Buttonbasher

Kickstart an Adventure Game’s development with Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller

buttonbasher — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:08:49 +0000

Kickstarter is a fairly new way of crowd-sourcing funding for projects, and it’s been pretty successful at doing so. Users can choose how much they want to financially “back” a project, and the person seeking funding will reward people at certain levels. For example: A musician seeking funding for a new album could set a reward level at 10 dollars, where the user would get an early copy of the album. The levels often escalate into very personalized territory, and the overall system seems to benefit everyone involved.

And before you ask, I’m not about to ask you for donations.

Phoenix Online Studios (known for their Kings Quest fan series The Silver Lining) has teamed up with Khaeon Gamestudio and Adventure Game Legend Jane Jenson to bring an “episodic story in the spirit of Dexter and Heavy Rain” to Adventure gamers everywhere.

They need your help to bring this from idea to reality. They’ll need about 25,000 dollars, but they’ve laid out a good selection of rewards for those who pledge.

For pledges of $1 the supporter will have their name in the credits of the game under ‘Special Thanks’
For $5 you’ll get a hi-res image, a digital copy of the soundtracks, in addition to your name in the credits.
20 dollars will get you all the previous prizes, plus each episode of the game, and exclusive newsletter blasts with new content.
40 dollars prize contains all previous rewards along with a physical copy of the game and soundtrack.

You can go all the way up to 5000 dollars which includes a character named and modeled after you, signed copy of the game, soundtrack, comic, beta testing, cookies, inside look into game development, and loads of other goodies.

Those big numbers are kind of intimidating, but 20 dollars can get you quite a bit of content. It’s services like Kickstarter that make the preorder system actually make sense. Instead of preordering something at a store like Gamestop where the money sits as profit for the company, you’re giving money to the creators themselves in order to make the game even better for you (in addition to the slew of other cool content).

The project will only be funded if they meet their goal by December 11th so give them a hand (and a couple of bucks) at their Kickstarter page! Should they meet their goal, their estimated release date of Cognition is June 2012.

Astronauts, Cults, and Gnomes, OH MY! It’s a Puzzle Agent 2 Review

buttonbasher — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:56:29 +0000

‘The one that got away’. A phrase many of us are familiar with, usually relating to a lost love. To Agent Nelson Tethers of the FBI Puzzle Research Division, that love is traded for mystery. You see, before a field assignment to Scoggins, Minnesota, Nelson’s life was fairly normal. He would sit at his desk, completing crosswords and sudoku puzzles. But right at the conclusion of his recent assignment, he witnessed something he couldn’t quite get out of his head.

Whispering red forest gnomes.

Puzzle Agent 2 tells a tale of intrigue, mystery, and conspiracy. Following up the story of his assignment to Scoggins to reopen the Eraser Factory, Tethers is back on his own time to try and locate factory’s foreman Isaac Davner, who was taken away by The Hidden People (the aforementioned ‘whispering red forest gnomes’) at the conclusion of the first game. Upon returning, it’s clear that something is not right (even more so than usual).

Tethers explores more of the city this time around, meeting new residents who share his interest in puzzles. Fan favorite characters like Sheriff Bahg, and Bjorn are back, but the new characters help to flesh out the expanded city. Some of the conversations occur at a relaxed pace not unlike a casual chat you would have with your neighbor, which really added to the tone Scoggins emits. It’s a town of intense mystery and mythology, but the citizens aren’t really phased by any of it.

The game is also weirder in the best ways. The original game was definitely full of oddity, but Puzzle Agent 2 adds even more layers of it. It’s almost like show Twin Peaks, which initially sets you up with seemingly random bouts of nonsense, but by the end of the series it all begins makes sense. Tethers begins this game having already encountered the Hidden People, and been plagued with dreams of astronauts, but there still manages to be more. The whole game feels larger in scope, despite lasting about the same length as the original. Nelson’s on the edge of discovering something far bigger than he even knows.

The original Puzzle Agent is often compared to the Professor Layton series, blending exploration with conversations and puzzles. The comparison is apt, however the difference is in the execution of the puzzles. Puzzle Agent 2 manages to incorporate just about all of it’s puzzles into the storyline, whereas Professor Layton’s are more random (ex. The train conductor won’t leave until you’ve rearranged his matchsticks into the shape of an owl!). There are still unrelated puzzles, but they’re not usually the ones you’ll receive from important people. They’re the perfect difficulty, balancing ones that can be solved without much thought, with ones that had me breaking out pencil and paper to draw complicated diagrams trying to identify a pattern. It’s very satisfying to spend time thinking something through, then seeing your work pay off with a correct answer.

