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Everyone is back this week to discuss everything PSN. Brad let’s us know about Alien Breed: Impact, Ben talks some Sam & Max, while Chris and Eric talk more about some Castle Crashers. As the norm we have new releases, on the stores, and news, plus the winners of our PAX swag contest are announced.

Check back tomorrow at 10am PDT for details on a crazy coconut dodge contest.

5 words to live by: Super Saiyan Swagger, Dragonball Diamonds.

Games discussed: Castle Crashers, Alien Breed: Impact, Sam & Max, Sonic Adventure, The UnderGarden, Auditorium

Out today for us in the USA and tomorrow for our friends in Europe.

What I liked:

• Act One’s Noir

• Seeing Sam get angry
• Best new Character: Sal
• Framerate issues weren’t there!

What I disliked:

• Puzzles, they all seemed to use the same gimmick after Act 1

• Humor wasn’t there for me

Warning: This review contains minor spoilers from prior episodes.

If you’ve read my other reviews of this season, you can tell I’m a fan of the work done so far.  Does episode 3 still have it?  Yes and no.

Picking up where we left off, Sam returns from his trip to bathroom discovering that his little buddy has lost his brain! What follows is yet another unique twist to the gameplay that was really enjoyable. Sam rolls up his sleeves and enters a noir-esque mood where he goes around town interrogating people as to the whereabouts of Max’s brain. Interrogating is done by interrupting suspects during their stories to find holes in them. I was weary of how this would be played out but I thought it was executed perfectly, the game still felt fresh and Sam’s change of behavior was interesting. Unfortunately, this comes to a close all too soon, and once you get to Acts 2 and 3, the game goes back to normal (gameplay wise) and things come off a little stale.

While the voice acting is still top notch, some of the humor just doesn’t seem to be there. While you get a quasi replacement for Max in act 2, the interactions Sam and “Max” have just aren’t as funny as usual.  Puzzles don’t seem as varied either. Most involve the toy nose called rhinoplasty (magic silly putty). We haven’t had free roam with this toy yet, but it is kind of a one trick pony. Use the silly putty on a picture of something to make Max become that item. It only worked on certain items, and it didn’t leave many red herrings for Max to transform into. It seemed as though if you could use the silly putty on something, there was a reason for it. It was cool the first few times, but building the game entirely based upon that power was lame. Future vision and the telephone return, but they have very limited uses.

There isn’t too much else to say that I haven’t said about the previous installments. It’s a shame Act 1 didn’t last longer, and while the change up with our freelance police sounded good on paper, it didn’t translate as best as I thought it would. If you liked the first two installments, you’re not gonna get blown away by this one, but it is certainly worth playing. Here’s hoping Episode 4 comes back swinging.

Click Here to purchase Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playhouse from Amazon.com

Get your hands on this next week. Expect a review of it shortly after it is out

[Source: TellTale Blog]

Taking a cue from the Freelance Police’s office neighbor (and idol) Flint Paper, Sam is poised to beat the information from the unsuspecting supporting cast milling around the streets of New York City.

So get ready for “They Stole Max’s Brain!” on June 22nd.

[Source: The TellTale Blog]

For more info, be sure to visit the official site.

What I liked:

• Hilarious dialog (once again)
• Unique story telling
• “Nature’s Miracle”

What I disliked:

• Seemed slightly shorter than the first episode
• Framerate issues still there

Warning: This review contains minor spoilers from the first episode

I loved the first episode, but does this second outing make you wanna show up for another round?  Short Answer: Yes.

Episode two picks up where episode one left off, the fellas uncovered a mysterious tomb in the basement of their apartment building… Their very own. Turns out the skeletons they find are of their great-grandfathers, Sammeth and Maximus. After an introduction, Sam and Max find a strange projector and reels of film showing their ancestors’ adventure of finding the Devil’s Toybox. The game also throws in two new “devils toys” for Max to use: Psychic Ventriloquism and the Can of Nuts as well as the psychic ability of Astral Projection.  Along with Max’s new abilities, the game adds a new gimmick to the mix with an assortment of Mole Curses that your protagonists can be hexed with. These add another level to puzzle solving which definitely keeps things fresh.

At first I was surprised that I had the entirety of the game right in front of me, and that they were all accessible at once. This turned out to be one of the most unique story telling devices I’ve encountered.  Using the Astral Projection ability, you are able to jump around these reels, and use knowledge gained from one to solve puzzles in another. It was brilliant. Just like before, many of these puzzles made me scratch my head, but I was still able to complete the game without consulting a guide, so stick it out.

This episode seemed a bit shorter than the first. This is kind of a bummer, but I don’t judge my meals by how long it takes to eat them. Though slightly shorter, everything is so intertwined and neatly put together that it makes the game feel that much more rewarding. Music and graphics are on par with the last outing, though once again, I encountered framerate issues at certain parts (mainly reel 2). It also seems like it always takes a second or two to load up Max’s psychic abilities. I was hoping this would have been ironed out since Episode One, but alas, it remains. Characters this time around are just as bizarre and hilarious as last time, ranging from Kringle and his elves to Baby Amelia Earhart. Each character you talk to have their own ridiculous dialog. Just like the previous installment, I found myself trying to use every option for speech so I could hear (and laugh at) everything. This remains one of the few games that I can say has absolutely excellent voice acting.

Once again, I had a great time with this, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Episode Three. Despite the framerate chugging, I’m still giving this a 5. It was only evident in one of the scenes and it didn’t deter enough from the experience. It’s a damn rewarding experience at that and just a plain fun time.  Why haven’t you bought the season pass yet?

