Friday, October 17, 2014

Point and Click Adventure Review: Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space - Night of the Raving Dead

The third episode of the second season continues to add spice to the series, by taking the duo to more exotic locales.  This time they land in Germany and battle zombies and an emo vampire in one of the best episodes of the series.

The game starts with Sam & Max about to be killed by a medieval torture device, while they recount the tale of how they got to be stuck in that situation.  It turns out they were sent out on a case that involved a zombie factory in Stutgart, Germany.  Of course, in true Sam & Max fashion, the case ends up not entirely as expected, and they soon find themselves in the middle of a rave ran by an emo vampire named Jurgen.

The voice acting of Jurgen is hilariously over the top, and the rest of the cast deliver performances to match.  The writing in this episode is among the best in the entire series, delivering tons of hilarious references to pop culture and monster movies, while delivering a fantastic storyline as well.  The area around Sam & Max's office may be getting a bit tiresome by this point, but the part of Stuttgart the duo visits is fantastic.  The backgrounds ooze atmosphere, and the background monsters are fabulously animated as well.  I found myself just standing on the dance floor of the rave just to watch the hilarious animations unfold.  Rarely has an episode of Sam & Max been this lively.

The music is also fantastic, showing the range of styles this series has, by capturing the raving mood of Stuttgart perfectly.  The puzzles in this episode are fantastic as well, with the standout being one involving a classic movie monster.  If you're at all a fan of classic Hollywood monster movies, or if you even have a passing interest in them, you'll surely enjoy this episode.

The second season of Sam & Max has brought the duo on more exotic adventures than ever before, and this episode is certainly no different.  The area around Sam & Max's office is getting a bit stale by this point, but everything else is nearly pitch perfect here, from the humor, to the voice acting and music, to the artwork in the new locale, to the fun puzzles.  It seems that Germany is a perfect match for the freelance police, as Night of the Raving Dead is one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Final Verdict:

4½ out of 5

Episode 2 reviewEpisode 4 review

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