My main criticism seems like a strange thing to be disappointed in, and I realize how backwards it sounds, but I feel that the game almost answers too many questions. Of course with any mystery, you’re looking forward to getting answers. Just by the end of Puzzle Agent 2, many of the mysterious players are explained in more detail than I expected them to be. They aren’t calling it Puzzle Agent – Episode 2, and it definitely feels like a standalone game. I suppose I just love the series enough that I desperately want it to continue, and by receiving so many answers at this point it kind of diminishes just how mysterious the whole thing is, going forward. There are still unexplained aspects, and story threads to pull upon for a hypothetical Puzzle Agent 3 (which could go some very interesting places based on the ending), but I guess I’m just curious where they would go considering just how much is explained here.

Puzzle Agent 2 is a glorious adventure. From the look and feel of the hand-drawn art, to the way Sheriff Bahg says “Agent Tethers” (I laugh every time that guy speaks), the world is just a fun place to be immersed into. The mysteries, and conspiracies will fuel your curiosity to keep digging deeper. The story has become even more complex than you could imagine, and has me eagerly anticipating reuniting with Agent Tethers in the future. Please Telltale, just one more puzzle?

10/10

Puzzle Agent 2 is now available on PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad, with a PSN version arriving in the future. Return to Scoggins today at the Telltale Store.

Also check out our review of the original Puzzle Agent by clicking here!

Great Scott! It’s a Back to the Future: The Game Review!

buttonbasher — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:34:39 +0000

How long has it been? Months? Oh my that’s not good. It seemed like mere days! I’ve lost track of time, or rather been lost within time. Excuse my absence, as it’s a story for another date and time. Instead, I’ll tell you about the Back to the Future episodic series from Telltale Games!

Back to the Future: The Game arrives in 1986 following after the trilogy of films. Over the span of five episodes, it essentially acts as a fourth movie. Adhering to the episodic model, each episode showcases a chunks of the story, and each lasts for 3-4 hours. The story delves into Marty and Doc Brown’s relationship, throwing them both to 1931 at the cusp of Doc’s science career. The background on Doc, and ensuring his past occurs according to plan is the main focus of the game. Of course, even the smallest change can drastically alter the time continuum as can be seen in later episodes.

Many of the characters in the game did not appear in the film trilogy, though they don’t feel out of place at all. This is similar to what Telltale did with their Wallace & Gromit series, where it felt just as natural as it does here. Edna Strickland, for example, is a main player in the episodic series, and is written into the story as the sister of Principle Strickland from the films. Being an entry in the Back to the Future series of course means, that Marty will be encountering past versions of his relatives, as well as a much younger Emmett Brown. The inclusion of Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, and Claudia Wells (Jennifer Parker from the first film) lead to great voice acting across the board. A.J. Locascio stands out most of all, performing a pitch perfect Marty McFly impression that sounds virtually the same as Michael J. Fox.

The game mechanics will be familiar to anyone who has played recent Telltale episodic adventures. You move Marty around with the WASD keys, or by clicking and dragging of the mouse. Mouse control feels much less awkward this time around, and I found myself using it almost the whole way through. Additionally controller support is available, which seems to work fine as well. It’s standard fare. From a technical standpoint, the game looks great. Telltale in the past have dealt primarily with established properties with established artstyles. Telltale opted for a stylized approach to transition Back to the Future from a live action film into the world of video games. The artstyle largely succeeds at this, presenting some of the best facial animation in a Telltale game to date. Expressive eye brows, and subtle eye movements help to showcase just how far the studio has come since early titles. The game scales very well too, allowing for modest PC rigs to run it at lower settings without sacrificing the look of the game.

