The International House of Mojo

Dagbladet has again arranged a Q&A session with people from Telltale Games. This time it's Dave Grossman, Brendan Ferguson, and Chuck Jordan.

The difference is that this one isn't one year old. We're improving, people!

Clicky!

Update: A bonus, unrelated interview with Ronzo Ronno Ron Gilbert has appeared on gaming hipster blog Rock Paper Shotgun.

After an soul-destroying wait of what must have been almost minutes, the Telltale website's back up and they've brought more joy to the world!

Yes, Sam & Max: Moai Better Blues is now available to download! Do the hula in celebration! I know I am! Then play the game, of course.

Update by Jason: You just beat me! Anyway, be sure to check out some new reviews, the much awaited Season 2 upgrade offer, and of course the official Moai Better Blues walkthrough, complete with pictures!

... that way you don't even have to read our Moai Better Blues review, which, let's face it, you'd just ignore anyway. I mean come on, you will buy the game anyway. You know it, I know it, all of Mojo's 28 readers know it.

But hey, read it if you so wish!

Yes! If you're not a Gametap subscriber, just hold your water until tomorrow, when the game will be released to all humans, and in the meantime you can check out Adventure Gamers' review of the game by the impeccable Evan Dickens.

Or, you could just say, "Screw 202. And screw 203 as well! I'm jumping straight to 204 which I can playtest this Saturday at Telltale's offices assuming I have the means to get there." And if you were to say that, I say more power to you.

With a release only a day (for Gametappers) or two (for everyone else) away, reviews for Moai Better Blues are starting to accumulate. Take, for example, IGN's glowing review of the game which culminates with:

Moai Better Blues is shorter and smaller than previous installments in the series. Compared to the sprawling locales and stories of Reality 2.0 or Situation: Comedy, this episode seems almost too short. But size and length isn't an indication of quality. If anything, the smaller scale means that there's no filler here. Everything you come across is pure comedic content. Moai Better Blues never loses its focus so you'll get as much enjoyment out of its two-hour length than the three or four hours you spent playing some of the previous episodes. Add in puzzles that require multiple leaps of logic and a longer memory and it's easy to see why we're so encouraged by the direction that Telltale is taking this series.

Look out for more reviews of Moai Better Blues, or just stop being such an impatient idiot and wait for the game itself to come out.

What with its release being this week and all, a couple of previews for Moai Better Blues have sprung up just in time to ruin the game. First there's the bipartisan thoughts of Gametap, in a preview that is actually really good and has a bunch of new screenshots. Tread their spoiler section carefully, however.

The Game Reviews also took a look at Sam and Max's tropical excursion, and unless you're a racist or something there's no reason not to read what they have to say as well.

Moai Better Blues will be released on the Gametap client this Thursday, and on Telltale's site Friday. From now on the season is on monthly releases, so get excited.

The January issue of "Games for Windows" contains a preview for the second and third episodes of Sam & Max: Season 2. Everything related to Moai Better Blues you know already, but here's what they say about Night of the Raving Dead:

This one centers around a spooky mansion in Stuttgart, Germany, where Sam and Max act as the first, last, and only line of defense against the zombie apocalypse. We're betting on hi-larious jokes involving such fun horror-related topics as brain-eating, severed limbs, and angst-ridden goths.

If you want to read the whole preview (except for what got cut off) and check out the two first ever screenshots of Night of the Raving Dead, you'll be wanting to view this scan.

Telltale has put up the first gameplay video for Moai Better Blues showing Sam (who is accompanied by Max) as they do some exploring on Easter Island. Sybil and Abe are steadily progressing their relationship, the Bermuda Triangle is responsible for a sizable Lost and Found, and the famous Moai heads may or may not be jerks. See it all, and look out for the game's release next week!

Update: Telltale has also put up some new soundtrack mp3s, both from 201 and 202. Books: Check 'em out!

The Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet had an interview with Dave Grossman, Dan Connors and Emily Morganti of Telltale Games last year.

Find out if Dave really is in love with Tim Scarf Schafer, if Monkey Island is a racist title, and did the Sierra people ever mention that rubber tree joke?

Clicky!

Source: Dagbladet

Welcome to 2008 everyone! And to anyone in the past: There are no flying cars yet.

