Appletell reviews Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse ep. 2 for Mac OS X

Genre: Adventure
Format: Download and Special Edition Collectors DVD (available after all episodes are released)
Developer: Telltale Games
Mac Publisher: Telltale Games
System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5 or newer, Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Not recommended for Macs with integrated graphics
Review Computer: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo aluminum MacBook, 2GB DDR3 memory, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
Network Feature: No
Processor Compatibility: Intel Core Duo
Price: $34.95 (for all five episodes)
ESRB Rating: E10
Availability: Out now

If the first episode of Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse: The Penal Zone takes you back to the beginning of the tale then this episode—The Tomb of Sammun-Mak—takes us back to the forbearers of Sam and Max, who quite conveniently have similar (if old-fashioned) sounding names. It gives the game an air that is a bit familiar and a bit different all at the same time. The psuedo-retro effect is very charming. You will surely enjoy the feel of this title, which is just different enough from the first episode to give you the feeling you’re playing something fresh.

Your goal is to get your hands on the Devil’s Toy Box and comprehend some of the odd choices of some archaic language. The sad thing about this installment is that the focus on longer missions seems to have resulted in fewer jokes than in other Sam and Max titles. This is a shame, since those jokes are one of the key features in this series.   

The graphics are exactly what you would expect; a bright and colorful menagerie of Nickelodion-style animation with some random violence thrown in to make it fun for us grown ups. It also has a fun vintage twist that is quite charming.

Sound in this game is really great. The music adds a real sense of period that helps to keep you interested. Gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a Sam & Max title. Nothing here is too new in that regard, which is probably a good thing considering how many other elements have been changed.

For details on the core gameplay and more on the series as a whole, see our review of Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse ep. 1.

Appletell Rating:

Buy Sam and Max: The Devils Playhouse

• Back to Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, ep. 1: The Penal Zone
• Ahead to Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, ep. 3: They Stole Max’s Brain