The International House of Mojo

A review of governmental meddling, electoral scandals and execution policies by Chris ‘The Tingler’ Capel.

After the last episode I was worried that Telltale were losing their edge. Now that I’ve finished Abe Lincoln Must Die! I’m worried again, but in a completely different way. I’m worried that Episode 5 won’t be able to reach the amazingly high bar that this one has now set.

With Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln!

You don’t need me to reiterate the story on this one, because anything I say that you don’t already know will be a massive spoiler. Part of the fun of Abe is in surprise, and by gosh golly there are a lot of wonderful surprises. This has probably got the strongest story of any Sam & Max game – and that includes Hit The Road.

It’s also the funniest (at least of the episodes) by a long shot, managing more belly-laughs than Episode 3 had sniggers. Every time I thought “that’s the best moment in the series so far” it was topped by something right around the corner. Well, with one exception where the great moments reached their pinnacle – Opening The War Room will describe it well enough to those lucky enough to have experienced it, without giving it away for those that haven’t. I’d pay $8.95 just for that scene alone.

Kneel Before Max!

There are a few new characters and a few returning characters (besides series regulars Bosco, Sybil and Jimmy), but by far and away this episode belongs to Max. This bunny really gets on a roll. For anyone who’s seen the Episode 4 trailer you can probably guess how hysterical things can get, and Telltale milks every opportunity to get laughs from Max’s new-found status. Let me tell you something – you will laugh incredibly hard just at seeing Max walking with his hands behind his back.

One complaint I had of last episode was that some parts of the game were getting stale, particularly the characters of Bosco and Sybil. To be honest, their characters still haven’t really changed, but do you know what? I didn’t notice as much this time. After railing against the repetition of Episode 3 I came to Episode 4 ready to complain again, but I had so much fun with Abe Lincoln Must Die that I finished without a single thing to complain about – the complete opposite of Episode 3, where the faults were more noticeable because the rest of the game didn’t pull my interest.

There are changes in Episode 4, to be fair. There’s a new resident in their main street, Sybil changes careers more than once, and the story may start in the office again (with far funnier jokes this time) but the game proper begins at The White House. Yes, the White House. Telltale really are aiming big – no retired child actors or dodgy TV personalities to mock this time (although they both make an appearance), Sam & Max are shooting right at the top.

And it works. There are very few jokes that miss the mark, particularly impressive considering there isn’t one reference to George W. Bush. Maybe that would’ve been too easy.

What Is It Good For?

I am also pleased to say that the puzzles are more than sufficient to keep the ol’ brain a’tickin’. A brain-teaser involving the Presidential Calendar and all the Election trials are definite highlights. The way you get the War Room opened was a little bit suspect (for me anyway), as I knew what I had to do but wasn’t sure why I was doing it – a cardinal sin in Adventure games. However, as it’s followed by one of The Finest Moments In Gaming History™ I think I can let it pass.

One disservice I did in my last review was to Jared Emerson-Johnson, who I totally failed to acknowledge. His music for the Sam & Max and Bone games is catchy, memorable, and immortal. Episode 4 is no exception, in fact I think personally (just like every other part of this game) he has raised the bar even further. He’s as good as any of the Holy LucasArts Trinity of Michael Land, Clint Bajakian and Peter McConnell, and that’s the highest praise I can offer.

Wasn’t It A Three-Headed Monkey?

Abe Lincoln Must Die! is, for me, the best in the series by miles. Packed full of twists, laughs and shocks, it’s just an absolute joy to play from beginning to end. There are some things in here that really blew away what I thought the Telltale Tool could do, particularly in the animation department. Max’s “adorable” face comes to mind...

While some of the repetition from Episode 3 is still there, it’s hidden in much the same way as Half-Life hid its linearity – you’re just having too much fun to notice it.

5 skulls out of 5

Pros: Funnier, longer, harder, better!

Cons: Raises the bar pretty high for Episode 5...

A review of governmental meddling, electoral scandals and execution policies by Chris ‘The Tingler’ Capel

This article was originally published on March 26th, 2007. Most older Mojo articles were lost, and we've been forced to resort to The Wayback Machine to revive them. Unfortunately, the layout and media of the original article is often not salvageable, so if you want an idea of how this feature looked in its original form, check out this snapshot.

Oh yeah, and here's the original news post, since we have trouble linking those correctly, too. ¬¬