The value's great but the analog stick isn't
Sam and Max are freelance police who solve a different case each episode. The cases in each of the six episodes of the season are unique experiences tied together to tell a grander story of a big evil force. Each episode takes about three hours to play. However, based on your skill, the levels could take two hours if your extraordinarily proficient or up to five hours if you find yourself getting stuck. The episodes also vary in quality. While all good, "Culture Shock" and "Abe Lincoln Must Die!" are notably strong while "The Mole, The Mob and the Meatball" and "Bright Side of the Moon" are notably weaker than the rest.
For $20, it's a bargain to get all six episodes. The XBLA release of season one is cheaper than downloading the episodes on PC or buying the recently released Wii compilation of the episodes. The value is undoubtedly great.
Also working in Sam and Max's favor is the great gameplay. The puzzles in Sam and Max are all smart and sensible. There are occasions, like in all other adventure games, where using a seemingly irrelevant object is the correct solution; but with Sam and Max, all the solutions are obtainable and can be figured out with some thinking. The game doesn't get too hard and can be beaten with taking a breather and thinking something over.
Sam and Max's other claim to fame, the humor, is surprisingly disappointing. When compared to other games, yes, it is funny. But when compared to actual funny things, no, it's not that funny. There are definitely a few laugh out loud jokes and plenty of smurk-inducing gags, but not nearly as much as needed. The game tries to be funny throughout and fails badly at times. There's a definite charm, but not a constant humor.
Graphically, the game looks like it did back in 2006. It's not graphically pretty but there is a charming cartoony style. There are also frequent, terrible frame-rate drops, which is especially strange since there isn't particularly much going on at once on screen.
The game's audio is better than its visuals thankfully. The voice acting is fantastic and the highlight of the audio and the original music is good, even if it gets a bit repetitive. The original songs that occur a few times throughout the season wherein characters are singing are great.They're both funny and catchy.
Despite its flaws, Sam and Max: Save the World is a good purchase. But it's tough to recommend the game for people who have already played it. The game's replay value is moderately low and the XBLA is the worst version of the game available. Controlling the analog stick instead of a mouse doesn't feel nearly as good and putting the cursor on small objects can be difficult. And with the aforementioned, nightmarish frame-rate, the XBLA release of Sam and Max isn't close to the best one available.
If you have a PC or a Wii, try Sam and Max on one of those machines. While the game is identical on the Xbox 360, the experience isn't as fun as it could be. If you really want to play the first season of Sam and Max and don't have another way of doing so, download the 360 version. The gameplay is still going to be great and the value is fantastic. Everyone else, however, should keep the XBLA release as plan B or C.