Good Cop/Bad Cop Review: Sam and Max: They Stole Max’s Brain!

Once again Offcers Pete “Good Cop” Surplus and Jon “Bad Cop” Pendelton have hauled in Sam and Max for questioning over their latest episode, They Stole Max’s Brain. But is it jail-time for the duo or will they get away with it once more?

Pendelton: Welcome back, Sam and Max. Another month, another new episode of The Devil’s Playground to get through. After coming off The Tomb of Sammun-Mak, I was expecting things to change, to get better. Can you look at yourselves in the mirror and say that you’re proud of the work you’ve done this time around?

Surplus: Settle down boys, there’s nothing to worry about; we’re gonna play this one by the book. We both thought you did good last time round but there were a couple of signs of trouble. We just want to make sure you guys are keeping your collective nose clean.

Pendelton: I went into this (as I do with most things in life) pissed: I knew there wasn’t going to be much of the great Max in the game, as he has no brain. My favorite character was basically castrated! This hate was quickly replaced with unbridled joy when I witness Bad Cop Sam. Holy shit, boy, I didn’t know you had it in ya! That intense interrogation at the beginning of TSMB might be your finest moment, dog. Your hard/wet-nosed attitude reminds me of myself at an earlier age, threatening people with comically oversized weapons and Depression-era noir talk…

Surplus: That opening section is basically one long dialogue puzzle and is another welcome example of how you’ve been finding ways to keep puzzle-solving interesting. It’s such a strong opener that it almost seems a shame when you settle back into the usual kind of structure we’ve come to expect. Even then you come packing a whole bunch of well-implemented and non-traditional puzzles, so already I’m heading into extreme nit-picking territory.

Pendelton: Hey Pete, don’t feel bad for nit-picking, not everything’s peachy-keen. Remember all that shit we blasted you for last time, boys? It’s still here. The pre-set hints, the recycled characters (bad use of Flint Paper, by the way), jokes only tried-and-true players would recognize, stuff like that. But who are we to tell you to change pace right in the middle of such a fantastic series of titles? I can get over the hints, the characters that were brought back (minus Flint) were used really well, and two different Monkey Island references made me giggle like a schoolgirl.

Surplus: And I’ll tell you this: my partner isn’t one to giggle like a schoolgirl lightly. In fact, it kind of creeps me out. I have to disagree with him on one point, though, which is that I liked the use of Flint Paper; it provided a good conceit for Sam’s behavior during your opening section. Meanwhile, Sal the giant cockroach is one of the most likeable new character’s you’ve ever brought to the party. With the exception of the tiresome Stinky characters, this has been your least-annoying episode yet in terms of recycling, so way to go guys.

Pendelton: Don’t forget about Sammun-Mak, the other new character introduced. A kid-emperor who plays a rather big part of the story. A story which got pretty damn crazy. Corndog pyramids, alternate realities, rats betting on gorilla fights. What the hell with you guys think up next?

Surplus: Geeze, Pendleton, I thought you were the bad cop, here; you going soft on me or something? I mean, didn’t you think some of the puzzles in the third act came across as a little contrived, even for these guys? I know I thought the final encounter lacked oomph in comparison to previous games and… and… aw, who am I kidding?

I’m gonna level with you, fellas: we like you. We like you a lot but our Chief is a real hardass and we’ve been working flat out to dredge up some dirt on you. Only problem is we can’t get it to stick. Sure, you have a few quirks and some trivial issues we’ve been through before that will likely persist through the series. Beyond that, however, is one of your best written and designed episodes yet, one that was a near-constant pleasure to play. We’ve got no choice but to let you go but remember, Sam and Max: we’re watching you.

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Disclosure: Telltale Games provided review copies of the game.