Sam & Max Visit Ice Station Santa. Hilarity Ensues.

Game: Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa (Episode 201)
Platform: Xbox 360, PC, Wii
Rating: Teen
Dev: Telltale Games

What does a dog, a rabbit, and Christmas have in common?  Thanks to Telltale Games, a whole bunch with their game: Sam & Max: Ice Station: Santa!  This freelance police duo is on the case again after they get a dastardly present from good ‘ol Saint Nick.  It’s fun for the whole family…well, your more mature family anyways.

The game itself is a point and click adventure.  Yet another one of those “long lost dead genre’s of video games” that I tend to enjoy oh so well.  You follow the characters of Sam, a somewhat corrupted freelance cop, and his little buddy Max, the oh so lovable cute and cuddly psychopath, around town to solve crimes and mysteries (and probably make some of your own along the way).

The game play is pretty straight forward.  You click an object when it’s highlighted and interact with it in various pre-scripted ways.  You pick up objects and use them in order to solve the in game puzzles.  Most of them are pretty intuitive, though there are a few that make very little sense what so ever.  In a way, that is kind of what this game is all about.  Order mixed with complete and utter nonsensical chaos.

This is a kind of game that plays out like a movie.  It’s more about watching the hilarity than complicated game mechanics or deep meaningful hacking and slashing.  In this particular episode — Ice Station Santa — you talk to elves, drive a car, and punch the gloves out of some rats.  Sam and Max games come in a block of episodes that complete a full season.  This episode is the first one out of five in the season: Time and Space (this is season 2, by the way).

If you haven’t played a Sam & Max game, I’d recommend the first season as there are a lot of references and recurring characters.

You can find this and all of Sam & Max games at the Telltale Games website: Here, Little Buddy.

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