Enter the Penal Zone; it's actually real good fun!

The Penal Zone is a welcome return to the crazy universe of Sam and Max; focusing on the invasion of General Skun’ka’pe; an intergalactic criminal warlord man-ape who is searching the universe for a box of toys.. oh yes and the toys are psychic, and so is Max, as always there is a running theme with the series which this time appears to be keeping to a B-movie aesthetic, with a Narrator the likes of The Amazing Criswell, who narrates our episode, I expect he will be sticking around.

Sam and Max’s universe has changed since we last saw them; Max is still President, Bosco has gone to Las Vegas with Bluster Blaster; the arcade machine from C.O.P.S, Sybil and Abraham Lincoln are still on their honeymoon, Stinky and Grandpa Stinky are still at the diner, and currently Sam and Max’s office is cordoned off. There is the addition of a few locations, which may or may not become a regular in this series, with Dr. Momma Bosco’s Science Lab, seeming the most likely to be a regular location. The Straight and Narrow has had a slight overhaul also, the streets are now grimy and falling apart, Bosco’s is boarded up, and the C.O.P.S have taken residence in the DeSoto, offering the new service of the Crime-Tron; a nifty scanner that will take two related pieces of evidence and create a new location on your map that is integral to the case, which was used a couple of times in the episode, and will likely be seen for the rest of the season.

I'm sure that you all want to know about the psychic powers however! Max infects his mind with psychic powers when he finds one of the psychic toys; a 3D View Master that gives him the ability to see into the near future, the psychic powers actually work really well, and we are shown three different psychic powers in the episode through the deranged mind of Max; who apparently sees apparitions of cows, bananas and all host of random objects floating around daily life, the power that you will probably see the most use of is the Futurevision; which is extremely handy for solving puzzles; by using the Futurevision on a certain person or object you are shown an event in the not too distant future that involves Sam and Max, and works very much to your advantage if you are stuck on a puzzle.

Then there is Tele-portation, that teleports you and Max through phone lines -a la the Matrix- to locations that you know the phone number of; basically if there is a telephone in a location you will be able to teleport there, which is actually really effective for cutting down the time it takes to get from one location to another, if you are really lazy!

The last psychic power we are shown briefly at the start of the episode is the Rhinoplasty, some sculpting putty that will transform Max into anything you copy an image of, although you do not get to experience this freely in The Penal Zone, this was the most hilarious psychic power yet, leading to Max-styled potted plants and a bazooka gun with Max’s face, fitting magnificently with the bizarre ways of Sam and Max. However what is most important in this first episode is getting to grips with these psychic powers, as most puzzles do require the use of them, which relies on you, the player to assimilate these masses of new abilities into your track of thought when considering puzzles.

Telltale Games have really developed the interface, after being used to using solely the mouse, you will find yourself controlling the game rather awkwardly and I keep forgetting that they’ve changed it, you can control with the mouse but it feels as though you are encouraged to use WSAD to control Sam in the 3D environments, which it must have been changed for. There is also a new radial speaking menu, similar to the original Mass Effect or the Sims, which really just a purely aesthetic change but does look far more impressive than a list of possible speech options, also new is a notepad that informs you of what you are currently doing in the game; great if you are going back after a week of playing it and had forgotten what you were up to, it also informs you of all of the characters that you have met, and the powers that Max currently has. Oh yes, and you can finally control Max, perhaps not in the way that some players would like, but you get to control the crazy little rabbit!

The Penal Zone is a fantastic start to the series; and with a massive overhaul to the game, coupled with the ingenious psychic toys, Sam and Max: The Devil’s Playhouse has taken a massive spin on the adventure game, and turned a series that some felt was turning sour, into a fresh title. Fans of the series will definitely not be disappointed, and newcomers will be immersed from the very beginning! It marks a definite return for Sam and Max and we can’t wait to see what crazy twists and turns the series will take. Episode 2: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak will be available in May 2010 for download when Sam and Max’s adventures continue. For now if you haven’t played it Sam and Max: The Penal Zone is available for download now, for Windows, PS3, Mac and iPad, or if you buy the full season before April 23rd on Steam or through Telltale Games you will unlock some exclusive Sam and Max items for Team Fortress 2!

4/5! If it keeps getting progressively better like the Season's often do, The Devil's Playhouse is going to be fantastic!