|
|
|
Sam & Max S01E05 - Reality 2.0
Computers all over the world have gone haywire and it is once again up to the freelance police to set things right in the penultimate episode of season one. Thankfully, the fact that Max is now the president of the United States is not preventing him from joining his partner in this adventure involving the Internet, virtual reality and hypnotism.
After starting out in a new location in the previous episode I was disappointed to see Sam and Max back in their office at the start of Reality 2.0. I was however delighted when I discovered that all new lines of dialogue has been recorded for all the item descriptions. Hearing the same phrases over and over was starting to become a bit wearisome so I'm really glad that Telltale put in some extra effort. After complaining about the rather weak puzzles in previous episodes, I am happy to report that this one fares much better. In fact, the very first puzzle had me scratching my head. Overall there is a lot less traveling back and forth than in episode four and more interesting puzzles. The story is the highlight of the season so far for me and pits Sam & Max against the Internet of all things. Since the freelance police are immune against hypnotism, they must enter the virtual reality world and prevent the enslavement of humanity. Once they don their virtual reality goggles, the world around them transform into a virtual one, complete with pop-ups and chip tune versions of the background music. Items carried in reality are transformed into other things in this virtual world leading to some very ingenious puzzles. The writing is very good and contains plenty of computer and gaming references. Sam even gets his hands on a "+2 sword" with which to battle a certain foe. The abandoned system support group you'll encounter is brilliant as is their anthem which is so bad it's good. The game is set almost entirely in Sam & Max's neighborhood but the ability to switch between realities prevents it from being boring. We also finally get to see what is going on inside Lefty's. There is no car chase scene this time and apart from a quick trip to bancolavedero.com (don't ask) you won't even need the trusty Desoto. Best of all there's no sign of the Soda Poppers this time round. I won't say anything about the finale apart from the fact that it is brilliant. Overall, this episode is my favorite thus far and hopefully the season finale can top it. If you are new to the series you will probably want to start from episode one although it is not strictly necessary. Some of the jokes and references will just be a bit funnier. While Reality 2.0 is still a bit on the short side, I had a blast completing it and I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing how it all comes together in the end. 
|
System Requirements
TAGS: Sam & Max, Season 01 Episode 05, Reality 2.0, The Internet, Virtual Reality, Freelance Police
|
|
|
Copyright © 2012 GAMERamble. All rights reserved