Sam & Max Episode 1: Culture Shock review

Culture Shock is also pretty short; this being episodic content, it doesn't last more than a few hours the first time through. Still, it's hard to beat the price tag: free with a GameTap subscription, or $9 when it goes on sale at Telltale's site on November 1. And if it somehow fails to get you jazzed for the next installment, Culture Shock is a self-contained story, so no lame "To be continued..." messages will prod you into buying whatever comes next.

The stuff packed into the short runtime is mostly entertaining, too. Aside from exploring the neighborhood and rescuing hapless shopkeepers from mind-control schemes, you'll play good-cop/bad-cop with a rat, explore Sam's surreal subconscious and get psychoanalyzed by a former tattoo artist. You'll also be able to hop into the duo's strangely rust-free DeSoto and harass other motorists by ramming into them, shooting out their taillights and pulling them over on trumped-up charges - like, say, having a broken taillight. Hey, you're freelance police. That means you get to make the rules, or at least ignore them when it suits you.