Click Here to purchase Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playhouse from Amazon.com

Here is a brief description:

This is a “point-and-click” adventure game in which players control private detectives, a wily dog named Sam and a sarcastic rabbit called Max, through a comical episode of mystery case-solving. The storyline is infused with one-liners and running jokes that are based largely on “play-on-words” suggestive innuendo; for example, “I’d like to inspect your trunks” and “Restrain your nut-lust.” Other lines contain more direct suggestive phrases and references to drugs; for example, “. . . dragged underground by sex-crazed anarchist sewer rats!” and “Oh, I thought I’d smoke some drugs and get pregnant, that’s all!” Characters use language such as “damn” and “hell,” and the word “a*shole” is partially bleeped/censored in dialogue. During the course of the game, a villain uses a “cartoony” gun to shoot at characters, though there is no depiction of injury; the central characters also beat up elves off screen amid the sound of screaming. In a couple of scenes, blood is briefly depicted: characters find a note written in blood; an elf-vampire hiccups as a drop of blood falls from its mouth.

[via ESRB]

What I liked:

• Top notch voice acting and humor
• Head scratching puzzles

What I disliked:

• Framerate issues early on
• Some of the cameras got awkward

I’ve played a few Sam and Max games in my day. Adventure games are an acquired taste, you have to get used to a completely different concept of gameplay. If you’re feeling saucy and you’d like to try one, make it a Sam and Max title. It’s a crazy blend of bizarre humor and puzzle solving.

Starting out you find our heroes on an alien space ship trying to thwart the antics of a Space Ape named General Skun-Ka’Pe (Skunk-Ape as Sam calls him). In this bizarre scene, a brain floating in a jar instructs you on how to use Max’s new found psychic abilities, granted to him via “Toys of Power.” One is a viewfinder and the other is a child’s telephone. You select these abilities via an onscreen menu that resembles a see-and-say. After thwarting the bad guy, the game actually starts. Turns out that this scene was a future vision, and now you have to stop the general for real this time. An interesting twist to get the player going on their quest.

Gameplay wise, you can walk around (or run with circle) as Sam. By doing so this allows you to interact with NPC’s and other items in the environment. With a press of triangle, you can control Max via a first person view, allowing you to choose what toy of power you want. The future vision allows you to see a scene of an NPC or object in the near future, which gives you a hint or direction of where to go. This mechanic freshens up this series and adds a new, often comical, layer to the puzzle solving. The teleport ability lets you teleport to anyone who you have a phone number for. This too adds to puzzle solving. Speaking of puzzles, there are a few that will have you scratching your head, but they are never unfair and are always rewarding. Don’t bitch out and resort to a FAQ… if I can get through it you can get through it (-L_^].

The graphics are bright and colorful, and it seems as though Sam and Max are more animated than in previous outings. No gripes about them besides some framerate issues. The opening scene has a lot of crazy stuff going on and it happens to chug. I was worried, but after that scene, I didn’t encounter the problem again. On the plus side there are numerous different locales to check out and most are quite unique. One other thing to note, you’ll run into a few rooms where the camera gets a little wonky, but this is usually because the game just doesn’t want you to go there. Not really a huge deal.

The music is good and sets the overall fun mood to the game. When you’re talking sound though, it’s the voice acting that really shines here.This is voice acting at its best and funniest. Don’t quote me, as I’ll have to check my sources, but I swear Skunkape is voiced by MegatronMojojojo. You find yourself wanting to talk to everybody and hear every option just so you don’t miss a joke. I had a great time with this game, and I think you will too. It’s a great start to the season.

Click Here to purchase Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playhouse from Amazon.com

With the first episode hitting the stores tomorrow, TellTale has put out this little preview of the gameplay. If you want in on the action for a discounted price ($29.99), you can preorder the entire season via the PSN store. This offer is good until tomorrow when the full season pass will cost you $34.95.

Trailer to what was leaked by the ESRB a few weeks ago. I have never played a Sam and Max game, so I am looking forward to the release

Here is some info about the game.

The cost

Five mystery-packed games for $34.95 – that’s less than $7.00 per game! If you preorder the game starting March 18th, you can get the season pass for $29.99

Differences between versions?

The games are virtually identical across platforms, with the exception of appropriate tuning for the platform (the game interface and controls, for example.)

Release date for Episode 1:

April 15th 2010

Screens and more info can be viewed here: Tell Tall Games website

Based on this latest leak from the ESRB, it looks like Telltale is bringing their Sam and Max series over to PSN.

This is a “point-and-click” adventure game in which players control private detectives, a wily dog named Sam and a sarcastic rabbit called Max, through a comical episode of mystery case-solving. The storyline is infused with one-liners and running jokes that are based largely on “play-on-words” suggestive innuendo; for example, the “penal zone,” “the carefully placed rat-dropping,” the “bowel-tingling climax.” Some of the stronger innuendo includes a line about fetishes and how “touching” is a character’s “third favorite thing to do.” The heroes sometimes use an exaggerated-sized bazooka to threaten a villain; they may also shoot an alien enemy in the back of the head, which only causes a scratch. And one sequence depicts a man’s face falling into a bowl of spaghetti, revealing a “cartoony” axe sticking out of his head. The game contains a few references to alcohol; for example, lines about mixing margaritas or “the drunken revelries of toothless secessionists.” Characters sometimes use the words damn and hell in the dialogue

The series will be released as episodes, just like on XBLA and WiiWare. Once we get more info on this game will we will definitely keep you posted.

[via ESRB]