Like clockwork, the latest episode of Sam & Max has arrived on our virtual doorstop. There are a few changes this time around, as this is the first episode where Telltale Games could incorporate some of the suggestions sent after the first couple of episodes. How did they do? Does this episode live up to the high standards set thus far?

Read on to find out, as Mr. Sam and Mr. Max go to Washington!

This time around, our lovable heroes are called in on their most dangerous mission yet. They must stop the President of the United States! The President has been brainwashed and is enacting insane new laws including mandatory group hugs, and new gun control legislation. However, an even larger threat will soon arise, and an election will be held. Guess who’s running for President? None other than the rabbity-thing Max.

At this point, a few of you in the audience will groan. Yes, we know political humor has been cliché since 2003. However, the writers at Telltale have managed to pull off the task with remarkable aplomb. Not only are the jokes fresh and entertaining, they perfectly fit the style of Sam & Max. I also have to applaud the staff at Telltale for resisting the urge to show a political bias here. The writers get in jabs at both of our major parties fairly equally.

In fact, this has probably been the best episode yet in terms of presentation. The writing is at its best here, and the characters have their best lines ever. The voice actors play their part well as every line is delivered with the perfect tone. The absolute best part of the game? Near the end, one of the secret service agents bursts into song and dance. I won’t spoil it any more than that, but trust me when I say that you will fall out of your seat laughing.

This, of course, leads us into the music. As always, the music is fantastic. If Telltale released a soundtrack, I’d buy it in a heartbeat. This game’s political environment allows for remixes of a few familiar “American” songs in that jazzy noir style that the Sam & Max series does so well. Seriously, this is some very catchy stuff.

This is the first episode where the development team could incorporate suggestions from the first three episodes. The two major complaints that have come up time and time again are the length and the difficulty. Did they fix these two things? Yes and no. This episode is nearly twice as long, at around four hours. The added length is a pretty nice benefit. The humor not only holds up, it actually gets better towards the end. The voice actors also handle the extra work without any real difficulties. Unfortunately, the game play suffers slightly near the finish. By the end, I think that I spent more time traveling back and forth between locations than I spent doing anything else. My suggestion to Telltale – if you’re going to make a game longer, do so by having us do more in each location. As it is, you would collect one thing, travel somewhere and apply it, then travel back and do something else. It didn’t really drag the game down, but it got a little repetitive.

As for the difficulty, I thought that this episode was on pretty much the same level as the first three episodes. I’m not really complaining, though. The puzzles all remain just as clever as ever. I found myself smiling when I realized the solution to each problem in the game. If they can retain that cleverness while increasing the difficulty, they should go for it. Otherwise, don’t fix something that isn’t broken. Keep the game clever. I want an evening of entertainment, not frustration.

An evening of entertainment is what you’ll get here. For the $8.95 (or $9.95 monthly Gametap fee), you could do far worse than try this episode of Sam & Max. I keep beating on you with the movie ticket analogy, but it is true. You could either enjoy a few hours of wonderfully written comedy, or you could go see the atrocity that is Ghost Rider. If you didn’t like the first three episodes, you probably won’t have your mind changed here. If you’re into the series, pick this one up too. It lives up to the standards set by the previous episodes. Haven’t played yet? Give it a try. Sam & Max is the best episodic series out there and consistently features some of the best writing in the videogame industry. This episode is the perfect opportunity to jump into the series. Telltale has delivered once again, and I’m counting the days until the next installment arrives in my inbox.

Score: 8/10

“Abe Lincoln Must Die” will be released on GameTap on February 22nd. The game will be directly available from Telltale Games’ website on March 8th. GameTap is $9.95 per month for unlimited access to this and all of the other titles on the service. Each individual episode will be available for $8.95, or $34.95 for the entire season.

Telltale Games
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