Review | Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Episode 1
Penal joke…
Format: PC/iPad/PS3 | Genre: Point and Click Adventure | Publisher: Telltale | Developer: Telltale | Release Date: 15/04/2010 | RRP: $35/season
Jennifer Allen struggles to avoid awful headline puns as she takes a look at the first episode of SAM & MAX: THE DEVIL’S PLAYHOUSE.
Sam & Max is a franchise that never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s the combination of straight ‘man’ Sam and the psychotic rabbit Max who knows no fear that does it for me. It’s totally outlandish, but it entertains me more than any other point-and-click franchise. Having reached its third modern season, it’s good to see that the pedigree is still there – although it’s a shame that, individually, The Penal Zone feels like one of the weaker instalments of Telltale’s three seasons so far.
Much like a series of books, it’s best to play right from the start at Season 1 to fully understand all the in-jokes and nuances, although it isn’t essential. The episodic manner of the content also means that The Penal Zone feels more like a slice of what’s to come than a fully fleshed-out game. Think of it as a Sam & Max appetiser rather than the full package.
The story itself centres on General Skun’ka’pe, an alien gorilla who has escaped from the eponymous Penal Zone. It’s up to Sam and Max to stop the gorilla and send him back to his prison. It’s not the most riveting of tales, admittedly, even with many familiar faces re-emerging, but that’s where the dialogue shines and demonstrates the familiar Telltale sense of humour.
Much time is also spent introducing new game mechanics, namely Max’s newly gained psychic abilities. Max now has four psychic powers available to him, although only two are used to any great amount in this first episode. Future vision allows Max to take a glimpse at the near future by clicking on a character or object. The number of objects that can be used for this purpose are frequently restricted in order to be relevant to the puzzle you’re currently solving.
Initially it feels like a tool that will make the game far too simple, but this isn’t always the case, as future vision only ever hints at what will happen. On one occasion it actually flummoxed me and threw me off the right path, so it’s not always a foolproof method. Fortunately, the game’s hint system does a good job at putting you back on track before any hair-tearing moments transpire.
The other power, teleportation, feels much more frivolous at first, with the only advantage seemingly being to speed up movement. However, much like the rest of the game, it comes in 
handy for a few select puzzles in which Max can teleport other characters to use them in certain other situations. These two primary psychic abilities are used well without being excessive, but left me itching to see more of what Telltale Games has up its sleeves. Appropriate really, considering the nature of episodic gaming.
The definition of pointing and clicking
Something that may come as a surprise to players on the PC is that, while The Penal Zone is technically a point-and-click adventure, in the most literal sense it isn’t. Sam & Max Season 3 uses a new interface system that’s more reminiscent of the console way of doing adventure games. Forwarding Telltale’s recent moves to reinvent the genre’s control system, you now manoeuvre the characters via the arrow or WASD keys. It’s a strange shift at first, feeling counter-intuitive and making walking around feel slower compared to the more tried-and-tested method. It’s no deal–breaker, but I can’t see why a PC game needs a system like this when the mouse does such a great job ordinarily.
As expected from the first episode of a season of Sam & Max, The Penal Zone feels like a story that’s only just begun, which does leave me slightly disappointed . The puzzles, while satisfying, are not the most challenging out there, and the development of Max’s psychic powers feels somewhat shallow. It’d be overly critical to really complain, though, considering it is only the first episode of a five-part series. I just wish there were more than a few hours of introductions. It’s all over too soon.
It’s clearly an episode that needs to be purchased and played alongside the forthcoming releases to really appreciate it. But what The Penal Zone does do right is leave you wanting more, with a tantalising glimpse of what might be to come. Because of that, the next episode can’t arrive quickly enough.
Is there no way to use the mouse? Sam and Max Hit the Road’s control scheme was perfectly acceptable, I don’t see why keyboard controls have to be implemented.
You can click and drag which felt as slow as using the WASD/arrow keys. Feels a little clumsy too. Interestingly also shows up a console-esque thumbstick icon too.
It lacks being able to click in the distance or elsewhere in the scene to be able to move around which seems a shame as it’s so traditional for the genre.
Sounds like the new Monkey Island control system.
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