What's New, Beelzebub marks the end of Sam and Max Season Two, the fifth and final episode of a series that premiered in November 2007. This episode certainly wraps things up on a high note, and is one of the strongest episodes yet in the Sam and Max series.

In this season finale, Sam and Max travel to the fiery depths of hell in an attempt to recover Bosco's soul. Amusingly, hell turns out to be a very different sort of nightmare that we've always imagined it to be. Strolling past the revolving glass doors of hell, our heroes discover that the place of eternal damnation is actually an LLC company replete with a cubicle-d office, and perhaps rightfully so. Past characters such as Jurgen and Hugh Bliss make an appearance in the office space where the clock is also perma-stuck at 4:59 pm. (Oh the horrors!)

In order to attract the attention of Satan (which was wonderfully illustrated and rendered), Sam and Max has to decrease the efficiency of the Hell corporation by freeing imprisoned souls including those of Bosco and Grandpa Stinky, who are trapped in their own little dioramas that play out and loop their worst nightmares for eternity. For Bosco, it will mean standing naked on a theatre stage while being stared at by the audience and for Grandpa Stinky, it involves being on a cooking show as a sidekick to his granddaughter.

Learning about the plight of each individual and finding a way to end their misery was for me one of the highlights of the episode and the series as a whole. Just like the time travel sequences in Episode 4: Chariots of the Dogs, the dioramas settings really flaunt the inventiveness of the developers and conveys the charm of a fictional game world that is as wacky as it is fun.

The slight turnoff is that there are only five dioramas to toy around with and while the puzzles are very engaging (occurrences in one diorama can affect the scenario in another), they are generally one or two-step affairs and were over long before I really wanted them to be. This does however set the game up for a rather lengthy ending and the unveiling of the newest and latest super villains - the true masters of Hell, which by the way is not Satan. I won't spoil the surprise for you here, but they have been recurring characters in previous episodes and their appearance here provides a fitting end (for now) to the overarching storyline.

With the final episode of Season Two released, the entire season is now available for a bundle price of $34.95, which works out to $6.99 an episode compared to $8.95 if you purchase them individually. Telltale Games will also be releasing a Season Two DVD with all the episodes and additional bonus content which will be made available to all Season Two customers for the price of shipping and handling alone. At the time of writing, this DVD compilation has not yet been released, so watch the space over at the Sam and Max website for updates.

With Season Two now fully wrapped up, I will briefly recap and rate the entire season in the usual categories.

Graphics:
I really liked the overall art design and character modeling in the Sam and Max series, and the pleasant surprise is that this game is very playable on even the lowest end of current systems. There have been some memorable characters, my personal favorite being Satan from the final episode who was wonderfully portrayed as a big, hulking office manager but still manages to elicit sympathy when he was eventually relegated to begging on the streets.

Sound:
Voice-acting has been excellent throughout the series. The COPS in the garage never fail to crack me up, while others like the mariachis from Episode 4 exude great personality. Background musical scores do not particularly stand out, but generally does a good job of complementing the specific scenarios they are employed in.

Gameplay:
The core gameplay elements of adventure games have really not changed much since the heady days of Sierra and LucasArts publications. The success of a title has always depended upon the puzzle design and storyline, two elements which Sam and Max have excelled in since its 2D era. We now have 3D graphics and professional quality music and voice-overs to complete the package, but at its core Sam and Max Season Two still appeals to gamers on the strength of its puzzle structures which have really peaked towards the end of the season and its overarching storyline which oozes charm and wit.

Concept:
I liked the idea of byte sized episodic contents that Telltale has adopted. A 3 hour gameplay can certainly hold someone's interest and attention much better than the 10++ hours it often took to solve an adventure game more than a decade ago.

Value:
So far, I have rated the value of each individual episode as negative due to the short play time and zero replayability. However, if you've not purchased any of the episodes yet, now is a great time to order the entire season as a package, saving $10 in the process and receiving the bonus content DVD in addition.

Overall:
Sam and Max Season Two with its fun and light-hearted game design really appeals to all ages. Its propensity for topical satire translates into great comedic value and entertainment. It also lies on the casual side of the fence and is a game that someone busy can just pick up and play, and is a great diversion from the usual fare of guns and violence. I wholeheartedly recommend Sam and Max to you, dear reader, they won't let you down.