The biggest issue I have with the episodes is just how easy they are to complete. I’m not sure if I’m just used to what to look for in a puzzle, or if Telltale deliberately made them easier in an effort to ensure people see the series through to the end. It was kind of a disappointing jump from Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse which had the challenging but fair puzzles, to the first episode of this which is easy to coast through without any complications. Results may vary, however seasoned veterans of Telltale’s episodes may be put off by how easy the series is. Complexity ramps up near the end of the series, but it still wasn’t especially challenging. It’s strange because I’m not often the type of gamer that worries about a game being easy. I guess The Devil’s Playhouse just achieved a perfect balance, that it stands out when the project immediately following it feels noticeably less challenging.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t play the game by any means. The story being told is a great one, that manages to seamlessly blend humor, with serious emotion into a wonderful package. The setting of 1931 didn’t seem to be very interesting at first, but the characters found within that time period make up for that almost immediately. Plus, being a game based around time travel, you’re not confined to 1931 the entire game. The presentation is great, with excellent voice acting and character animation coexisting with some great looking visuals. The inclusion of the Back to the Future theme as well as Huey Lewis and the News, only add to the overall tone. This is definitely worthy of the Back to the Future series, and with hints of a second season via the cliffhanger ending of the finale, I’m eagerly anticipating reuniting with Doc and Marty sometime in the future.

8.5/10

Telltale Games invites you to ‘Poker Night at the Inventory’!

buttonbasher — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:48:01 +0000

Last week a mysterious Telltale related teaser video appeared on GameTrailers TV, teasing a mystery title with some special guest characters hinted at. You can watch the teaser below:

The date mentioned has arrived and the mystery game was revealed to be ‘Poker Night at the Inventory’, featuring Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2, Tycho from Penny Arcade, Strong Bad from HomestarRunner.com (and Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People), and Max of Sam & Max fame. Beyond knowing that it’s a poker game, it’s said to include “more dialog in this game than in a Sam & Max episode, both for poker playing and for the ambient conversations that spring up and roll around the table as the game goes on.” which sounds pretty exciting to me.

You can pre-purchase at Telltale Games store, or Steam and receive a discount, which for 5 dollar game makes the deal even sweeter. PAX attendees can preview the game at Telltale’s booth this weekend, and score a sweet poster with your pre-order (5 dollars people.)

The release window is this Fall.

I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s HUGE! A ‘Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – The City That Dares Not Sleep’ Review

buttonbasher — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:01:46 +0000

It’s a familiar tale. A monster attacks New York City, and it’s up to a group of unlikely heroes to bring the foe to justice. Approaching a genre that’s rather played out, Telltale Games has managed to add a whole new edge to the concept by making that monster a character you’ve grown to know and love for three seasons. In the finale of ‘Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse‘ Sam must do all he can in order to bring back his little buddy. Do you have what it takes to help him succeed?

(Warning: this review contains spoilers to Episode 4 ‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’)

‘The City That Dares Not Sleep‘ feels like that song at the end of an album that brings the best sections from each previous track together to achieve a zen like sense of amazement that makes you immediately want to listen to the whole thing again. Yes, that insanely positive and slightly pretentious sentence may make you a tad skeptical, but I can assure you that this final episode wraps up the series so well that deserves any and all commendations. Fan favorite characters from all previous seasons return to assist in a threat that players are actually emotionally invested in. The medium of episodic gaming really helps to add resonance to the series in ways traditional titles cannot achieve. You may sink 40 hours into Mass Effect 2 in a month, but when a series releases over the course of 5 months, you’re connected with the experience much longer which really helps add weight to decisions you have to make.

At the end of the previous episode ‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls‘ the majority of the psychic toys of power that you’ve used throughout the series were destroyed. This causes Max to transform from the lovable little lagomorph into a giant hulking behemoth that trots off to terrorize New York. ‘The City That Dares Not Sleep‘ picks up days later, with Sam and the ensemble cast of a scientist, COPS, a television star, and the newly appointed President of the United States of America all planning on how to rid the city of the monster menace. With everyone else decided that a tactical military strike is the way to go, Sam must team up with some old friends in order to save Max without destroying him. This is where the episode pulls in a lot of it’s fan service, reintroducing characters that have been suspiciously absent for this season. It’s also cool to see how they handle the fact Max is not with you for the entire episode (in normal form at least). The image below should give you a good indication.

