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Sam and Max Episode 4 - Abe Lincoln Must Die |
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Sunday, 01 July 2007 |
 You all know the drill by now Sam and Max get a phone call, "You gotta stop the (blank]!" Erstwhile tattoo artist/psychotherapist/ professional trial witness Sybil's got another brand-new job this month—running a dating service—that'll probably come in handy an hour or two from now. Down the street. inconvenience store owner Bosco's faking a new foreign accent, and he's got some high-tech, supersecret puzzle-solving gizmo for you if you find a way to land $100 million dollars (just tack another zero onto last episode's sum). We hear a knock at the door; Jerry answers with "Hello...Newman; and everyone heads down to the "Restaurant" to chat.
 Abe Lincoln Must Die! is the longest of the four Sam & Max exercises (featuring—as usual—only three new "rooms" you haven't seen already...but quite a bit goes on in those rooms), and it's also the best. The gonzo plot traces a surprisingly epic course—jokes range from prank exorcisms to the destruction of Krypton, and this episode's Soup Nazi is none other than the President of the United States—and its witty puzzles require a bit more head-scratching than previous episodes. As in past installments. you'll never need a walkthrough, as long as you think like an Acme engineer. Sam & Max follows a formula sure, but sitcom predictability is proving to be this series' secret strength, it's rare to see a game conjure up such strong narrative continuity and familiarity in so short a time span. ln Telltale's hands, recycled assets take on the aspect of recurring joys.
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