Adventure gamers, take note: Telltale's batting average has vastly improved this season!
The Sam & Max series, in particular, has improved in leaps and bounds since Culture Shock, the first episode of the first season. Not only have the puzzles become a little tougher and the jokes a little snappier, but the animation and story has improved, as well.
Season 2 of Sam & Max has been a joy for this old adventure gamer. I used to play the old LucasArts games, dating all the way back to the first Maniac Mansion (and all the old Sierra games before that). It's been hard to watch many video games focus more on graphics or gratuitous violence for selling points when all I need is a fun, enjoyable story.
What's New, Beelzebub?, possibly the longest of the episodic Sam & Max games, wraps everything up for the season with a bang. Or, maybe more like a gong. With threads going all the way back to the first season, the story is mixed with all the characters seen through the game, some that have a surprising return.
For many old adventure gamers, most of the puzzles will be pretty easy. There are a few that even I was scratching my head for, but fortunately, there's a handy little help system integrated into the game where either your sidekick, Max, or another character on the screen will give you a vague hint. The longer it takes for you to solve the puzzle, the less vague the hint. Many times, I'd already cracked the puzzle and was on my way to solve it when Max would pipe up "Sam, shouldn't we...?" It made me feel like I was a little ahead of the game, possibly even clever!
The comedy in Episode 205 hits you hard and fast. A lot of the jokes are inside jokes from the previous episodes, so if this is your introduction to the series, you might not get some of them. However, for fans like myself who have been through the ride since the beginning, you'll be rolling on the floor. The bachelor party, particularly when the dancer shows up, is simultaneously the most disturbing and hilarious part of the whole series.
Overall, if you've ever enjoyed adventure games, especially the great LucasArts ones of way back, like Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle, then you really should check out the whole series. Sure, each episode is short, but they're cheap and you really do get your money's worth out of them. They're lots of fun, Episode 205 being the best of the whole season (surprisingly beating out 204, which was the top of the series to date). If you get the whole season as a whole, it ends up being just as long, fun and satisfying as any great game on the market.
As I said earlier, though, this is not the best jumping on point for new players. It would be like watching the last episode of the second season of Lost: sure, it's a great show, but you probably won't have a a clue what's going on unless you watch the other stuff, first.