It’s cool that these games have evolved beyond being strictly comedy now. ‘The City That Dares Not Sleep‘ continues the trend I first noticed in Tales of Monkey Island where the story resonates on a deeper level, where actual danger exists. Just because it’s a funny game doesn’t mean it will be all chuckles and laughs. The ending of the episode is rather moving actually. I watched the credits roll in silence, just taking in what all had happened. These comical characters have come such a long way, and grown into so much more while managing to retain the reason we love them in the first place.

The Devil’s Playhouse is a delightfully diverse, and creatively consistent gaming adventure. While each episode feels completely different from the last, the story told throughout is one you really should experience. The psychic toys managed to drastically change the game enough that newcomers feel welcome, while also giving seasoned adventure game veterans a whole new toolset to get familiar with. As a third season of Sam & Max it exceeded my expectations in every way. I cannot recommend the series enough.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Episode 5: ‘The City That Dares Not Sleep’ will be available on PSN, PC, Mac, and the Apple iPad soon. You can get a copy of your own right here: Telltale Store.

The Season Review’s:

Episode 1 – The Penal Zone

Episode 2 – The Tomb of Sammun-Mak

Episode 3 – They Stole Max’s Brain!

Episode 4 – Beyond the Alley of the Dolls

Halo: Reach Goes Gold!

buttonbasher — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 02:44:43 +0000

Halo Reach is just around the corner, and today Bungie Studios announced they had completed work on the project. This concludes their work on the Halo franchise, but from everything they’ve shown so far they seem to be sending it out with a bang. Earlier this year, the public multiplayer Reach beta gave us a taste of what to expect from Matchmaking (and boy did it taste sweet), but the new trailer titled “The Battle Begins” offers a glimpse at the campaign. Lets watch:

That last shot sends a shiver down my spine. An eagerly excited shiver. I’ve always gone into Halo games for the campaign, then stayed for the multiplayer. The atmosphere these games evoke just immerse me into a world I don’t want to leave. Last fall’s ODST in particular presented a completely different tone than other Halo game by giving it a noir-esque theme and presenting an open, living hub world to explore. It’s a fine line to walk, but Bungie always manages to get it right. Judging by what we’ve seen and played of Reach, they look to have another masterpiece on their hands. I can’t wait to group up with Noble team on September 14th!

This ‘Sam & Max – The Devil’s Playhouse’ Review goes ‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’!

buttonbasher — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:01:58 +0000

Here we are at the penultimate adventure in The Devil’s Playhouse! What awaits our favorite freelance police duo this time? Clones, Toys, Shotguns, and love, that’s what!

I bet you thought that question was rhetorical, didn’t you?

(That question however, is in fact rhetorical)

‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’ picks up shortly after the end of ‘They Stole Max’s Brain!’ with Sam, Max, and Skun’kape on the run from an army of nearly naked Sam Clones (or Doggelganger’s). They take refuge in Stinky’s Restaurant, where they fight off their pursuers. Sam has no explanation for the clones, and their lack of clothing, but he is driven by the fact that one of them made off with his signature hat. As they dig deeper, Sam & Max uncover a sinister plot that’s bigger than they could have imagined.

I liked the feel of this episode. The Zombie survival tone worked really well. The whole opening scene was very impressive to me, as it was for the most part one long shot with the camera weaving in an out of the action. The music stood out to me a lot in this episode, over previous ones. The electric guitar added to the cinematic orchestral music in that opening scene helped convey the mood. I also loved the amount of references to previous seasons this time around. I suggest using Future-Vision with a returning (loud) character from past seasons. There’s also a really amazing reference to a none Telltale game, which also manages to incorporate a classic Sam & Max joke. I know these hints aren’t especially full of detail, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Having the full roster of Psychic Toys by the end of the episode was also pretty great.

This episode did feel a little bit easier than previous ones though. It could just be that I’ve become a better adventure gamer after playing so many of these, but it only took me one sitting to start and finish this one. Normally I space it out over two nights, stopping when I hit a puzzle that requires deeper thought than others, but there wasn’t really a point like that in this episode. It’s not really a bad thing, as the puzzles still offer challenge but it stood out to me.

‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’ sets up the season finale perfectly. At this point in the series you’re familiar with all of the characters, which really makes the episode flow well. It still surprises me how it can tell one main story yet manage to be so diverse in each episode. Even with the lack of difficulty, ‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’ still entertains with every plot twist, and series callback. If you’re just hearing about the series now, it’s not too late to catch up before it concludes with next month’s ‘The City That Dares Not Sleep’! You owe it to yourself to enter The Devil’s Playhouse.

