When it comes to television series that was simply alright in the first season, it is usually the second season that dictates the series’ success or failure. It all comes down to if the writers and actors were able to become comfortable with the premise behind the show or they just ran out of their good material already. In terms of the new genre of episodic games, this concept should hold true as well.
Enter Sam and Max, the first truly serious attempt to push episodic gaming. The idea behind episodic games is to release shorter, cheaper games at quick intervals that tells a full story when they are all tied together. Unlike other notable episodic games (ahem, Half-Life 2) got most of the formula right, but forgot about the whole “regular interval” part. Telltale Games, however, figured it all out. Sam and Max, Season 1 did just that. They released inexpensive games that could be finished in a single sitting but still told an overarching story. What I find funny about the whole idea is that Season 1 managed to out-do games that cost twice as much as the entire season in length. Where a single episode only ran around 3 hours, the entire season pulled down 20. Compare this to notable titles running $60, like Heavenly Sword, that are proud to be 4 hours long and you’ve got one hell of a deal. The biggest problem with Season 1 was the writers were clearly not terribly familiar with the source material and did an inconsistent job with our favorite canine in a fedora and lagomorph psychopath. You can go over and check out the review of Episode 1 from last season and that gives you an idea of how the entire season fared, just add to the score until it gets to around 7.9 by Episode 6. The games were sufficiently good enough to give Season 2 a try, but now to see if they pull a Futurama (the second season was great) or a Robot Chicken (the second season, and now third, were crap) is up to Telltale Games’ talent.
Ice Station Santa, Episode 1 of Season 2, starts off where we left off from Season 1. For those who didn’t play the last few games, this will be a spoiler of sorts, but seriously, why are you reading a review about Season 2 if you haven’t finished Season 1 yet? Spoilers are expected to be present. Anyway, it leaves off with Max still the President of the United States, which is indirectly owned by Canada after Max gave the entire wealth of the US over to Bosco. The game starts off in the usual Sam and Max absurdity when Santa mistakenly sends the duo a cool, but albeit malfunctioning, gift. No commissioner this time asking them for work, which is a good thing as the whole fighting over the phone bit was played out in the comics and TV series. The pair decide to head out to the North Pole (driving the Desoto of course) to solve the mystery of why Santa is sending out wildly inappropriate (for anyone but Sam and Max that is) gifts to the children of the world.
The first thing I noticed off the bat was Ice Station Santa has more laugh out loud moments than the entirety of Episode 1 combined. Episode 1 had some chuckle worthy moments, but nothing that did the source material any justice. Telltale’s writers have clearly figured it out and have hit their stride with Ice Station Santa. The game has so many absurd moments that you can’t help but let out laughs. One thing I like to do in any media that fall in the Comedy genre is I like to look for opportunities for missed laughs. I was happy to see Flint Paper make his return to the series (with hints at a possible spin-off series, please Telltale, give me a Flint Paper game) and the new character additions were well done. Ice Station Santa did miss out on a few here and there, like a great possible dialogue between Sybil and The Giant Stone Head of Abraham Lincoln if you sent the Moai Head gift to Sybil (are you seeing another head?), but none of those missed opportunities were critical to the overall story, just side-elements.
The game pretty much plays in the same fashion as Season 1. There are a few nice additions, like Sam being able to run, so the slow outdoor plodding isn’t going to hamper the game any further. Also, the game is a bit more challenging than the previous titles, which is a welcome inclusion. Otherwise, the game’s length runs around 4 hours, 5 if you don’t have a twisted mind. The game does offer an in-game hint system in the form of Max spouting off clues if you are plodding around too much, but I suggest turning them off as it not only ruins the challenge it also is out of character for Max to have that kind of insight. He is supposed to be the sidekick/weapons locker/garbage disposal of the series (to use a quote out of The Tick, Sam is his own comic relief, though Max is also incredibly hilarious this time around).
Graphically, there isn’t a huge change from the first season. The game still uses the same engine. However, the new locations are much more interesting and detailed. While not on the level of the creative Reality 2.0, the new locations are more consistently better. Even the office got a slight makeover, though I am going to miss Hubert. Santa’s workshop is incredibly well done as is Stinky’s. It is good that Telltale is putting more effort into the artistic presentation of the locations because they are still fairly limited.
The sound department has dramatically improved as well. The voice actors are comfortable with their roles. In Culture Shock, Sam’s voice was flat and weakly done. This time around, Sam is properly voiced. Also, the biggest improvement comes from the fact the sound studio apparently received a huge upgrade. Season 1’s sound was grainy and sounded like it was recorded in an ancient studio. The sound work this time around doesn’t suffer from the buzzes or grain from the prior season, making the improved voice work shine.
Ice Station Santa is a huge step in the right direction for the Sam and Max franchise. Every aspect of the game dramatically improved over the previous season. Telltale still has a ways to go to match the brilliance of Steve Purcell’s masterpiece, but I have faith they can pull it off after Ice Station Santa’s dramatic evolution. Season 2 is well worth the purchase, which is only around $7 if you get the Season Pass.
