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 T'was the day after saving Christmas, and wouldn't you know it, Sam & Max are back for another adventure.
After spending their premeire episode for the second season in the cold environs of the North Pole, it's time for a tropical getaway. This time, Sam & Max are headed to Easter Island for an unwilling vacation, courtesy of the Bermuda Triangle.
It's just a shame that after the Grand Slam of Ice Station Santa, Moai Better Blues is just so-so. Sure, the comedy is here, and the writing is top notch. But the puzzles leave something to be desired, the interaction with characters just isn't that great, and by the time it's all said and done, you don't quite get the warm fuzzies.
Hit the jump, we've got a full review of Moai Better Blues for you.
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PANIC! At the Office! Sybil is being chased by a mysterious, floating triangular portal device. Yes, it's the Bermuda Triangle, and it's running rampant through the streets! Well, if portals could run, that is. As the Bermuda Triangle starts to suck up anything and everything in its path, Sam & Max find themselves whisked away to the tropics to solve Yet Another Mystery.
But their arrival has been foretold by an ancient prophecy, one which says that a talking dog and hyperkinetic rabbit thing will one day set foot on the island, causing mayhem, havoc, and bad hair days. Clearly, Sam & Max's reputation precedes them. This is a job that only the Freelance Police can take on, because no one else will work for peanuts.
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Moai Better Blues has some big shoes to fill. After Ice Station Santa's success, Episode Two has to come in and do something different, something fun, something involving. So it's unfortunate to see it succeed in some areas, but stumble in others.
First, let's start with the story. Ancient prophecies, the Fountain of Youth, and Glenn Miller all sound cool on the surface, but the game is short enough that none of the really cool aspects of the game ever truly feel realized. It's clear that Moai Better Blues is leaving you hints that will be important in later episodes of the season, but despite that fact, the game still needs to satisfy the Here And Now quotient. And, unfortunately, it doesn't quite do that.
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There are other aspects of the story that the game introduces, but never properly fleshes out. A stranded Glenn Miller, Amelia Earhardt, Charles Lindbergh, and D.B. Cooper make appearances within the game, but ultimately serve almost no purpose outside of their respective cameos. A mysterious race of Sea Simians play into the Ancient Prophecy, but are under-utilized. This, despite the pure awesomeness of Sea Simians.
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Then there are the puzzles. While a few of the puzzles in Ice Station Santa were obscure, Moai Better Blues goes deeper into that mentality. There are points where you'll need specific items, but have zero clue as to where to find them. This is bad on its own, but it's made worse by the fact that there's just a little too much back and forth travel between locations in the game. Sure, point & click adventure games are meant to get you to solve puzzles using creative thinking and unconventional methods, but Moai Better Blues has a few too many "Finally, that's over with" moments and not enough "A-ha! I did it!" warm fuzzies. Turning on the Hint system is going to be a requirement for many people, especially as you near the end of the game.
The minigames are back in Moai Better Blues, with mixed results. On the one hand, you have the suurfboard minigame, which tasks Sam with positioning himself on a bucking surfboard ride while balancing a tray of drinks. It's fun, and worth playing a few times. But then there's another of the ubiquitous driving sequences. Not only do you have to go out of your way to play it, in order to progress with the storyline, it's placed in such a way that it doesn't feel like an extension of the game. Instead, it comes off like it was just dropped into the middle of the story, with zero purpose other than to say, "Go try our driving minigame for a while". The lack of seamless integration means that an otherwise welcome break from the general gameplay just sticks out like a sore thumb instead.
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Seasoned Sam & Max fans will find themselves blazing a fast trail through Easter Island, finishing this episode in two to three hours (unless you start clicking through random dialog trees to hear every piece of the humorous dialog).
But as many problems as this game has, there are some positives here as well. Max's interaction with a toddler version of Jimmy Hoffa, defending the Ancient Hidden Underground Cave (complete with signage) with pistol in hand, comes close to validating the price of admission on its own comedic merits. It's quite possibly some of the best Max dialogue ever, and is up to par with some of the enjoyable tirades in Abe Lincoln Must Die. The series continues its self-referential bent, dancing along that fine line of annoying self-awareness and amusing self-parody with style. There are a number of cool pop culture references in the game as well (Try and find the Lost joke and the Metal Gear Solid reference, they're worth the time) and plenty of references to the overall Sam & Max franchise.
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In the end, Moai Better Blues is sort of like a stepping stone between Ice Station Santa and Night of the Raving Dead (review coming soon). It feels like it's just being used to bridge a gap. While parts of Episode Two are worth the entry fee, the game's brevity mixed with some confusing puzzle design will undoubtedly be a sticking point for some. But still, it's Sam and Max, and when you hear Max cooing over Jimmy Hoffa threatening to blow someone's brains out, you just can't help but smile. A lot.
Final Score: 7/10
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