Once upon a time, the adventure game was one of the most popular genres that existed. Series’ like Myst and Monkey Island combined elements of puzzle solving and storytelling into a potent blend that seemed to portend the future of interactive entertainment. As computers became more powerful and graphics cards started turning out more realistic 3D images, the adventure genre was largely abandoned for my action-oriented fare.

Enter the iPad. With limited graphical horsepower and a touch-based interface that makes conventional games unwieldy, the adventure genre of yore is expected to make something of resurgence. Making the strongest case for such resurgence so far is Sam & Max Episode 1: The Penal Zone, a game released back in April.

The first segment in a larger episodic narrative, Sam & Max Episode 1 brings back many of the joys and challenges of the adventure games that once captured gamers’ imagination. You play as the eponymous characters; Sam is a gruff six-foot tall dog in a suit and a fedora, and Max is a zany rabbit with telepathic powers. The two have already played through two “seasons” of similar episodic games, but it’s easy enough to jump right into the narrative.

The two work for the “Freelance Police,” solving crimes across different eras of space and time. In The Penal Zone, the planet Earth is visited by a gorilla from outer space named General Skun-ka’pe. While professing a message of peace and love, Sam and Max have to figure out what Skun-ka’pe is really up to and put a stop to it. Each episode in the larger narrative takes on a theme of a different movie genre, with The Penal Zone enjoying a heavy sci-fi overtone.

The gameplay is classic adventure. There’s no running, jumping, or (minus a bazooka here and there) violence. You explore given environments and try to make use of the items available along with Max’s psychic powers to progress the storyline. For parents who are a little sick of their kids just mindlessly blowing things up in their video games, Sam & Max is refreshingly cerebral and oriented towards problem solving. While certain elements of the game feel like they were designed with a gamepad in mind, the control scheme still works surprisingly well on the iPad.

The graphics and presentation are also top-notch. The story and dialogue are a lot of fun, replete with amusing jokes, sight gags, and side-splitting puns. Even better is seeing the game play in full 3D on the vibrant iPad screen. It is much more impressive than a lot of other games on the market right now, and could easily be confused with a Pixar movie at first glance. Telltale Games actually advises that you close any applications running the background, because Sam & Max really needs all the memory that the iPad’s got.

While Sam & Max Episode 1: The Penal Zone might be old news to those who picked it up right after the iPad’s release, those who didn’t will be happy to know that Telltale Games has put in on sale for just $1.99, in celebration of the San Diego Comicon. There’s a lot of fun to be had, and it’s a total steal at that price. We can’t wait for Episode 2 to make it to the iPad!