Games Guide

Episode 6: The Bright Side of the Moon brings the first season of Sam & Max to a satisfying close. The most disappointing thing about it is that the season has ended just as the series was really hitting its stride. Alas, there’s always hope that we won’t have to wait fifteen years between Sam & Max games this time around…

Episode 6 is available for purchase on its own, but this episode more than any other makes heavy reference to the episodes that preceded it. If you’re a newcomer to the series at this point it will definitely leave you scratching your head. Why is that rabbity thing the president of the US and just what is a giant robotic head of Lincoln doing on the moon? The answers, my friend, are in Episodes 1 through 5, and if you have even a passing interest in Sam and Max, satirical humor, sly cultural humor, oddball characters or adventure games, then you may as well buy the entire season at once. Like I mentioned above, it ends quite well and we all know what they say about things that end well.

I can’t imagine that anyone who’s enjoyed the first five episodes would dislike the sixth, but if you’re mind is not made up here’s what you can expect our heroes to find this time out. The rampant hypnotism that ran through the previous episodes has been found to be the work of one Roy G. Biv who has set up shop on the moon of all places. Luckily Sam’s and Max’s trusty DeSoto has no more trouble reaching the moon than any of the other locations the duo visited in Season One. The lunar Blister of Tranquility is now home to a gaggle of characters from previous episodes, all of whom have fallen under the spell of Prismatology. Sam and Max must stop Biv before he realizes his plan to make all of humanity deliriously happy.

This time around the game’s puzzles seemed a bit simpler, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s because they are indeed simpler or if it’s because I’ve become used to the series’ particular puzzle style. I always enjoy making a beeline for Sybil’s and Bosco’s when starting a new episode to see what they’re up to this time. In Brightside of the Moon Sybil’s new job and her role in the adventure are pretty clever, but Bosco’s latest disguise and paranoid delusion de jour are on the disappointing and lackluster side of things this time out. All in all, though, The Brightside of the Moon delivers plenty of the Sam & Max trademark humor we’ve grown to know and love and is plenty enjoyable. However, I can’t help but feel that the past couple of episodes could have used just a little more of that certain something to reach the next level. There’s plenty of momentum here though to leave me eagerly anticipating Season Two.

minimum requirements:

PIII 800
256MB RAM
230MB HDD
32MB video card

Sam & Max Episode 6 Bright Side of the Moon Demo

Screenshots