Sam & Max: Reality 2.0 Walkthrough

It’s the fifth episode of season I already and our crazy detective friends need to face the most terrible crisis we (gamers) could ever think of – an internet malfunctioning. Trapped inside the virtual reality are tons of players that don’t even realize they’ve been stripped from the real world. While Sam does most of the action, Max is once again the funniest inexhaustible rabbity thing sidekick you’ll ever meet. Nothing can scare the cute buddies, but nevertheless, they’re bound to need your guidance in cracking this case. While the story is pretty clear and the puzzles are rather logical in a nuts sense of way, a little help can never hurt. That’s why we came out with a walkthrough to guide in your quest to destroy a highly detailed and (literally) captivating video game called Reality 2.0. Warning: if by any chance you don’t want to spoil the fun, please stick to the review!

Reality
Once you enjoyed all the new comments on the stuff in the Freelance Police office, head down to the street. Oh, that’s a shame – someone fixed the One Way sign and Sam can no longer cause car accidents by shooting it. Time to get visiting your neighbors (I bet you were already missing them). Let’s start with Sybil. Now she will seem suspicious to Sam and Max. They believe she’s been hypnotized. Now Sam has to try the punching “snap out of it” trick with the glove, but he can’t seem to be able to get close enough to Sybil to knock her over the head. Nothing in the inventory looks too promising, so let’s try Bosco’s for a change. How lovely! The display table is occupied by Jimmy Two-Teeth and his nice looking cannon. Now this is hope! Talk to Jimmy and try to talk him into selling you the cannon. Unfortunately, you’ll exhaust every threat Sam can think of and Jimmy is still stating that he’s not selling his weapons to the “police”. Since Max gave that law about weapon sellers being allowed to offer their merchandise out in the open, you can’t even confiscate it. Well, let’s at least check it out. Hey! He shot Sam! Quickly click on Jimmy before he manages to reload. What do you know – he’s stuck! You’re now the proud owner of a rat loaded cannon. Since we’re already at Bosco’s, let’s see how things go here and what other overpriced, pompous called ancient stuff Bosco has on the menu.

Aside from driving his business to the online shopping direction, the half-elf Bosco (nope, it’s no longer a disguise, but a way to get better in touch with his virtual avatar) offers another massively destructive item – the virulent biological weapon. Having in mind the previous episodes, that will probably turn up to be something totally awkward and absolutely necessary. So you should encourage Sam to ask for the price. Yes, it’s way over the top – as always: one billion dollars. Well, since Max is still the president of the United States, it shouldn’t be very complicated to come up with such a sum. Unfortunately for the Freelance Police, Bosco is no longer accepting cash. He takes internet payments only. Pretty inconvenient since both the president and his secretary of defense are total n00bs when it comes to computers. Oh well, they don’t need to concern about this just yet. Let’s visit Sybil again.

Prepare to launch the mouse! Use the rat cannon on Sybil to snap her out of the trance. Oh! We spoiled her fun… and her latest career. Find out everything about the beta testing job, this new game Sybil was testing – Reality 2.0 – and its developers – COPS. He! He! Turns up they’re just next door, at the old Lefty’s place. No better time than now to greet your new neighbors! Well, well, well. What have we got here? Machines are taking over with the help of the internet and sort of keep all their fans trapped inside a video game. Since Sam & Max are immune to hypnosis you should tell them you’d like to join the fun in Reality 2.0 to get a chip to repair Sybil’s damaged goggles and a special pair for Max. Do ask them about their motivational song for some more computer generated music. Now just head back over to Sybil’s. Use the chip on the broken VR goggles on Sybil’s sofa and let the virtual fun begin. Use the goggles to get in the game.

Reality 2.0
Wander around Sybil’s virtual office. But you won’t find anything interesting. Head outside to meet the enhanced reality. Greet Auntie Biotic and do your homework about virtual armory and weaponry. Have a little fun with the 404 error sign (looks a little familiar?). Notice the Jack in the Box at the end of the unfinished street (next to the Control Room – Lefty’s). Also notice you can’t get close enough with the ads popping up all the time.

Meet the virtual image of Hugh Bliss, now representing the Internet Wizard. Hugh… the Wizard… err… the big Bliss floating head will give you a nice welcoming present – a Rainbow Kit to be used on your car he says (you did notice the virtual DeSoto waiting for you at the corner, right?).

