A psychically empowered lagomorph battling unusual and fearsome villains can mean only one thing: Freelance Police Sam & Max are coming for a new series of monthly episodic games. Telltale Games’ Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse premiere episode The Penal Zone will release April 15th. This series will be Telltale’s first for the PlayStation Network. The games will also release on PC and Macintosh.

As Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse opens, Max has been bestowed with a set of powerful psychic abilities from an unusual ancient source that he’ll wield against the strongest and strangest foes the Freelance Police have ever faced. Join gaming’s greatest dog and rabbit sleuths as they investigate the source of these powers, with manic Max exercising new and amazing abilities with each episode. Max’s shape shifting, teleportation, mind reading and future sight powers prove particularly useful as intergalactic simians, eldritch gods, under-dwellers and an arcane scholar ruthlessly hunt down these powers for their own evil ends. The teaser trailer released today at www.samandmaxgames.com/thedevilsplayhouse gives a peek at the skewed humor of The Devil’s Playhouse. The very first in-game screenshots and new concept art are also posted at the site.

"Telltale continues to excel at channeling Sam & Max’s extremely peculiar sensibilities," said Sam & Max creator, Steve Purcell. "For each subsequent season they somehow manage to toss ever more mind-addling scenarios at the Freelance Police. The creative team inhabits these characters so well that if I were their parents I’d be worried about them."

The PC pre-order for the series which begins today at www.samandmaxgames.com/thedevilsplayhouse includes a FREE game episode from the Telltale library along with exclusive membership in the Freelance Police "Elite Forces" -- all for just $34.95. Freelance Police Elite Forces members will gain access to a private forum for scheduled chats with Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell and Telltale designers along with first look posts about upcoming episodes before they release. Additionally, these customers will get special deals at the Telltale Store over the course of the season, as well as custom forum avatars and desktop wallpaper downloads. The pre-order for PlayStation users is expected to begin March 18th on the PlayStation Network.

"With Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse, we’re bringing PlayStation fans five months of exciting episodic content and continuing our commitment to deliver exclusive, innovative gaming experiences to the PlayStation Network," said Rob Dyer, senior vice president of publisher relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "The unhinged humor, unforgettable cast and irreverent undertone of this enduring franchise are aspects we expect will resonate with our audience, and both Telltale and SCEA can’t wait to deliver."