GameTap Thursday: Sam & Max Season 2 begins

It's time for the dog detective and his rabbity-thing companion to start their second season of Telltale Games' Sam & Max. The second season, of the series that got episodic gaming right, starts with the duo taking on the vile Santa Claus in Ice Station Santa. New episodes will premiere monthly on GameTap with the conclusion in April; there will be five episodes this season instead of six.

The new subscriber games this week are:

• Virtua Fighter (Saturn) - Any other week we would have found an awesome picture of the original blocky fighters and made it the featured game of the week. The Sega Saturn classic that changed fighters as we know them comes to the service.
  
• Shadow Watch (PC) - A secret security force must prevent a conspiracy seeking to stop humanity from exploring space.
• Sam & Max: Ice Station Santa (PC) - The boys survived their first season and return for more adventure game hijinks. This season promises to be tighter and more engaging than the first great season as Telltale gets a better feel and continues to write the book on how this whole episodic gaming concept works. American McGee better be taking notes for Grimm.

After the break we have GameTap's list of free games. New free games are bolded for easy reference. Topping the list is the addition of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, which is part of GameTap's continuing Hitman promotion leading up to the film's debut in theaters. Also be sure to check out the Hitman retrospective premiering on the "watch" channel.

1. Metal Slug
2. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
3. Sam and Max: Episode 4 Abe Lincoln Must Die!
4. Joust
5. Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition
6. Tomb Raider: Legend
7. Neo Turf Masters
8. Rampage
9. King of Fighters 95
10. Captain Commando
11. Mercs
12. Twinkle Star Sprites
13. Ghouls 'N Ghosts
14. Ikari Warriors
15. Shock Troopers
16. Cannon Fodder
17. Mega Man: The Power Battle
18. Vampire Savior
19. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
20. Hitman: Codename 47
21. Bloodrayne
22. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
23. realMYST 3D
24. Jaws Unleashed
25. Second Sight
26. Samurai Shodown
27. King of the Monsters
28. The Last Blade
29. Elevator Action
30. The New Zealand Story
31. Zoo Keeper
32. Rainbow Islands
33. Bust a Move
34. Buku Sudoku
35. Sensible Soccer 2006
36. Final Fight
37. Ghosts 'N Goblins
38. Restaurant Empire
39. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves
40. Colin McRae Rally 2005
41. Myst Online: Uru Live
42. Zoo Empire
43. Space Invaders
44. Defender
45. Root Beer Tapper
46. Baseball Stars 2
47. Fast Lanes Bowling
48. 1941
49. Bubble Bobble