There have been a few improvements to Season Two, primarially in the usability department. While the game still uses a “point and click” interface, Sam can roam free around the set by clicking and holding your mouse. Wherever you drag the mouse is where Sam will walk. If you click on an object that’s relatively far away from Sam, then he will run there, which saves the impatient gamer from watching him schlep across the screen).
Also, the game’s engine now supports wide-screen resolutions! If you have one of those new-fangled widescreen displays with a 16:9 or 16:10 ratio, then you can use the native resolution of your LCD monitor. This helps to present more of the scene and is a nice improvement.
There are also an assortment of mini-games strewn throughout Season Two. For example, the opening credits (which after solving the story’s introduction puzzle) has a “shooting gallery” minigame, where the cursor turns into a crosshair and you can shoot images from previously solved cases.
The sound is also very good in the game. This type of game doesn’t need truly positional surround sound. The game’s great sound design comes in the form of a good soundtrack and superb voice acting. The background music ranges from a “film-noir” mystery music to a christmasy-themed montage of several tunes, and are excellently arranged.
Season Two starts out with the Maintron demolishing the city, and Sam & Max get involved when the mechanical moster starts to wreck their building (and destroy their watercooler fish). The Maimtron is a philisophical sort, who finds wisdom within 80s rock lyrics. Alot of the puzzles in the series involves talking with other characters, who then reveal a clue or vunerability after the dialog.
To defeat the Maimtron, you have to pull the windkey from his back (the Maintron is apparently just a huge wind-up toy). When you ask him a lyrically-themed philisophical question (“Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?”), he turns his back, which positions the windup key right outside your office window. The solution is to get the robot to turn his back and then run up to your office and pull the key from his back. The Maintron’s final epitath is from Queen: “and another one bites the dust”.
Sam & Max discover a gift tag from Santa on their fallen foe, which whisks them off to the North Pole to solve the case…
