Sam & Max GameTap-ping October 17

Just under a year ago, indie studio Telltale Games acquired the rights to make games based on the underground comic Sam & Max: Freelance Police. The news was a godsend to many old-school gamers who loved the first game the comic inspired, 1993's Sam & Max Hit the Road and lamented the 2004 cancellation of its sequel, Sam & Max: Freelance Police.

At the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, Telltale announced it had partnered with the PC game-distribution service GameTap to copublish a series of episodic adventure games featuring the wacky duo. The deal marked GameTap's first outing as a game publisher.

Today, the two companies announced that Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock, the first installment in the six-part Sam & Max: Season 1, would be available on October 17. The episode will follow the dog and rabbit duo as they "discover that a group of former child stars have become involved in nefarious deeds," according to Telltale.

Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock will premiere on GameTap and be available exclusively to its subscribers until November 1, before being offered on the official Sam & Max Web site for an unnamed fee. The game will only be available via digital distribution.