Ahhh...home sweet home | Mayhem! Havoc! Who's driving this thing? |
Originally a comic book Sam and Max have returned to the adventure game venue all set to solve crime with a dark sense of humor and a gun..among other things. This is definitely not Humphrey Bogart though nods to the tough guy detective genre are abundant from the sign on the business door to Sam's drawling accent. It's a world that's easy to get lost in, and the few hours it takes to complete this game seem far too short. I found myself clicking on every item that showed clickability just to see what would happen or be said, whether it was directly related to the story or not and there is an abundance of both.
The story all begins in Sam's office where the telephone has gone mysteriously missing. Come to find out it's been hijacked by the rats in the wall who have demands to get it back. Cheese.specifically Swiss cheese.and so begins the tutorial to figure out how to move around the game and use your inventory. Once the cheese problem has been solved and the phone returned.through the use of appropriate force by one white rabbit, the real chase begins. Sam and Max encounter a trio of child stars who have lost their memories of themselves though can't stop singing the praises of Brady Culture and his eye exercise Eye-Bo videos. Can't imagine how those two could connect, can you? I'll save the rest of the story for your turn behind the controls, but over all it's a satisfying chain of events that comes to a satisfactory conclusion in the end. Truly episodic you can see how this episode can connect to future ones, but aren't left with a cliff hanger ending or stopping in the middle of a thought process. I found myself looking forward to other episodes to come, this ep just enough to fill an evening nicely.
The scene of our story...for the most part | Who's really in charge here? |
Graphically this game is far from photo realistic, but it has no need to be. The style is perfect for the Sam and Max comic book origin, with plenty of detail and very smooth animation. There were a couple of times my computer glitched when moving around a crowded office, but I believe that to be more a stutter from the system, since it smoothed out as soon as I turned off a few background apps, rather than the game. The music, mostly a jazz mix, and sound effects are also well done, matching the characters and the private investigation genre to a T.
There are few surprises in the gameplay for Culture Shock. A traditional adventure game in every aspect that is based on click and move interaction. One of the nicest things is that the clickable aspects are fairly obvious without requiring detailed pixel hunting to the nth degree. I don't mind having to look around to find something, but when you have to move pixel by pixel to find the appropriate blade of grass that goes from an adventure to an annoyance. The items in your inventory are likewise easily accessed and used, though I miss the car bomb! The puzzles that come up in Culture Shock are generally clever, ranging from fairly simple to more complex. If there's any complaint, some of the puzzles seem too simple, but I admit to having to put braincells to work to, and it could be a little longer to let the plot develop more slowly.
Why you dirty rat | When ya gotta go... |
While there is a limit to how much replayability Culture Shock offers, with a nine buck price tag it's several hours of bang for your buck. I figure a movie costs more than that, particularly with popcorn, and no one keeps me from bringing my own candy to the computer. The later episode will be available at the same price with a final Season pack for 35$, which may have to find its way to my shelf. This seems an ideal situation for folks that want to try an adventure game that doesn't require a huge investment in time or finances, but with a guarantee of more to come if you enjoy and I certainly did.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
I loved the final confrontation with Brady Culture, as well as dangling the rat out the window in the first tutorial.