After a two year hiatus, the Freelance Police are back today with all-new tricks up their sleeves (well, Sam's sleeves, anyway), as the first episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse has now been released for PC and Mac. The game will also be releasing today — the first time ever for Sam & Max — on the PlayStation 3 as well.

In The Penal Zone, players get to control not only the canine shamus, but the little lagomorph himself for the first time. Upon discovering that Max has latent psychic abilities, now the crimefighting duo must find a series of ancient toys that bestows Max with new talents. And they're going to need all of them if they're to stop the alien gorilla General Skunkape from finding the toys and seizing the power for himself.



The Penal Zone is currently available only as part of the five-episode full season of The Devil's Playhouse, which can be ordered directly from Telltale Games, or through the PlayStation Network. The episode can also be purchased individually on the new Apple iPad from the iTunes store.

Update: Playable demos for PC and Mac are also now available from Telltale's website.