The wait for the next Game Of Thrones season to start on HBO has been a long and grueling wait. Lucky for us Telltale has found a way to try and keep us involved in the franchise without having to read the books and spoil what we have yet to see make the adaptation. We finally have the first episode of Game Of Thrones out on our PS3s, PS4s, Xbox 360s, Xbox Ones, PCs; you see where this is all going. It's out on as many consoles as those who died in the first few minutes of the first episode of the TV show. We've had a chance to dig into Iron From Ice and here is our takeaway and if you should be excited to play this episodically, when the whole season launches, or if you should give it a chance at all.
Story
It is a bit difficult to nail down a specific story here in the first episodes as Iron From Ice has you follow three different stories but the overall arc is thus. You are part of house Forrester in the middle of all the madness of Game Of Thrones between the infamous Red Wedding and the marriage of Margaery Tyrell to King Joffrey. All in the slightly altered world of the HBO TV show and not directly from the books. It looks like Gared Forrester, the first playable character, has muddled things up for the entire house and it is the jobs of everyone else to try and fix the issue. The issue being that Ramsay Snow and the whole of house Bolton are coming to also deal with what Gared has done. Then the intrigue and back alley deals begin flying around.
Hated
I'll say it here even though it won't be popular but the story for Game Of Thrones —
Iron From Ice was sloooooooow. Like insanely slow. Slow in the way that after the opening and the required cliffhanger ending that Telltale felt the episode required, the rest of the episode felt like a filler episode where nothing really got done at all. There wasn't even a bit that helped explain any of the character's backgrounds as is usually the case with "filler episodes." It was like we were expected to know who everyone was from the start and then watch as they muddle around completing the most boring of tasks. Even in the show the story seems to flow and not lead to me almost falling asleep begging for some kind of action that never came.
Also, while the characters looked damn close to what they do on Game Of Thrones, with engine limitations, it felt like the environment for the game couldn't make up its mind on what to look like. Sometimes the game looked like it was going to take a more 3D realistic approach then sometimes it looks like placeholder assets for the cell-shaded look where left in and we were all hoped not to notice. With how slow the story and dialog was playing out I completely noticed. I even noticed in the subtitles where alternate branching text was left in that wasn't said allowed but I could understand how it would have been had I made another choice. Maybe Game Of Thrones — Iron From Ice, and maybe the whole season, could have benefited to having more testing time and not trying to keep a release schedule. Especially if rumor is correct and the last episode hits when Game Of Thrones season 5 airs on HBO.
Loved
Even though the overall story was slow in Iron From Ice it did happen to shine when the real action and horrors of the Game Of Thrones universe shine their ugly faces. Even though I know this led to all of the slowness of the episode, the action and hard intrigue of the episode shined just as well as it does when the episodes air on TV. We opened with the Red Wedding for the love of the gods and then ended with a great scene with Ramsay Snow. The bookends captured the other side of the story we most likely will never see on the show proper and literally had my jaw dropping and reacting like all those people seeing the aforementioned wedding for the first time. Google it if you have no idea what I am talking about but that was my reaction a bit near the close of the episode. That was great writing there.
Even though they were all tried and true mechanics that Telltale is known for, the control scheme and QTE events flowed with some ease. Not like they were "push a button and win" easy but more in the regard that Telltale is finally mastering this form of gameplay with Game Of Thrones. This included things that required you to hold one control while moving another to complete a task. Nothing ground breaking but usually this was always done with you pressing a button and then moving. Looks like Telltale is mixing things up a bit and it is a good thing. I was getting tired of the bland stuff we were getting near the end of The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us after all.
It was also a nice treat to see how many of the core cast from the show to lend their voices for Game Of Thrones. Not just in this episode but in the future ones as well. Especially since this is supposed to link between the TV show a bit and the synergy should be present. This was something they missed on with the first season of The Walking Dead and the characters that linked between the two. The choice to have the Game Of Thrones actors voice their characters instead of a sound-a-like made the whole experience here fell a bit more authentic and engaging. It's like getting little Easter eggs that the non-gaming Game Of Thrones fans won't full get when watching the show.
Overall
If you are looking for a fast and fun story like Tales From The Borderlands then don't look to Game Of Thrones just yet. There was more of all that in the first few minutes of the other game than in this one. That said though, if you are fan of the show, or even the books, then you should completely give Game Of Thrones — Iron From Ice a try. I have a feeling that the whole experience would be a hundred times more enjoyable if you could play all six episodes back to back but I am not begging to get any lost time back from Game Of Thrones yet. I just hope I didn't miss any small parts due to nodding off during scenes that were just long drags outs that were not really needed. Also, to date, there is none of the normal HBO goodness that gets thrown in to alleviate those lulls either. Naked body enthusiasts know what I'm talking about.
Game Of Thrones — Iron From Ice — Launch Trailer
Game Of Thrones — Iron From Ice was developed by Telltale Games and HBO. Game Of Thrones — Iron From Ice was published by Telltale Games for the PS3, PS4, PS Vita and PC on December 2nd 2014 with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One versions on December 3rd 2014. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.
