The supernatural undercurrent that has been running through Sam & Max Season
2 continues in the third episode, Night of the Raving Dead. Our heroes have been
faced with a demonic possession and a bevy of "In Search Of" style mysterious
conspiracies, and now it's time to confront a rave-loving, emo Eurotrash vampire
and his horde of trend-obsessed zombies. This particular nemesis gives the
game's writers ample opportunity to skewer classic horror films, vampire goth,
the rave scene, and more all in one fell swoop, and gives the player plenty of
chances to enjoy some laughs while playing through it all.
The odd twists and turns in the Sam & Max games' slightly schizophrenic
storylines are part of the joy of playing the games, so I'll avoid going into
further details on the plotline. I will however reveal that a number of
characters from previous episodes make an appearance in Night of the Raving
Dead, although this will probably come as no surprise to series veterans. If
you're new to the series, the game is certainly completely playable on its own,
although you'll miss out on some of the humor and be left somewhat confused when
some of the series' oddball cast of characters makes a cameo appearance.
I enjoyed the storyline in Night of the Raving Dead a bit more so than the
others in the series, probably because I enjoyed seeing the self-important rave
culture being taken down a peg. This episode stands out a bit from the others in
the series on another point, though, and that's that the puzzles seem a bit more
challenging this time out. None of them are of the completely illogical sort
designed to sell hint guides that plagued the adventure game genre in its
heyday, but there are a few that had me backtracking and indulging in a bit of
random click play. After the solution was discovered the logic behind it became
apparent, but that doesn't mean that it was necessarily all that intuitive. The
game's clever hint system does provide some help in this matter, but you'll
still find yourself occasionally stuck. Overall though this episode was a lot of
fun, and it is an excellent entry in a series that seems to be really hitting
its stride.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
87%. It's hard not to rave about one of the
series' best episodes to date.
