Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock demo for Windows

Sam and Max, a man-size dog and a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing," first became known via Steve Purcell's comic, then the LucasArts adventure game Sam & Max Hit the Road. Some of the developers involved in the canceled sequel Sam & Max: Freelance Police have moved onto Telltale Games, where the franchise has been reborn in the form of an episodic adventure. Each of six episodes is $8.95, or $34.95 for the full set. The demo offers an excellent introduction to the inimitable humor and style of the duo (with new voice actors), but the action is simply over too soon.

Things have been too quiet for too long for Sam and Max, and the pair is alerted to a call for help, only to find their telephone stolen by a heartless rodent demanding cheese. Swiss cheese, to be specific. Sam and Max must pay the ransom, then use their combined interrogation prowess to extract the information from the dirty rat.

It's a familiar complaint about the shortness of demos, but the point must be addressed. The download is 75MB, and a savvy gamer could be finished in 15 to 20 minutes, which might speak to the length of the full episode. The look and feel of the game is great, and the jokes are often quite funny. However, there's only a certain number of objects in the included room, and only so many ways to go about interacting with them.