Sam & Max: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak
	Genre: Graphic Adventure Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher Region Released Telltale Games NA 05/18/2010

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
	Team Fortress 2 Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2
	Plants vs. Zombies Average Rating: 9.5; Reviews: 2

Looking for a good read?
Check out a selection from our database of more than 8000 reviews! lisanne has weighed in on Attack on Pearl Harbor 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
May 30, 2010

When the start of Telltale’s third series of Sam & Max hit my review pile, I was dutifully impressed. The writing was as hilarious as ever, the puzzles had been given an extra layer of challenge previous entries had lacked, and the entire thing had been pounded into a stumbling sense of insanity and surrealism. The game raised Max from the unenviable role of useless sidekick good for only bouts of comedic relief and gave the shark-toothed rabbity-thing a new sense of purpose by bequeathing him psychic powers and a new first-person viewed outlook to the game. The Penal Zone faced the pair off against a space-conquering ape chasing after the Devil’s Toybox and all the toys inside. These toys granted the owner magical powers and, as such, threw both Sam and Max around the episode like rag dolls in a washer. Anyone expecting the ride to be smoother in The Tomb of Sammun-Mak is quickly proven wrong.

Stuck in the same cobwebbed boiler room the last chapter left them, Sam & Max are confronted with an eerie, macabre glimpse at the past when they discover two skeletal frames with more than a passing resemblance to themselves. Further searching leads to the discovery of an ancient reel-loaded film projector. It’s through this medium that the game plays out; it’s a recording of the pair’s ancestors, Sameth and Maximus, and their eventual excavation of the Egyptian tomb of Sammun-Mak.

To this end, Telltale once again play havoc with the timeline. If the pair get stuck in one section of the story, the player can simply switch reels, fast-forwarding or rewinding the plot at will, to try and find the answer somewhere else. When Baby Amelia Earhart’s excitable nature keeps landing you in trouble, a jump forward might find help you discover the best way to calm her down. When a magical toy is being held hostage by a bunch of underpaid and overworked elves living in the slums, perhaps a jaunt backwards in time might find something you can use to barter with.

The chaotic pace of a game bitch-slapping a continuous time-line is brilliantly in keeping with Sam & Max’s unpredictable sense of humour. There are still control issues in how the game insists upon an uncomfortable mouse-drag/WASD set-up to move around (a set-up vital for its iPad port) but it manages to pick up pace from what was already a fantastic start. It’s worth noting that, back in the founding chapters of Telltale’s reinvention of Sam & Max, one of the biggest complaints levelled at the episodic series was the constant rehashing of backdrops. The Tomb of Sammun-Mak is a game built completely off totally original locations.

This doesn’t stop the game from chucking in characters from previous seasons to give those who have been along for the entire ride something new to chuckle at. You even get the origins of Episode 203: Night of the Raving Dead‘s excellent villain and how he joined the ranks of the undead to begin with. Forget about this shaping up to be the best Sam & Max season yet: this is shaping up to be the best thing Telltale have produced thus far.

Feedback

Facebook()

Forums(1)

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 Tomb of Sammun-Mak is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to Sam & Max: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak, 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.