Sam and Max Episode 202 – Moai Better Blues (PC) Review

Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 01.10.2008

Bag pipes, basalt sandwiches, and the fate of Jimmy Hoffa revealed at last!



Ah, adventure games. Quite possibly one of the oldest genres of computer game available, the adventure game genre is the least evolved of all game genres. The process of how these games work has never really evolved: you click around and pick up items, then use those same items in other locations to continue on your quest. In some cases, developers include mini-games or puzzles throughout the adventure in order to break up the monotony, or even in several other cases, humor.

This is because adventure games are, by definition, boring. They are less describable as actual games and more like a series of mental challenges. They don’t call upon players to test their skill or dexterity, simply the logic to figure out that you need fire to burn the ropes holding the drawbridge up is enough. Yet Sam and Max is one of the longest running adventure series out there, and has spilled over into both comics and animated television. Say what you will, but you can’t argue with success.

What makes Sam and Max so popular, besides the cuteness of the characters, is the offbeat, sometimes topical humor that absolutely floods their games. This is why fans of the series can’t wait to get their hands on the latest episodes of each one, and fortunately for those fans the writers behind the series seem to have enough jokes to keep the games coming for ages on end.

As episode 202 opens, Sam and Max are returning from their last adventure at the North Pole only to find a Bermuda triangle has arrived in their neighborhood and is chasing down their neighbor Sybil. The two enter the triangle intent on rescuing her, only to find themselves transported to Easter Island. There, the famous Moai headstones tell Sam and Max that an angry volcano god is going to destroy the island unless the two detectives can stop it. Reluctantly, the freelance police accept the case, and another series of events ensue.


Graphics



I started out playing Moai Better Blues on a relatively high end computer running windows Vista and the graphics were quite impressive as expected. However, I also tested the game on a lower end computer (i.e. no dual core processor, on board graphics card) and found that the graphics didn’t drop in quality at all. Considering the low hardware requirements for the game, Moai Better Blues looks phenomenal. The characters animate even smoother than they did on the animated TV series, and speech and emotions are flawlessly portrayed in a cartoon environment.

Speaking of environments, these too look great. The world of Sam and Max is a stylish place reminiscent of the graphics in Team Fortress 2 with plenty of animations going on in odd corners or in far backgrounds. While you will spend a lot of time staring at a single screen throughout the game, there are just so many random objects to look and interact with that it’s easy to get lost. The game’s camera angles are also very well placed, and switch up just when the player needs them to. Due to the cartoon nature of the game, there isn’t so much in the way of special effects or source lighting to be found here. However, for what it is, everything in Moai Better Blues looks really good.


Gameplay



As they say in the tutorial of Sam and Max Episode 202, you will have to think like Sam and Max in order to successfully navigate their world. The entire appeal of the game doesn’t just come through the typical format of retrieving random items and using them to solve problems; you will also have to do it in creative, odd ways. This is what sets Sam and Max apart from other adventure game series’. It forces you to come up with the whacky solutions before Sam and Max do.

How do you stop a rampaging Bermuda triangle? Feed it a stop sign! How do get into the waitresses’ union? Ride a mechanical surfboard without spilling drinks! How do you make a stone head whistle? Make it listen to a new Glenn Miller song! None of these solutions make sense just reading them, but in Moai Better Blues it all sort of fits together. The down side to this is that thinking in an off beat way isn’t always easy, and some of the challenges in Moai Better Blues might be a little too hard for Sam and Max newbies like myself.

In addition to the standard adventure gameplay with an off color twist, Moai Better Blues also includes several mini-game challenges that must be completed in order to get certain key items. These mini-games are unchallenging and uninspired…you could probably find a better version of the same game somewhere on a Macromedia Flash page. Still, when you consider that the bulk of Moai Better Blues is a laid back adventure game anyway, this doesn’t seem like such a big problem.


Sound



The voice acting in Moai Better Blues is top notch, particularly the voice of Sam. Since the world of Sam and Max is a spoof on noir style detective stories, the character of Sam could have easily been played as a typical cartoon Dick Tracy or Humphrey Bogart rip off. Fortunately, Sam’s voice is actually a toned down version of these that only hints at the delivery in Casablanca. Max and the games other characters have excellent readings as well and very rarely does any of the speech have misplaced emphasis. It all fits the situation right out of the script, and it all sounds great. The stone heads sound slow and monotonous, Jimmy Hoffa sounds mean and sinister, and the island natives have just a bit of Barbados style accent in them as well.

The music in the game is pretty good considering how much you’ll wind up listening to it as you play. Going through a puzzle in Moai Better Blues can take quite a bit of time with a lot of trial and error playing involved, but rarely does the music draw too much attention or become annoying during these periods. I personally liked the bagpipe sounds in the driving mini-game as well, but I’ll hold off on the details for that at the risk of revealing a spoiler.


Lasting Appeal



There are absolutely no bonuses or hidden collectables in Moai Better Blues, but there are countless items to interact with. Clicking on almost anything the game usually results in a joke of some kind, and you can replay the mini-games over and over again to attain higher scores. However, the game’s length depends entirely on the player. Sam and Max newbies who simply dive into the game will probably playing for a long time. Veteran gamers will go through the game much faster, and anyone using a walkthrough can breeze through the whole thing in a few short hours. This is partially due to the hints system in Sam and Max, which is flawed and only allows players to adjust how often Max spits out random hints rather than just asking when one is needed. Mostly though, the challenge in Sam and Max is at the same difficulty level as that of most mainstream adventure games, and the experience is neither better nor worse.


Fun Factor



I’ve gone on for a bit now about the boring challenges and monotony of adventure games, whether it be Kings Quest or Myst or any other adventure series. Sam and Max is no different than these, and suffers from all the problems expected from an adventure title. That’s not so much a criticism though, because adventure fans have long since come to expect these challenges from their games. What’s left after the typical adventure style and boring mini-game challenges is the humor that made Sam and Max popular in the first place, and this too is a matter of taste. Personally, I laughed at 88% of the game’s humor. It is what it is, and I can’t blame Moai Better Blues for staying true to its own genre.


The 411

Sam and Max Episode 202 – Moai Better Blues is a funny, off beat adventure game with really entertaining graphics and humor. Being an adventure game in a long running series, it is not so friendly to newbies and can be considered boring when compared to some of the fast paced genres available today. But for what it is, Moai Better Blues is solid and fun for veteran and aspiring adventure fans.

Graphics	8.8	Disturbingly good with low hardware requirements.
Gameplay	7.8	It’s an adventure game, but it’s a good one.
Sound	8.0	Brilliant voice acting, decent music.
Lasting Appeal	6.5	Game length depends entirely on the player.
Fun Factor	7.5	It is what it is.
Overall	7.8   [ Good ]