something else behind Bosco’s counter?" But eventually, as you pick up everything available, you’ll figure out what it is used for.
Each era is accompanied by a suitable soundtrack. In fact, audio continues to be a strong point in the series. The voice acting is again top-notch. The new characters are well voiced and increase the personality of the characters. The gruff voice of Stinky accentuates his naval background, whilst the assertive female voice of Ms. Bosco further emphasizes her woman’s liberation philosophy.
Honouring the classic Science Fiction movies
There are plenty of references to pop culture to find in the game, and I’m sure that everybody who plays the game will get a kick out of something that is mentioned. Homage has been paid to movies such as Star Trek, Star Wars (references to Power Converters and control to extend the bridge), and Men in Black (Agent Superball’s memory device) as well as to the time travelling movies previously mentioned.
The game also continues its comedic format right from the start, with references to the use of a calculator to spell ‘8008135’, a bit of toilet humour from Max, some ‘nuts’ references, and ‘Sexual Max’ is a bit of a laugh. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for fans of the series, it is business as usual.
Sam and Max standard
Overall, episode 204 continues the Sam and Max standard. It brings nothing new to the table, apart from the use of a time machine to travel between destinations, but why fix something that isn’t broken. Puzzles are on the simpler side, but as mentioned this is certainly helpful for the newer adventure gamers.
The cartoon graphics continue the Sam and Max tradition, whilst the audio (the voice acting in particular) is still a strong point of the series. The one problem I had with this episode is that it doesn’t really end, but is like one of those TV last episodes of the season that leave the blockbuster conclusion to the start of the next season. But unlike TV, we won’t have to wait until next season to see if the spaceship was the cause of the Big Bang theory.
8.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
