Sam & Max: The Penal Zone
	Genre: Graphic Adventure Developers: Telltale Games LucasArts
Publisher Region Released Telltale Games NA 04/15/2010

Your Account Options

You currently have no privileges related to this game profile because you are not signed into an HonestGamers account. Please log in, or click to register for a free user account.

More Reviews by Gary Hartley
	Akai Katana (Xbox 360) So many deaths, so many bullets…
	Blaster Master 2 (Genesis) Blaster Master 2 exists only as a sobering example of completely missing the entire bloody point.
	Pure (Xbox 360) Pure will just have to settle for being more fun to play than it really has any right to be.
	J.U.L.I.A (PC) This makes it a recommendable video game featuring a strong narrative, fantastic storytelling and a real sense of personality.
	Zero Wing (Genesis) Instead, let’s all listen to people who have never played the game quote the ‘hilarious’ intro until the urge to club them with a half brick becomes too strong....

Best PC Games
	Doom II: Hell on Earth Average Rating: 10.0; Reviews: 3
	The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Average Rating: 10.0; Reviews: 2
	X-COM: UFO Defense Average Rating: 10.0; Reviews: 2
	Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 4
	Half-Life 2 Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 7
	Half-Life Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 6
	Call of Duty Average Rating: 9.7; Reviews: 4
	Fallout 2 Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2
	Unreal Tournament 2004 Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2
	Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2

Looking for a good read?
Check out a selection from our database of more than 8000 reviews! honestgamer has weighed in on Alien Shooter: Vengeance for the PC and figures it rates 8 out of 10. What do you think? Read the review, then be sure to leave feedback or chime in with one of your own!

Staff Review

Review by Gary Hartley
April 24, 2010

If there was ever any doubt that Telltale were anything but borderline insane, then the first ten minutes of Sam & Max: The Penal Zone put that firmly to bed. Parodying the staples of surreal like The Twilight Zone, you’re mercilessly hurled around the opening chapter’s timeline, shown a cascade of awesome mental powers that might become available to the fluffy white psychotic one, then dumped back at the start of the game with no warning. All your powers gone, your bearings shot to bits and the grand evil you’ve just defeated smiling sweetly before you offering nothing more sinister than promises of peace and love.

People worrying about more of the same of the first two seasons are firmly assured that Telltale have not taken the easy route of mass recycling and have taken the foundations of what worked so well in previous entries and built upon them. Some of these are disappointing: the control scheme has been heavily edited to make their titles more accessible for platforms such as the iPad, so Sam no longer wanders off to where you click but instead must be guided via either WASDing or by hold down the mouse and dragging, creating a virtual joystick on-screen. It’s not an awful addition, and wanting to port the game on a new platform is understandable, but merely getting from A to B has become clumsy whereas it was once a base simplicity.

But! Other changes, such as Max’s new sense of usefulness are very welcome additions. Whereas Max’s role in previous games was to wander around menacingly, here, he’s given a new lease of life thanks to his new collection of psychic abilities. You can swap control from Sam’s exploration at anytime to see the world through the horrible, warped eyes of the cute homicidal bunny anytime you like, and abuse such gifts as peeking into the future to help you solve stubborn puzzles, or teleport yourself through the phone lines through any numbers Max has memorised. Rather than feel like a tacked-on hint system, Max’s soothsaying skills are often built right into the heart of the solutions, promoting him from his previous role of being the game’s focused sense of spite to being a genuine and vital piece of the puzzle.

What remains the same is the sharp, witty writing that continues to supply belly laughs and giggles. From random Flash Gordon quotes to the continual kicking at the remaining cast while they’re down, Telltale have lost no pace while they’ve been working on their other projects in Sam & Max‘s off-season hiatus. Quite the contrary -- in their eagerness to advance the genre and add on to their already winning formula they do enough to surprise those returning back after the first two seasons with their willingness to evolve and take risks with new directions. Season Three has truly started with a bang, and I’m excited to see if that momentum can continue in the following months.

Feedback

Facebook()

Forums(5)

You can click the tabs on the above bar to choose whether you wish to read comments from visitors who have posted on Facebook, or from registered site users who have left feedback on the forums. Please leave a comment of your own if you have anything to say!

Info | Help | Privacy Policy | Contact | Advertise

© 1998-2012 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site--from reviews, guides, cheats and editorials to message board posts--may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. Sam & Max: The Penal Zone is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Sam & Max: The Penal Zone, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors.