Sam & Max bid us a quirky farewell

The loss of a cherished loved one is always difficult to bear, particularly when the loved one in question was funny, outgoing, adventurous, and torn from our hearts before its time. Sam & Max: Freelance Police (or Sam & Max: Corporate Victims as our T-shirts will soon read) still had plenty to show the world, but for reasons-unfathomable were not bankable enough to justify their continued development.

Now that we've stopped weeping and waving pitchforks though, it's nice to be able to look back upon our time together, hold our heads up high and celebrate them for all they gave us. Their two-man show at last year's E3 trade show was far more tantalising than anything else we actually got our grubby mitts on - a bit like the Revolutions trailer on the end of The Matrix Reloaded, or so we thought at the time...

Fortunately enough, this week somebody has had the decency to erect a monument to their obvious brilliance. Obvious, that is, to us. Or rather, a German adventure games site has gotten its hands on the last batch of official screenshots and artwork that LucasArts dispatched to magazine editors around the globe prior to the duo's untimely demise.

Though we mourn, we can at least look back and let the tears of pain turn to tears of joy on our cheeks as we try to work out what exactly Sam was going to do with his Furby-looking friend, and what excitement might have lurked behind that "Look At Answering Machine" prompt. Sniff.

Ever wary of the LucasLawyer's influence, we've also taken the liberty of archiving the same shots for ourselves here. Goodbye, old friends.