Let’s continue our virtual journey to get to know the detectives’ real friends in the virtual world. Head over to Bosco’s. Just look around for a while. Click on the Sludge Machine to get in your first virtual fight. A blue slime comes out and Max demands that it must be killed. For now, all Sam manages to do is scare it away – no matter what he does. Talk to Bosco and learn about the virtual bank and the Long Sword for sale at the amazing price (especially since Bosco is selling it) of 5 gold coins (you’ve already noticed the 3 gold coins out in the street, right?). Also get him to tell you about his account password being tattooed on his real body. If you turn to reality you’ll notice Bosco is too busy with his VR goggles to notice you getting his binoculars. I don’t know yet what to do with those, but Bosco surely doesn’t need ‘em.

Be sure to also visit your office in Reality 2.0, you probably won’t ever see it so tidy ever again. While in VR, also check out the Control Room. Greet the virtual “creators” of Reality 2.0. Note that each of them assures a certain function of the game. The Bleeper will be the one in charge of the ad pop ups. Hey! This is your chance to get that Jack in the Box. So all you need to do for the pop ups to be gone is click on the green machine once (the Phone will confirm the status of the pop ups).

Also, do note that your inventory listening device has turned into a computer bug. Guess what can be altered by its actions. The controlling machines obviously. Enjoy a few moments of 2D Reality 2.0 as you place the computer bug on the blue machine; turn off gravity by placing the bug on the orange arcade game or get your heroes as small as Alice in Wonderland after eating that cookie. Oh! Placing the bug on the green item will just spook you with some annoying music, but don’t worry. While with the rest of the devices you need to tell Sam to take back the bug, here Sam is so disappointed that he removes the bug immediately even without you telling him to do so. Time to see if the pop up blocker works. Head back outside in Reality 2.0 and go for the Jack in the Box. What do you know! It actually works.

Since you’re in the street anyway enjoy the little joke of the binary sequence replacing the skytrain. Checkout the cool saving point just outside Bosco’s. This works too. I’m beginning to like this Reality 2.0. I wonder what the new locations look like. Let’s try driving away in the DeSoto. Crazy firewall! What’s wrong with my car?!? Oh! He means the color combination on the car’s paint. We’ll need to get to that later. Head back to the neighborhood. Let’s do some more checking in the Control Room.

Uh! Low gravity. I bet Sam can get to those three gold coins in the street now (I distinctively remember Mario doing so in one of the most esteemed video game series featuring Mario Bros.). Yeap! Here comes Super Mario Sam to collect the goldie! Hey! Try out for the +2 sword in the corner of the billboard on Sybil’s. Nope! It seems to be stuck. Well, at least we got the coins.

The locked door in Sybil’s office may be a worthy (and rewarding) challenge for the 2D “diet”. Bug the purple device to sneak under the closed door and get the loot Max is so crazy about. So this is where another gold coin hides. Only one gold coin away from that Long Sword Bosco has on sale and I have a vague idea who could have the last one. The thief of thieves – Jimmy Two-Teeth! But how to get into his tiny rat hole? Of course the Phone is responsible for the height in Reality 2.0. Let’s use that! Head back to the Control Room and bug the red device. Oh! How can that be?!? Sam is now too small to climb the stairs to his own office! Well, this calls for little cheating. Return to reality and your height is no longer a problem. As you get into the office just log back into the game. He! He! Coast clear! So Max will have his share of violence this episode after all! Great work – you now own all the five gold coins required to purchase the Long Sword Bosco has on sale. Get back to the Control Room to retrieve your bug and get back in shape… I mean height.

It’s time to claim your prize – the Long Sword. Rush over to Bosco’s and ask him to sell it to you. Let’s test it now. Remember the blue slime you could only scare away? Maybe it is now its final hour. Using either the glove or the sword, click on it for the battle to begin. Use the attack with item and select the newly purchased sword for the “coupe de grace”. Yack! It turned to liquid blue slime. Get it quickly before Bosco gets the idea of selling it for a few million dollars. Now, what could the blue slime be used for? Well, maybe it could get stuck items unstuck.

Head back over the Control Room and use the bug on the orange arcade machine. Gravity off! Let’s go for the +2 sword in the lower right corner of the billboard. Yes, that’s definitively a stuck thing. Use the slimy stuff on it and there you have it. You could say you went up from n00b to newbie. He! He! Auntie Biotic’s +1 armor is no longer helping it against the Freelance Police.

