From comic books to the T.V. The Walking Dead is now becoming a very well known franchise for its character based take on the Zombie apocalypse. It was only a matter of time before somebody released a game based upon the expansive lore created by Robert Kirkman.
TellTale Games has a history with people. For some that can be good, others it is bad and with their past release of Jurassic Park--they had a right to be skeptical... However, with the release of Episode 1 several months ago, those skeptics were instantly turned into believers! The Walking Dead Game is above and beyond what anybody had expected it to be. It is beautiful story telling at the tip of its peak!
The game is split into a whole season with 5 episodes. Each one can take you from anywhere to 2 or 4 hours to complete, thus giving the game a total of 12 hours to complete (give or take). How it all turns out for you in the end it entirely up to you!
You are a man named Lee Everett who at the start is in the back seat of a police car headed to prison from Atlanta. As you roll along the road you see ambulances and other police cars fly past you with their sirens blaring in the day. That right there gives YOU the feeling of "oh boy, it's happening!"
From that point on after a crash you come into contact with a little girl named Clementine... I will stop there with the details and tell you that the story in this game has to be one of, if not THE BEST of the entire year! The characters are all believable and very well drawn out and voiced, the way that they look at you and speak to you gives off the true nature of their being. Some of them will appear friendly and likable, others will get on your last nerve and make you wish for their death to come.
Even when it does, you will still feel something for them! Either it would be regret, sadness, joy, or even disgust. The writers have done a very effective job to not make you insensitive to the fates of others and those it effects. The choices that you make and how you treat others will have MASSIVE game changing effects upon further play time. It is highly possible for players to have a completely different group of people just a few chapters in. You are taught very early on that characters pay attention to what you say, and they WILL remember it... However, there are some faults with the system.
On the first chapter a man asks if Clementine is my daughter, I said no as clear as a bell--yet he still asks her if she knows me. And sometimes the logic of characters can be pretty iffy. Some will take matters way to personally when there is another life at risk; that just bugs me a bit when I see that. It was probably a result of a careless error, but it does cause a few laughs that can make you think "seriously?"
If you love great stories with great characters that is tailored by how you play. Then you better NOT pass on this one folks it strikes you in a way that few games had in recent memory. You form bonds and legitimate relationships with these people and you care for them!
As for the grapichs; yes, it is massively cell shaded. It may turn off some people who would rather have a realistic look than something that looks like a drawing. But despite the game looking like a pencil sketch; The Walking Dead is beautiful! Details have been placed into the world and it creates a surprisingly instantly engaging world.
But it does have its problems. Sometimes the scenes can become slightly choppy and animation frame rates can drop shortly. But it is a little quirk in one of Tell Tales most stable games yet. It may not be the most pretty thing in the world--but it does the job right. The more you progress through the game, the more variety you will see. The atmosphere can get so intense that you feel a rush in you.
This is NOT like a game of today. If you have ever played an old point and click back in the 90s--then this game should bring back fond memories! It is an old style of play, but it works fantastically. Something very different finally!!!!
You control the character with the left stick, and the cursor with the mouse or right stick. If you see a little blip in the environment you click it to preform the action. It is the same way when you encounter walkers. EVER SINGLE MOMENT that you fight--it is a suspense filled, heart pounding moment as you fight to survive. You ponder to yourself "will I make it in time," as you drag to cursor to the right spot to bury your
blade in its skull.
It all happens so fast, but it is highly engaging and rewarding when you come out on top. Another thing that is engaging is the dialogue. Like an RPG game, you choose what you say. BUT it is timed-and you may be thinking now "WTF, how can I choose to right one?"
Well, the characters are so well made and the dialogue is so well written that it will pretty much roll off of your tongue when it happens. The sentences are not long to read anyway, so it is not a mad dash to click the right one.
Each chapter throughout the have has new styles of gameplay and puzzles introduced. One time you will pick off walkers in first person mode, another you will come to create a ingenious way to create a ladder. They are not terribly easy or hard. They just require good observation and problem solving skills that are not like the scale of Portal or Limbo.
The Waking Dead is nothing short of spectacular. It is Tell Tales breakout game that earns them a spot in story teller fame. With the coming confirmed Season 2 in the works, I cannot wait to see what comes with it. These guys deserve the awards that they will no doubt win! They even went as far as to deploy this game on a lot of devices. You can get this on the 360, PS3, Steam, and even your iPhone! Yeah that's right, an iPhone!
It faults may be many. In technical terms and some character logic, but this game is totally worth your time and money. With the Disk based gome releasing in a few weeks, it will even make an awesome gift.
FINAL VERDICT: The Walking Dead gets an A-.
For more reviews. Visit here!