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Sam and Max Season 1

Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: The Adventure Company
Format Reviewed: Wii
Other Released Formats: PC
Number of Players: 1
Online Features: None (Each Episode was downloadable on the PC as they were released)
ESRB Rating: Teen (Mild Language, Cartoon Violence, Crude Humor)
Genre: Adventure, Point and Click, Casual
Release Date: 2008-10-14
MSRP: $29.99

If you’re an older gamer raising your gamerlings like I am, you may remember the original Sam and Max Hit the Road from Lucasarts way back when (1993, the year I graduated high school) on the PC. It was one of my favorite Lucasarts Point n click games. I remember progressing to Sam and Max:HtR from Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken, up to Day of the Tentacle and so on. Sam and Max season 1 brings that back in a good way.

If you’ve played the Sam and Max Season 1 episodes on a PC, stop here. The Wii version is just as good, nothing has been touched save for a couple little Wii embellishments: All 6 episodes are playable from the menu, Wii-motion control (basically turning the WiiMote into a mouse), and widescreen support.

It’s hard to present this game as a “must-play” game for hard-core gamers. It’s happily rooted in the “casual games” genre that the Wii is made for and which is exploding, attracting everyone from 5-year olds to 80-year olds. Sam and Max Episodes are not exceptionally difficult, and trying every object on every other object will eventually get you advancing on. It’s point and click perfected, and it works great.

You play as Sam and his “rabbit-thingy” sidekick, as the Freelance Police, basically detectives that like to take out their gun at any opportunity. You interact with the environment and when there’s conversation, it’s all yours to guide with multiple responses, some of which are all needed to advance the story. The writing is what makes Sam and Max great. The humor is presented with tongue in cheek, and planted firmly there. The characters you come across are just plain wacky. Graphics are also a fit to the Wii, being cartoonish and bright, not a strain on the Wii’s graphic processor. My only gripe about the Wii version is that the load times are much slower off a disc than off my PC’s hard drive.

I loved playing these on the PC, and I think that all of the episodes are fun to play through, and I would recommend playing in order, as there is a story-arc that spans all 6 episodes, though they are stand-alone otherwise. If you’ve already played all 6 episodes on the PC, it’s probably not worth widescreen support to buy it again, even at the bargain price of $29.99. If you haven’t played this and enjoy the point-and-click genre, this game is one to get. It’s got a sense of humor, is not overly difficult to play, and can be played in bite-size sessions.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 – Worth buying if love adventure games and you haven’t already done so on the PC.

If you enjoy Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, currently on Episode 3 for the Wii, you will be right at home with Sam and Max, and therefore this would be a must-have game. Sam and Max Season 2 just wrapped up its 5-episode run on the PC, so expect a Season 2 on the Wii in the near future, and probably a Disc version of Stong Bad after it ends its run.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Format Reviewed: Xbox 360
Other Released Formats: PS3, PSP
Number of Players: 1 (Up to 16 online)
Online Features: 16-player events, Rate My Ride, Player Stats and Rankings (via Rockstar Games Social Club)
ESRB Rating: Teen (Mild Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Strong Lyrics)
Genre: Racing
Release Date: 2008-10-20

Midnight Club: Los Angeles came to me out of the blue. I actually have been considering purchasing a racer for the 360 when this one came my way. Honestly, I’m not really sure how to start this review. Do I start with the races, or the story mode? Gorgeous graphics? The Customization of the vehicles? Racer abilities? All there to make this game extreme fun.

I have to say, my first racing game on the 360, and I’m not sure how much more realistic a game can get. The overview map is almost photorealistic, and the actual sights while racing ARE photorealistic. Down to the signs on the building and the cars are just beautiful. They can’t be damaged as much in some games, but they do take a beating. Scrapes, broken windows and torn off bumpers all have happened, but big body crunches, even when you flip the car just don’t happen. That’s ok, this isn’t a sim, it’s just good old-fashioned balls to the wall racing, to hell with real physics. That’s not to say the cars don’t feel fairly real: Each car has its own characteristics. The weight of each car and whether they are front or rear-wheel drive makes a difference in handling. The VW I started out with at the beginning didn’t have trouble taking corners at full speed in its stock config, but the Camaro I won in a pink-slip race feels like I’m driving on ice when I make even the slightest adjustment. Another thing, despite its name, it’s a 24 hour game, with day and night cycles.

