Story
Three months after the events of the first episode Lee and crew are running low on food and supplies. There have been a few new additions to the group as well as a location change. During the drought of food, a few other survivors stumble upon the group and offer food and supplies in exchange for fuel. Lee and a small group go to check out if the other survivors are on the up and up only to find out that things are not what they seem.
Hated
While I understand the need for some of the hard decisions in the game, I kind feel like some of them are more or less forced. It would be excusable a bit more if it was a game play limitation, but they always aren't. For instance, and this is a little bit of a spoiler, there is a point where one of the characters gets trapped in a bear trap and there are zombies swarming. The chains are rusty and Lee has a fire ax but your only options are to leave the poor guy or cut his leg off. Why can't I cut the chain or use the ax to pull the connecting chain out of the ground. You're given the same amount of time and still have to carry stumpy. Just seems like there could be extra options that lead to the same outcomes.
Yes the above is a little nit-picky I'll admit, but it does bug that is really the only thing that bugs me about the game. Well that and I want more now and have to wait, but that's how it always seems with great games.
Loved
It would be too easy just to say yes here, but I do have to bring attention to a few specifics. First I have to say the writing for this episode is just as strong as ever. Even though it almost always seems to go to the worst case scenario in this franchise, the stories never seem to amaze as well as the dialog. It completely did the job on the storytelling front that I was compelled to play through a second time to see what I missed due to my choices. If only every story game could have such a strong script behind it.
In episode one I was taken aback by the mix in the game play where you are required to move stealthy in a "point and click" style game. In this episode I felt the exact same experience during a scene with a tractor and bandits. It is a bit of deviation from the game's normal play style but it fits and is just as entertaining. Not to mention that it comes at a point where I can see a lot of people getting bored with walking and clicking. It was perfectly planned in my opinion.
Finally, and this was touched on in Matt's review, the graphics pull of the exact trick they were going for. It truly feels like I am playing the graphic novels/comics just from a sheer visual stand point. It's truly stunning what Telltale has done here.
Overview
If you are one of those people still holding out, I'd say it is high time that you give in and pick up episode one and two, or two if you only purchased the first on already. Hells, you should probably already have a season pass for the game. Yes the episodes will run about an hour and a half to two and a half depending on play style, but unlike most games like this, you can't go wrong for $5 an episode. Do yourself a favor and give it a whirl.
The Walking Dead was developed and published by Telltale Games for the PS3, XBox 360, PC and Mac OS. Episode 2 released on June 27th 2012. A season pass for the game was supplied by the publisher for review purposes.
