I must apologize for my absence from the review segment, but truth be told, there are little or no titles lately which managed to get my pants all warm and moist. My PS4 hasn’t been powered on in a very long time, and I found myself going through some PS3 games. One of the titles which I recently played was the first episode of the second season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. Being our 2012 Game of the Year I had high expectations of the game, and due to the amazing ending of the previous season, I was hyped up to see the continuation of this Marvel. I have to warn the readers out there, that if you haven’t played through the first Season, you should probably stop reading this review; the narrative of this game series doesn’t permit me to review this game without spoiling crucial parts of the story.
Seeing as how Telltale killed off the lead character in the first Season, I felt weary playing with someone else. Telltale proved me wrong with 400days, which proved it could live up to Season 1’s awesomeness. But with that being said, Season two will put you in the shoes of your companion, Clementine, who is young and frail, which gives the gameplay a different perspective for the user. Being physically weaker is a challenge when you are thrown in a zombie apocalypse, but at least it breaks the monotony of games always being too bro-tastic. The problem with playing as Clementine is, that you bond less with the character, because of the fact that you are more used to taking care of her as your companion and not playing as her. In the first season you have a sense of urgency in protecting Clementine and taking decisions based on how you can safeguard her. This time you play as her, and the game feels like it’s trying to make me care for her in the same way but through a different perspective.
The UI of the game has been adapted from The Wolf Among Us, which feels better and smoother. The visuals have remained the same, but I noticed a lot more frame-rate issues in fast paced sequences. The sound is still great, and the voice acting is still superb. The story started out exciting, and featured some really tense moments which I simply adored. As the episode neared the end though, I couldn’t help but feel like there is a sort of repeatedness in the story as a whole. Granted, it is still too early to make a judgment like that, but the Walking Dead universe is so vast, writers could go a different path rather than throw you in the same circumstances. I felt like there was something missing; the narrative is diverse in its structure from what we are used to in Season 1, even though the execution is quite similar. It might be that it is just the first episode, and the ball will start rolling as of the next installment, but I preferred the direction they took with 400days, when it comes to script.
In my honest opinion, I can’t really properly review a season based on the first episode. This genre is all about the interaction with the character and the story line; and I am positive that throughout the season my feelings about the game will change. I would still suggest fans of the series to immerse themselves in this game and give it a go.
Impression Rating: 8/10
Written By Matthew C