Well, let’s see if Sam can take out the mail police program. Be sure to turn pop ups back on (by pressing the button on the green machine in the Control Room). Remember how you were unable to get to the Jack in the Box because of the ads? Maybe this will keep Auntie Biotic off your back and since you got the lovely pony +2 sword her +1armor should be no problem for Sam. Well, head on into the street to clear the way to the mailbox. Ha! Ha! As you challenge the unfriendly virtual image of Myra Stump (Auntie Biotic) using any threatening item in your inventory (Ray Gun, Glove or any of the 2 swords) you’ll notice that she has an impressive dexterity rate. Come on! 452?!? That’s like… impossible! Well, as she attacks, be glad you have turned those ads back up. Just defend yourself using the Jack in the Box item in your inventory and then attack using the new +2 sword. Game over for Auntie Biotic. The coast to the mailbox is clear now. But what to do now? Since the Internet Wizard (or the Imposter as Max likes to call him) is of no use and Sybil is still busy with her new contact lens testing, Bosco is the only hope.

Go to Bosco’s (while still in the game of Reality 2.0). Remember how you couldn’t get to him with the glove in reality? Let’s try the sword that he himself sold to our detective friends. As he manages to get back on his feet Sam & Max realize that Bosco is no longer connected to the game and has been replaced, just like in Sybil’s case, by an AI. He! He! Let’s meet him in the real world.

Take off your goggles. Another one of your neighbors is saved from the vicious virtual world. Well, he promises to stay away from the internet but he decides to keep his virtual bank account. The big problem is that he doesn’t even want to share his account password, so you could pay him for the billion dollars biological weapon. Good thing you got those binoculars from him while he was in the game. Trick him into looking behind him and quickly use the binoculars on his back to learn the password. What do you know – it was so easy – “BOSCO”.

All you need to do now is ride the informational super highway to Banco Lavadero. Easy to say, harder to do, but let’s try it out. First of all you’ll need to log back into the virtual reality. There must be something that can be done about that firewall on the highway. What did the non-Hugh Bliss say – use the rainbow colors to express your inner self. Look at your license plates. Notice there is a sequence of 3 letters followed by 3 numbers. Since these numbers are no higher than 4 – which is the number of colors you have to choose from to customize your car’s visual aspect – you might just as well try that. Just use the number sequence on your plates to choose the colors. 214 equals to Blue, Red and Purple. He! He! It works – the firewall has been tricked.

Wow! Banco Lavadero turns up to be a chain of money laundering business. Surprise! There is one billion dollars to be “cleaned” up. Of course, your goal is to transfer all that money to Bosco’s account. Notice there are arrows from each account to at least one other neighboring account. Every time you “Cook the Books” in one account the money there will be transferred into the accounts the arrows point to. If there are 2 exit arrows, the money is split equally. If the account is an odd number, one million will remain in the initial account. Every time you Cook the Books the arrows change to the opposite direction. It’s not that hard. Come on, make Bosco a rich Half-Elf! If you still don’t make it, take a look at the picture here and notice that I numbered the different accounts. Just Cook the Books in the following order: 3 – 4 – 7 – 1 – 2. That’s it! Bosco’s rich and the virulent weapon is rightfully yours.

As you get back to your home street, log off Reality 2.0 and go get your master weaponry. As soon as you get back into Reality 2.0 you’ll see that the billion dollars actually paid off and you got yourself a vicious computer disease. Oh, boy! You’d better hold on tight now. It’s the end of Reality 2.0. USE the computer disease with the mailbox to spread the virus all over the internet and put an end to this madness.

Reality 1.5
Remember the adventure games of the ‘80s and the intricate books that kept you going from one page to another to break the mystery? Well, this looks a whole lot more modern, but it feels just as amazingly exciting as back in time. Feel free to do whatever you wish, get, look at and use anything that pops up on your options. You won’t manage to bring death to our friends in any way, just go in circles forever and ever.

The logical (well, seems pretty logical for the Freelance Police anyway) solution goes something like this. The Internet says it lost all respect for the living things. Well, Sam & Max need to get it back (they’re still in a game, so Respect can be just an item). Respect for the Living Things is right her in the first scene. Use the GET command to try and capture it. Ups! GO down after it. The Corporate Presence swallowed it! Grrr! Gotta get it out of there somehow. There must be a way around. GO back up. Let’s scout the area. GO east to find Bosco’s. Get Bosco’s which is just an empty small business. GO back west. GO down and use Bosco’s on the Corporate Presence. Wow! This thing will eat up just about anything. OK. Let’s get another Bosco’s. Once you get the new Bosco’s GO west. Now GO northwest. Eww! An ooze of nauseating cuteness! GET the rare foil card. GO back southeast and try to give it to the Internet. Nope! Gotta keep looking! GO back northwest and USE Bosco’s with nauseating lake. GO southeast and then GO down. USE nauseating Bosco’s with the Corporate Presence. He! He! Feeling a little sick you nasty Corporate Presence? GET the Respect for Living Things. GO back up and finally USE the Respect for Living Things with the Internet.

OH! GAME OVER!