PC Review: Sam and Max Season 2 Episode 2: Moai Better Blues

by Andrew Podolsky on January 12, 2008 at 1:06 pm

When we last left Sam and Max, they had just saved a demon-possessed Santa at the North Pole and then righted the wrongs of Christmas past, present, and future. Now, they’ve jumped through the Bermuda Triangle, where they will rock out with the giant stone heads of the Easter Island Moai and sip from the Fountain of Youth with the ever-young Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Hoffa. It’s good to be back.

To say there’s little logical connection between Episodes 1 and 2 this season would be an understatement, but then again, the series has always been as random and strange as an extended therapy session with the hyperkinetic rabbitty thing Max. The episodic Sam and Max games are still heavily tied to adventure game conventions, but if you’re comfortable enough with these characters to settle into a groove, then you’ll likely come away smiling.

Character advancement is the most satisfying aspect of the new episode. Sybil and Abraham Lincoln’s head go on a picnic in Easter Island (right next to the mast of Noah’s Ark and the life preserver from the SS Minnow), waitress and diner owner Stinky is still as tough and evasive with her customers, and Bosco is just as jumpy and paranoid.

Episode 2 introduces new characters as well, like the giant stone headed Moais, which control the elements of wind and lightening, and partake in the occasional basalt sandwich. Beneath an active volcano, which it’s Sam and Max’s job to defuse in this episode, lives a race of feet-worshipping sea monkeys. These new characters are interesting and funny, but will we ever see them again after this encounter?

The main problem with Episode 2 of this season is that it isn’t quite as accessible to newcomers. If you’re going to start playing a Sam and Max game, try Ice Station Santa, the second season premier that debuted in November. Moai Better Blues feels like a more compacted, less sprawling experience, and doesn’t have Ice Station Santa’s breathless energy. Most of the game is confined to Easter Island, with very few reasons to come back to Sam and Max’s neighborhood, and the minigames like riding a mechanical surfboard aren’t too satisfying by themselves.

The humor once again saves the day here, but Moai Better Blues is not quite as accomplished as the stellar season premier. If this season continues along at this pace, it’ll be a generally successful return to adventure game form, but I’m really hoping that Sam and Max pull out a few more surprises during the rest of their run.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.