Sam and Max are your classic good cop/bad cop duo originally seen some 15 years ago as in a LucasArts game. Resurrected last year by TellTale Games as a series of interactive vignettes, the dog and bunny comedy duo continue to fight crime, solve mysteries, and crack jokes one contract at a time through six episodes otherwise available separately in downloadable monthly installments but now available in the singular volume of Sam & Max: Season One (replete with DVD-like bonus content, including commentaries, interviews, production notes, wallpapers, music, character bios, concept art, etc.).

Played as an animated point & click adventure, each episode features a self-contained story, but there is an over-arching plotline for the entire season, too, that takes Sam and Max from the nacho stand of the local corner store to the desk of the Oval Office.
Satirizing pop culture, Mafioso stereotypes, Warcrack, conspiracy theory and urban legends, the game's writers make great use of a cast of dozens and a handful of locations to poke fun at just about everyone and everything. Each episode is setup like a television sitcom in that they feature just a few key locations and characters, but there are always new and hilarious angles to the same sets and players. You rely heavily on the "supporting cast" to provide you with items and services -- and laughs -- to help you solve the game's puzzles.

In theme with it's cartoon presentation, Sam & Max often require the use of "cartoon" logic to solve puzzles -- like icing a cake with ketchup (duh) --, which usually results in equally comic outcomes. Mileage varies depending on difficulty of the puzzles. In some cases, you find yourself stuck for what seems like hours looking for a light switch; in others, you're verily insulted by the simplicity. Regardless, some keen observation plus clicking on everything and everyone results in progress sooner or later, and watch the hilarity/slapstick/mayhem unfold always nets a smirk if not a gut-buster in any case.

While Sam and Max's individual episodes contain barely enough substance to justify purchase at $9 a pop, the bundled season's worth mystery-solving hijinks is more than aptly priced; total bang for your buck... if you're into point & click comedy, anyway.