The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatless
-- Overview --
When we last left our intrepid freelance police, they had recently intervened in an unusual case of talk-show host gone Energizer Bunny. The cause of her curious behaviour is made apparent at the completion of episode 2, and this plot point carries over into the next.
Episode 3, "The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball", moves the story onward as Sam & Max are sent to "Ted E. Bear's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino". No sooner have they arrived then they find themselves caught up in becoming Toy Mafia members themselves, forced to perform certain tasks in order to graduate to full Mafioso status. Certain tasks that involve cheating and killing their friends, and recovering a very important sandwich.
First off, this episode is short. Too short. Jeff Gerstmann's gut instinct is correct, this episode is the shortest so far, clocking in at at most an hour and a half assuming you follow all dialogue lines. This is an utter disappointment, and I feel for those individuals who may end up purchasing this episode on it's own for $10. Fact is, the value isn't there.
The storyline, though linear and carrying through from Sam & Max's last adventure, is very flat. Though there are unanswered questions that remain, no doubt to be answered over the last three episodes, the story does not stand well split up episodically. It covers so little ground in so little time, you barely discover anything new.
Some players may find themselves wishing Telltale had taken the time to release the game as a full package instead, which may have helped alleviate the wishy-washy plot-line.
-- Gameplay --
Episode 3 plays no differently than episodes 1 and 2. Point here, click there. And unfortunately, the puzzles do not get any more difficult either. Once again you are presented with so few options, trial and error will often get you through.
There is the standard car chase scene again, though rather than doing the chasing, Sam & Max are being chased themselves. But the gameplay doesn't change much, and the opportunity for some arcade-style action is lost. The solution is so simple as well, you may find yourself wondering why it was included at all.
-- Sound & Graphics --
No improvements here either. The dialogue is still as snappy, and the voice acting is still the strongest point in the game. There are even a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, which is appreciated when a game flies by as quickly as this.
However, this was the first time I noticed audio quality problems. Other players had mentioned the audio being scratchy in previous episodes, obviously compressed. I had not noticed this before, but this time there were chunks of dialogue that were of clearly poor quality, including fluctuating volume. In some rare cases the volume would shift so dramatically you would lose the characters under the sound effects and music.
The graphics are still mediocre. Compressed textures, which look terrible at the highest resolution of 1600x1200. And again, no widescreen, though it would be surprising for Telltale to start supporting widescreen resolutions halfway through.
-- Conclusion --
If you're getting on board with Sam & Max now, my recommendation is purchase the full season. Because unless there's a dramatic change in Telltale's approach to the plot and gameplay in this series, you may find yourself disappointed in the ratio of time versus money.
As a gamer who purchased the full season, I appreciate that Telltale is inclined to be timely. But when timeliness results in the degradation of quality, it's just not worth it.