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Episode 4: ‘Beyond the Alley of the Dolls’ will be available on PSN, PC, Mac, and the Apple iPad soon. You can get a copy of your own right here: Telltale Store.

The Season Review’s so far:

Episode 1 – The Penal Zone

Episode 2 – The Tomb of Sammun-Mak

Episode 3 – They Stole Max’s Brain!

You see them, don’t you? A Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent Review

buttonbasher — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:49:32 +0000

Nelson Tethers of the FBI’s Puzzle Research Division does most of his work behind a desk. As you can imagine, a lot of the country’s major puzzle related queries are solvable from a central location. Having grown up around puzzles, he’s excellent at what he does and is actually one of the top Puzzle Agents in the country. So when a puzzle related mystery surfaces that requires Nelson to emerge out of his office, and head off to the remote small town of Scoggins Minnesota, it must be a serious problem.

Puzzle Agent is the first game in Telltale’s Pilot Program, which works similar to how television pilots work. Smaller teams in the studio create an initial episode from their idea to release to the masses, whose level of interest will decide if the game will get picked up for a full season release. It allows for riskier ideas to see the light of day because the team size is not as large as a normal episodic series. If it doesn’t succeed among fans it’s just a failure of a single episode instead of a full season. It’s a unique concept that will hopefully lead to fresh new playable ideas on a more regular basis.

The mystery began when the White House did not receive it’s shipment of Scoggin’s Eraser’s. Upon investigation, all they received were puzzles. Due to the unique circumstances Nelson Tethers was the top choice to send to investigate. Shortly after arriving in town he noticed that all of the townsfolk were obsessed with puzzles. To Nelson this would be a great thing, finally connecting with so many puzzle enthusiasts, but things are not always as they seem. Everyone just goes along with their business and not ask questions. The Eraser Factory (the main point of interest in this investigation) has been locked from the outside due to an “accident” that occurred there, but none of the townsfolk seem particularly concerned. When Nelson begins digging deeper he learns of the Hidden People (which still freak me out), and the Nordic culture that Scoggins is rooted in.

The atmosphere is reminiscent of the works of David Lynch, which is definitely a plus for me. The story has a good balance of eerie confusion and lighthearted humor. It definitely fits with the Telltale style of storytelling, but the introduction of a psychological horror aspect is something I really enjoyed. It may be due to the fact I’ve been on a psychological movie kick (Memento, and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind recently), but the mood of the game really played into my interests. The introduction gives a good indication as to how Nelson’s mind works, which I instantly connected with. He has a positive attitude throughout, and kept his cool in tense situations. I really liked him as a character and would love to see more of him, should Puzzle Agent get picked up for a full season.

The game plays quite a bit differently than your typical Telltale adventure game. First of all, you don’t move Nelson around the scenes. Instead he stays in a central location, and you click around the scene to find points of interaction. I like how they handled this aspect. Upon each click of the mouse a circle pulsates outward from where you pointed revealing each point of interaction. The area the circle affects is wide enough that you don’t have to spend too much time searching, but it still gives you freedom to do so if you want to. This system seemed very natural on the PC, and I can imagine it making even more sense on the iPad/iPhone version. The basic gameplay is solving puzzles which are presented on their own screen. They tend to come in two flavors: Brain Teasers (of which most of the solving is done in your head), and Click puzzles (of which solutions come by moving things around with the mouse). In addition to solving the 37 puzzles in the game, Agent Tethers will converse with the townsfolk to help further his investigation into the Eraser Factory. I liked how conversation trees were presented as notes he was taking in his notepad. The puzzles definitely present a challenge, but throughout your time in Scoggins you collect pieces of gum which help Nelson focus and serve as the game’s hint system. I felt that they presented a good enough challenge without being unfair. There were a few instances where I broke out a piece of paper and was working the problem out on the page, but even that was kind of enjoyable.