Each car is customizable, all the performance aspects, the exterior, the interior, paint, tires, even the license plate is customizable. Love neon? Turn it on! Want to dye the interior vinyl? You can do that. Always wanted those ground effects on your Jetta? Done. With each race won, you get money, it’s just a matter of saving up.

Speaking of winning…There are a ton of different race options, you have Red Light races, timed runs, pink-slip races, freeway races, tournaments, hangout races and other odd jobs. Each of these has a monetary reward, and as long as you finish, you win more “rep”, which is the reason for street races and a part of the story that links all this racing together. When you look at your GPS screen, you’ll see icons for the different races that are available around you. You can pick and choose, or just drive around, and you’ll eventually come across someone. Each race on the GSP screen is colored. Green = Easy, Yellow = Normal, Orange = Above Average, Red = Hard. Don’t let the colors fool you into thinking a green race is going to be truly easy. I’ve had easy Orange races, and hard green ones. There a lot of factors that can make that green race into a hard one.

You will get many new races and opportunities from you sidekick. It pops up on the lower left side of the screen (which is sometimes annoying when you are trying to find a specific spot on it already). This will happen when you meet certain rep requirements and when you complete other tasks. Keep an eye on this; you’ll learn where you can race for pinks, which is a great way to build your garage up. It’s also worth mentioning that if you don’t want to follow the GPS and just drive around the city you can do so. There are a few areas for jumps and collectable Rockstar barrels that unlock cheats. Don’t forget that there’s a ton of Gamerpoints out there to collect, some are surprising to find (Like the “getting off the bench” one for just joining a proposed race online, or “just get a motorcycle” for driving on two wheels in a car too much).

The races have many variables to them, shortcuts, obstacles, other racers, police and the traffic. All of these can turn a massive lead into a miserable loss. These things can work against the other racers as well. I’ve been behind in a race, and all of the sudden pass all of the other racers who chain-reaction wrecked ahead of me. There’s 2 other things that can help you win the race: Nitrous and Abilities.

You have 4 abilities that you can learn: Zone, Roar, EMP and Agro. You must drive “clean”, meaning no crashing into things. If you do it right, you get a special sound, and you can press the LB button to activate. Zone lets you slow time. Roar sends a shockwave that clears all racers and cars out of your way. EMP sends an electromagnetic pulse out that shuts down the engines of cars around you. Agro makes your car stronger, allowing you to run into everything you want without worry of damaging out.

Your garage can be filled with cars, and as you customize and win vehicles, you can sell them, modify them more, sell them, or trade them up for other cars. If you chose to mod you car, it will increase the value. Each race you win will get you money to either modify your vehicle, or save to buy that new car. If you really have to have that car but can’t wait to race for it, and have a heavily modified tuner, you can trade your car with some cash to get it. I kept my cars while saving up for that next awesome one (there are a couple bikes in there to build and race too).

I have not had much online racing with this title, but the options here look like you could have an endless time playing. Support for up to 16 players (though only 4 at a time can race), Quick Cruise (just flash anyone close and propose a challenge). The race types are able to be played online, and you can use the Race Editor to create your own races on the map and challenge others online. There’s also quite a few other types, including the multiplayer standard: capture the flag. Another online feature is one sure to be popular with the car-mod enthusiasts: Rate My Ride mode, which lets you upload your car for others to rate or hate.

If you’re looking for a great racer with a lot of options, online, and absolutely stunning graphics, Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a great pick. It’s definitely still at the top of my game stack, and will remain there for a long while. It’s got a teen rating, and some of the language in the cut scenes hang out in PG-13 level if you have little ones around, you might want to keep the volume down while partaking of those “club” races.

Rating: 4.75 of 5
If you want a great racing experience with tons of races and options, fairly realistic settings and vehicles, but not bound to sim rules, this is it.