Name: Sam and Max 204: Chariots of the Dogs
Genre: Point-and-Click Adventure
Platform: Windows PC



Sam and Max Season Two started off big and fizzled a little as it went on. Episode Two was mediocre by their usual standards and Episode Three, while better, still didn’t capture the imagination the same way the first one did. Though, as Episode Three did manage to improve over its predecessor, I had high hopes for the newest entry in the series: Chariots of the Dogs.

Episode Four did not disappoint and is, to this day, my favorite episode of the series. A few episodes back, local storeowner and paranoid conspiracy theorist Bosco went missing. His insane ramblings of a secret organization simply called T-H-E-M went ignored and now he has vanished without a trace of his whereabouts. Chariots of the Dogs begins with Sam, Max, and friendly detective Flint Paper breaking into his locked shop in order to find clues as to Bosco’s disappearance.



Sam and Max go into the bathroom and find out that he has been researching volcanoes and the Bermuda triangle, the focal point of episode two in the series. It appears as though there is some odd sense of continuity through the season as promised by Telltale, and while it was not evident until now I am happy to say that this season definitely begins to wrap the story up for its conclusion in Episode 205.

One of my personal favorite elements in both movies and games is the focus of 204: time travel. Sam and Max find themselves jumping forward and backward in time, meeting themselves as children and geriatrics.  This leads to some of the best puzzles the series has seen, needing to change the past to modify the future to save the present. Not since Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure has a tale of fiction so accurately portrayed time travel, and the sequences are memorable and wonderful.

Telltale had fun with this episode and made sure to pack in as many homages and references to other media, even poking fun at movies that have handled the subject of time travel poorly.

As usual, the episode isn’t too long and going too much into the plot would ruin the experience. At about two hours in length the game can be played in one sitting and likely will – you will not want to stop. Unlike some past episodes, I didn’t find myself lost or confused at any time. It appears that Telltale has found its stride and hopefully keeps everything moving well towards an inane and cataclysmic end.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

PAX07: Telltale Interview!

Sam and Max Season Two Details

New Sam and Max Images