The game works the puzzles into the story fairly well too. It’s pretty rare to encounter one just for the sake of solving it. I feel like this helps preserve the authenticity presented in the story. You could almost explain it as the characters remembering puzzles based on where they are, upon discovering Nelson’s profession. The whole presentation of the game really pulls you into its world. The game world is one of uncertainty and mystery which is definitely reflected in the audio design. For puzzle solving screens, you hear a song that made me feel relaxed and under no pressure to speed through to the solution without thinking things through. But there are certain scenes which are intended to creep the player out in which the audio goes from an uneasy string section into a loud cacophony of foreign sounds. It stood out as something that Puzzle Agent does especially well. The music is good enough that I would like Telltale to offer it through their store. Aside from the music, the voice acting is all very good as well. The characters all have the Minnesotan accent which added a lot to their charm. Sheriff Bahg’s voice in particular made me smile whenever I heard it.

The visual style is also pretty unique. Puzzle Agent is based on the work of Graham Annable, more specifically his Grickle series. Grickle is a series of comics and 2D animations which seem to explore a similar mysterious tone, and often involve elements of the extraordinary. The game emulates this style with a mix of 2D and 3D assets. The characters are all hand drawn, and animated which mirrors the Grickle animation shorts perfectly. Certain parts of the world are rendered in 3D to allow for different camera angles during cutscenes, but even these are textured in such ways that they look 2D for the most part. The 3D stuff reminded me of the look of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People (a previous Telltale production), which also was recreating 2D art in a 3D plane. You can tell a lot of attention went into the look, and it’s very impressive how much they were able to pull off.

From start to finish, Puzzle Agent feels really special. The art and ambiance mix with a fascinating story, while constantly keeping your brain challenged with interesting puzzles. If this is any indication as to what we should expect from the Pilot Program consider me excited. I sincerely hope that everyone else shares in my enjoyment, and that a full season pickup is in Nelson Tethers future. You owe it to yourself to check this game out.

10/10

I liked pretty much every part of this game.

Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent – The Mystery of Scoggins will be out on PC/Mac sometime today, with a WiiWare and iPhone/iPad release in the near future. You can get a copy of your own right here: Telltale Store.

They Stole Max’s Brain! A Sam & Max – The Devil’s Playhouse Review!

buttonbasher — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 07:01:30 +0000

I always try to keep my reviews of Telltale’s episodic titles as spoiler free as I can. I don’t go into too much detail, and even try not to spoil aspects of previous episodes. But there is no easy way for me to tell you this, other than to just come out and say it.

They Stole Max’s Brain!

This episode picks up immediately where ‘The Tomb of Sammun-Mak’ left off, with Sam discovering that someone stole Max’s brain. This news sends Sam into a night sulking, interrogation filled, noir inspired fit of rage. Throughout previous seasons Sam & Max have always been together the whole time. It’s interesting to see how Sam behaves on his own. The noir tone really helped add gravity and importance to the situation. The lack of his hat, jacket, and addition of a 5-o’clock shadow also help set the scene pretty well.

The first part of the episode introduces a brand new interrogation gameplay mechanic, which reminded me of the cross examination sections in the Ace Attorney games. The characters go through their account of what happened, and you get to interrupt with certain queries. If you follow the right conversation path it will lead to the next clue. I really liked the new characters in these scenes too. It was almost hard to be rude to the foreign tourist character (voiced by Majus). There are also some really cool puzzles later on that use the psychic powers in cool ways. The “Future Vision” toy will be missed in future Telltale projects.

There was a weird shift in tone about half way through which caught me off guard. The Noir stuff effectively stops at the middle point of the episode. It almost feels like 2 different episodes in tone. It’s not a bad thing as both sections are well put together, but it’s something that stands out to me. The story as a whole is strong though. The cliffhanger at the end is probably one of the most natural and effective ones I’ve seen yet. The Devil’s Playhouse as a whole has succeeded in making a season wide story arc split into self contained episodes in ways that Tales of Monkey Island did not. The change in character models, and visual style definitely assist with this but the story telling is what really stands out. It has succeeded in bringing more emotional weight into the cartoony duo. I can’t wait to see what the next episode holds!

Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Episode 3: They Stole Max’s Brain will be available on PSN, PC, Mac, and the Apple iPad soon. You can get a copy of your own right here: Telltale Store.

The Season Review’s so far:

Episode 1 – The Penal Zone

Episode 2 – The Tomb of Sammun-Mak

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword E3 Trailer

buttonbasher — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:47:00 +0000

I really dig the new look for this game. It’s a cool mix between Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, with a hint of the whimsy featured in the Pre-3D Zelda games.