Sam & Max Episode 101: Culture Shock

 PC
  • Publisher: GameTap
  • Release Date: Oct 18, 2006
Sam & Max Episode 101: Culture Shock Image
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

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  • Summary: Culture Shock begins as Sam and Max discover that a group of former child stars have become involved in nefarious deeds. Only the six foot dog and his cunning rabbit companion can unravel the mystery! [Telltale Games]

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Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock Official Movie 1

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. Four Fat Chicks
    100
    One way or the other, if you have a glimmer of an iota of a flicker of adventure love left in that congealed lump of moldering paté you call a heart, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. This game only slightly suffers from being too short and otherwise easily bunny hops into gold star adventure game territory.
  2. Yahoo!
    90
    Sam and Max's return is both a funny, well-written return to form and a real testimony to the episodic format in general. Culture Shock shows remarkable sympathy for the strengths of the original game, and has a polished, streamlined presentation that nails its feel.
  3. CPUGamer
    86
    I was pleased to find that SME1 contains all of the humor, atmosphere, and genuine fun of the previous game.
  4. PALGN
    80
    A great game. We would have liked to have seen some more difficult hurdles to overcome and maybe even an extra hours gameplay would have kept us more happy until Episode 2 comes out. If you love point and click this episodic series looks like it could be good.
  5. Quandary
    80
    It's a great little play for adults and kids. Kids will love the driving. The game is fairly short, around 3, maybe 4, hours of play, but they're a fun-filled few hours.
  6. games(TM)
    80
    Culture Shock retains the snappy humour of its predecessor, ensuring that long-suffering fans of the detective duo will no doubt love the game as much as the original. [Dec 2006, p.113]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Edge Magazine
    60
    The comic hit rate is lower here than you might have hoped for, but Telltale shows a commendable knowledge of when to simply emulate the Sam & Max of old and when to move forward. [Dec 2006, p.89]
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See all 47 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. JacobP.
    Nov 12, 2007
    10
    Excellent game, it lives up to the expectations fans have had since the original game in '93. A must have.
  2. PhilP.
    Jan 2, 2007
    9
    Could have been a little longer but it took me about as long to beat as Half-Life 2 episode 1 took, and at like half the price, I say it is Could have been a little longer but it took me about as long to beat as Half-Life 2 episode 1 took, and at like half the price, I say it is well worth it. I missed this kind of adventure puzzle game play, I am glad tell tale picked it up - I have already paid for the entire "season" and am eagerly awaiting the next episode.… Expand
  4. braeden
    Dec 27, 2014
    9
    This one is a bit tricky to pin down since it's the first episode. It's so long a ago I played the original game it's hard to make anyThis one is a bit tricky to pin down since it's the first episode. It's so long a ago I played the original game it's hard to make any meaningful comparison between them. I do however get some added nostalgic value out of this just because it's Sam & Max game and mostly very well made one also.

    As stand-alone game it gets many things right. Dialog is funny, the environment and characters are wacky (although maybe somewhat less so than in the original game) and most puzzles can be solved without resorting to walkthrough every five minutes. Items are also used sparingly and are typically easy to find. There's really no puzzles where you have to guess which two of your 50 items need to be combined or situations where you can't find some critical item since you clicked wrong pixel.

    This is the longest of the three first episodes (haven't played the rest yet). Mostly because you spend a bit more time on exploring and learning stuff. Still, it can easily be played in one evening. Story-wise this might be the weakest of the three, but it doesn't really matter at this point.    … Expand
  5. Totemic
    Nov 30, 2019
    9
    An excellent first impression for the series, has some really funny dialogue all the way through, and really clever but not overly complicatedAn excellent first impression for the series, has some really funny dialogue all the way through, and really clever but not overly complicated puzzles. Suffers from not having enough locales to visit in my opinion, but not from being too short, I think the length is fine for one episode.… Expand
  6. NickG.
    Dec 10, 2006
    9
    This is a great puzzle-type adventure game. The puzzles are amusing and can be logically worked out, the humor is entertaining, and the This is a great puzzle-type adventure game. The puzzles are amusing and can be logically worked out, the humor is entertaining, and the graphics are pretty decent. My only complaint is short the game is even for just being a single episode in the series. It can easily be beat in a day.… Expand
  7. GolovA
    Jun 19, 2018
    8
    A Great game, but unfortunately fell under the radar.

    To those who has never played the original (Classic), this might seem a bit strange.    A Great game, but unfortunately fell under the radar.

    To those who has never played the original (Classic), this might seem a bit strange. The writing is dense, and the wordplay of jokes might be overwhelming and complex – some of the humor truly is designed for a written medium, not a video game. However, with each episode, the linguistic complexity of dialogues subsides, bringing it closer to the level of the target audience – video gamers. And even though I love and appreciate the advance depth, intelligence, and wit behind satiric constructs of the series, dumbing it down as the Season progresses helps to bring in the audience (alas, perhaps, too late).

    Nonetheless.

    Solid Adventure – puzzles range from easy to medium, voice acting is exemplary, plot of the First Season is fun and fit the mood of the protagonist duo Sam and Max (and the lore, of course), characters are lovable and well developed. Some of the music gets pretty annoying and repetitive – staying, in fact, unchanged, from episode to episode – but that’s a minor price to pay for a great Adventure.

    Absolutely and Highly Recommend.

    You might also enjoy and/or appreciate the inspiration behind Edna and Harvey.    … Expand

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Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best PC Game of 2006

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