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click to Maximize imagesEveryone's favorite episodic adventure game series about anthropomorphic detectives (we assume!) is returning in 2010! Telltale Games just put up a teaser site for something Sam and Max-related happening in 2010, featuring concept art hidden within the Sam and Max constellations (which we've placed in our gallery for your convenience).

The reference in the audio narration to "a power-mad space gorilla pitted against a canine detective and a sociopathic bunny with psychic powers," along with the starry-sky imagery and (most definitively) the Max spaceship suggest that Sam and Max will be in space. Impressive -- it took the Leprechaun movie series four installments to make it off the Earth.

The narration also mentions that "This story will be different. You will be in control." This could be a reference to a new control scheme Telltale planned to use in Season 3.

If you've been waiting to ride the wave of resurgence the adventure genre has been enjoying, now's the time to wax that board, kick off your flip-flops and hit the water: Telltale has put full seasons of its adventure games on sale. For the low price of one Andrew Jackson (otherwise known as $20), you can snag a full season of Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit or Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Act quickly, though -- the sale ends at 12PM PDT this Monday, November 9.

With more avenues now open between consumers and game creators than ever before, third-party companies like Telltale Games can sell their wares on every platform -- as long as their software runs on it. That's the tricky part, but Telltale CEO and co-founder Dan Connors has told Gamesindustry.biz that his team is already looking to take advantage of the "huge potential" out there.

"I definitely think there's huge potential there, and right now we're working on getting our content over to some more channels, over to new consoles and the Mac," Connors said. With any luck, PlayStation 3 will be caught in Telltale's wider net -- it's the only current home console that has yet to be visited by a talking dog, a hyper-kinetic rabbity thing ... or even a dog that doesn't talk but is still weirdly expressive.

Telltale's ambitions go further still, added Connors. "And after that's done, we're going to be looking at handhelds. I think we have to consider the PSP Go for sure."

We've got two click-em-ups up for grabs this week. One -- Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space -- is a buddy comedy fueled by crime, conversation and jokes, while the other -- Axel & Pixel -- is a puzzle solving affair rendered with bright colors and quirky animation. We're not sure what we did to deserve two point-and-click adventure games this week but, frankly, we're not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially considering these aren't gifts at all.

No, they cost real money. 1600 in the case of Sam & Max, and 800 for Axel & Pixel.

Download the trial version of Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space
Download the trial version of Axel & Pixel

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Xbox Live Arcade is heavy on the ampersands this week as both Axel & Pixel and the second season of Sam & Max (subtitled Beyond Time and Space, according to the ESRB) will be landing on Microsoft's download service. Both are games of the adventuring persuasion, requiring players to traverse the game world and solve puzzles, performing actions by pointing and / or clicking. Yes, you read that correctly, two adventure games in one week. It's like the 80s all over again.

Axel & Pixel will set you back 800 ($10). Meanwhile, Sam & Max tops out at the most you should ever pay for a computer game. Also known as 1600 ($20).

Now that Xbox Live Marketplace is working properly again, we finally got to try our hand at this weeks new Xbox Live Arcade releases. There are five very different games available this week. We've got the collectible card RPG Magic: The Gathering (800 / $10), the point-and-click adventure Sam & Max Save the World (1600 / $20) and even a straight-up action game in Rocket Riot (800 / $10). Check out the latest XBLA in Brief and see if any of them tickle your fancy.

Download the trial version of Rocket Riot
Download the trial version of Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
Download the trial version of Sam & Max Save the World


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This week, Xbox Live Arcade gets not one, but two genres that rarely see the light of day on consoles. First, we've got the collectible card game, Magic the Gather: Duels of the Planeswalkers. Unlike the weird Magic title on the original Xbox -- which played something like a weird monster summoning / volleyball hybrid -- Planeswalkers sticks to the traditional card game, which should make fans mighty happy. The game will deal 800 ($10) damage to your wallet.

Next, we have the XBLA debut of the Sam & Max adventure series, Sam & Max Save the World. Save the World is actually the first season of the Sam & Max episodic series that has been available on PC and Wii for some time now. That's six episodes of comedy gold for 1600 ($20). For those keeping score, that's the same price as the PC version and $10 cheaper than the Wii version.

