By the time
Sam & Max 204: Chariots of the Dogs gets started, Bosco has been missing for over an episode, and Sam, Max and Flint Paper are fed up with his absence, so the trio bust into Bosco's shop to uncover just where the paranoid convenience clerk has gone. Our favorite freelance detectives eventually uncover a way to summon T.H.E.M. and also get abducted by the aliens and find Bosco in a strange half-man, half cow form. Apparently, T.H.E.M. have control over time and space, and while exploring their ship, Bosco ventured into the time elevator, caused some sort of paradox, and his punishment was his new shape.
So while our heroes have found the clerk, their mission is to go through time, fix whatever it was Bosco messed up and bring him back safely. Of course, knowing Sam and Max, any chance to play with the timeline will have to be examined carefully, but beware, the ship's A.I. is watching and any causality problems will have you summoned back to the ship before any real damage can be done.
Using a Carbon Dater gun, you will scan various characters and produce a timecard, which can be used on the elevator to go to different periods. For instance, scanning Max sends you to Stinky's in the 80's where the pair tries to warn the diner owner about his eventual murder. While there, they also run into the younger versions of themselves. You will also run into Bosco's mother in the 60's, Max's secret agent, Superball, but as a new agent at the White House during the Kennedy administration, and even a future Sam and Max, where, while things are definitely more advanced, haven't really changed all that much.
What I really enjoyed about Chariots of the Dogs is the way it starts to tie events from the previous episodes together. By the time this episode's credits role, you will once again see those three mariachi, the Bermuda Triangle and even a reference to Jurgen from the last game.