To make this a legitimate news post, I will say that in 10 days Sam & Max 202: Moai Better Blues will be available from Telltale's site!

A long standing tradition in Norway has been to tell all your friends (in this case, you, dear readers) if anything important is happening in 10 days. It has nothing to do with me wanting to try out the news system for the first time. Not at all. Remster will be along shortly to confirm this and if he tells you anything else, he's obviously a filthy liar.

Now back to the celebrations. Move along.

Gametap has put their own trailer for Sam & Max 202 up on "Gametap TV" - a service that is available both within their client and on their web site here. Head on over to the Game Trailers section and look for the clip for Moai Better Blues (it's currently the last one). Possible spoilers, but it seemed pretty innocuous to me.

As is tradition around this time, Steve Purcell has created some Christmas-y Sam & Max artwork for us fans. You can check it out at the bottom of the latest Telltale newsletter (web site version available here) and then you can go download one of hi-res versions of the art that Jake supplies here.

Update: Grab them all from this blog entry.

Bonus Update! The above-linked blog also contains a downloadable MP3 of the Friendly Demon Song from Ice Station Santa.

In case playing through the game's not enough for ya, Telltale have released a machinny... makinama... mcnugget... short game film thing based on Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa, although there are a number of differences particularly with the Three Spirits. And I say short, it's actually about 20 minutes!

See it at GameTrailers now, although Telltale promise it will be up in some other form on their website soon. UPDATE: Ahh, there we go!

"God **** us, every one!"

As promised, Telltale has put up their mini-site for Moai Better Blues including a plot synopsis, some screenshots, and the trailer. Also, the slightly revamped Season 2 page reveals the titles of episodes 203 and 204 - Night of the Raving Dead and Chariots of the Dogs respectively, with the finale being kept under wraps.

See it all now!

And it is Moai Better Blues. The episode will see Sam and Max headed to the tropics to stop and/or cause some improbable mayhem on Easter Island. Telltale's going to have all the expected info for the game up on their site tomorrow, but for now check out the episode's hilarious trailer at 1up or GameVideos, depending on how you roll.

Moai Better Blues is going to be on Gametap on January 10th and Telltale's site January 11th, so try not to find yourself in a fatal car crash until at least a few days after that.

... if you're within driving distance of Telltale, that is. Over on the Telltale forums, Emily has dropped this note:

We'll be holding a playtest this Saturday in our office. If you are in the San Rafael area and would like to participate, please send an email to feedback@telltalegames.com with "playtest" (or something equally obvious) in the subject line.

Pizza will be there, as usual. And the game, too.

Northern Californians unite, and descend on Telltale's office this weekend.

As usual, Brian Ward is keeping fans in the know about the upcoming DVD release of Sam & Max the animated series. He's most recently provided a finalized list of extra features that the set will include:

That exclusive "Hyperkinetic Bonus Disc" now officially includes...

-A COMIC-CONversation With Steve Purcell!!!
-3 Animated Shorts Originally Seen on FOX Kids
-Sam & Max: Our Bewildering Universe - An original short written and co-directed by Steve Purcell
-Telling The Tale Of Telltale Games - A look at Telltale Games with co-founder Dan Connors, design director Dave Grossman and technical artist Daniel Herrera
-Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa Playable Demo by Telltale Games
-Original Series Bible by Steve Purcell
-Original Concept Art Gallery

Not bad, if I do say so myself. And I do. Hope you guys agree when you pick the box set up in '08. March-ish.

Read more at the Telltale forum thread.

According to the very end of this video:

the Wii version of CSI: Hard Evidence is coming in January '08, not before the year's end as previously reported. Rats.

Also, if you go to Ubisoft's official site the Wii box art has the "Nintendo Wi-fi" logo on the top left. What the hell is up with that? Surely a mistake right?

After yesterday's Gametap release, Ice Station Santa can now be purchased from Telltale's website.

Like last time, you can buy each episode individually or get the entire season and save a bit of money.

Why are you still reading this? Go get it now.

On the same day as the release, what the hell? We give Telltale some love in the Ice Station Santa review, which you probably won't care about anyway as you're bound to buy the game regardless of what we have to say. Asses.

Also, in another unprecedented turn of event, we give it a lower score than Adventure Gamers did. It's like we actually have integrity!