Everyone's favorite bipedal canine and hyperkinetic rabbity thing missed the "Early 2009" window for the launch of their third season of adventure games -- but fear not! In a recent interview with The Inquirer, a few fine folks from the Telltale crew explained that the developer is still working on Sam & Max Season 3 -- though the controls may feel a little less clicky this time around.

According to Telltale co-founder Kevin Bruner, Season 3 will feature the cursor-less, console controller-friendly control scheme featured in the PC and 360 adventure title Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures. Makes sense -- we know Telltale is interested in bringing the new season to consoles, and having a sans-pointer control scheme would let them do that with ease. However, we imagine adventure game purists and mouse fetishists alike will be none too pleased.

In a self-congratulatory press release celebrating the company's fifth anniversary and the sale of its millionth episode, episodic puzzle-adventure developer Telltale games has indicated that "a new series in development will be announced at E3." The press release doesn't contain any more information about the new series, though we're always happy to hear that Telltale is working on something new.

Chances are that it will be another point-and-click adventure series based on an existing, popular property, though we'd be very interested in seeing a new, home-grown IP coming from the developer. Whatever it turns out to be, we look forward to finding out at E3 early next month.

Telltale Games (Sam & Max, Strong Bad) CEO Dan Connors mentioned in a recent interview that WiiWare "requires the most planning" of the online console marketplaces. In fairness, though, he explains that all the current console makers' online storefronts attempt to make content relatable to the audience. Connors notes that Strong Bad was "perfect" for Nintendo, which we're sure has a little bit to do with the enhanced sales after Nintendo's "storage solution" was introduced.

Connors doesn't make any further announcements for Telltale's brand of episodic gaming for the Wii, but he does say that the company will continue to evolve the adventure genre and feels the developer will continue growing the adventure genre for "years to come." A positive sign for more potential Telltale titles on the Wii front, perhaps?

Sam: Whatcha got there, little buddy?
Max: Why, Sam, it's a book about us? That's creepy!

Telltale Games is selling the 20th anniversary edition of Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway, bundling together the 197-page graphic album with the publisher's Sam & Max episodic adventure game for the PC. The book, which has been out of print for nearly a decade, contains the complete collection of Steve Purcell's Sam & Max comics, including 25 new pages of previously unreleased artwork.

The collection is currently available in paperback for $29.95, which includes both the book and a DVD containing the most recent 5-episode season of Sam & Max. A more pricey $59.95 hardcover edition is also available, which ships with both seasons tucked between its supple pages. Closet lagomorphs with some extra geld can also shell out for the $99.95 bundle, which nets the book, games, soundtrack, the complete animated series and a Sam & Max t-shirt and hat.

Sam: And look, the thing was also nominated for an Eisner Award. That'll look good on the wall.
Max: Yup, right next to Hitler's head!
Sam: You're a scary bunny.

The tough thing about being the first to perfect something? Everyone else thinks they can step in and repeat what you did, only better. That's the position Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors finds himself in now. Connors says that he expects more companies to move into the episodic gaming field -- in fact, many have approached him about working on a deal.

But before the beef has even started, Connors is squashing it, reminding all comers that Telltale runs the game: "I think there's still that point about people needing to understand what it is, and Telltale is always going to define its own kind of game." We know he was talking about literal games rather that the game of the streets, but we're just going to pretend.

Sam and Max are ready to hit the road (ouch!) and make themselves available for freelance detective work on Xbox Live Arcade. Telltale has announced that the previously released first two seasons of adventure for the dog detective and his psychotic rabbity-thing partner are "upcoming," but no dates nor pricing have been revealed.

Sam & Max: Save the World and Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space will be the new XBLA names given to seasons one and two, respectively. The titles will be released as full-season bundles -- we hear that winter is a real pain to pack in there.

For those of you looking for more bunny-and-dog action, Telltale is working hard to meet your needs. Emily Morganti, Marketing Coordinator for Telltale Games, has dropped word that Sam & Max: Season Two is currently being worked on and will release to anxious Wii gamers sometime later this year. Atari will be handling publishing duties on Season Two.