The Walking Dead (video game) - Telltales

[CoinReturn]

Yep, the same guys behind the recent Back to the Future and Jurassic Park revivals:

http://emoney.allthingsd.com/20110217/telltale-signs-that-videogames-will-be-downloaded-not-sold-at-retail/?mod=ATD_skybox


Today, Telltale Games is announcing an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to develop video games for the comic book series Fables, and an exclusive worldwide agreement to develop and publish a series of videogames based on the AMC cable network’s zombie hit “The Walking Dead.” It’s also working with Universal Pictures on “Back to the Future” and “Jurassic Park” games.

I like what I've seen from BttF so far, and I won't say no to an episodic zombie adventure game.

[blind2d]

Hmm... I hope this, and Dead Island, aren't lost amongst the shuffle of lesser zombie-centric VG fare... I'm honestly more excited about the BttF game...

[Danny]

MEH.

love the comic but lets be honest, its not video game material at all.

level one 2 hours of arguing in a camper van
level two 2 hours of arguing on a farm
level three 10 hours of arguing inn a prison ect, ect.

[blind2d]

No, Hells! It's 'etc', dammit! 'ETC'!! Know why? Because it's 'et cetera' abbreviated! Geez...
I'm sorry... got carried away there... Anyhow, what about the stuff with Glenn? Nobody argues with Glenn!

[Rancid Carcass]

what about the stuff with Glenn? Nobody argues with Glenn!

That'll be the DLC. :D

[Neil]

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/115/1150836p1.html

[bassman]

MEH.


Indeed.

Zombie games are a dime a dozen these days and nearly all of them have been let downs, imo. And another download game with multiple entries? I'll pass.

[AcesandEights]

Add me to the list of skeptics on this one.

Could TWD be a good launching pad for an epic survival horror zombie game...you know...one less hokey than RE? Sure. But while I do see TWD as good inspiration for a setting, I think anything that would place creative constraints on the world builders for a new game would be bad. Then there's the possibility of this just being a quick cash-in and the last thing we need is another phoned in effort in any form of zed media right now.

[Mitchified]

MEH.

love the comic but lets be honest, its not video game material at all.

level one 2 hours of arguing in a camper van
level two 2 hours of arguing on a farm
level three 10 hours of arguing inn a prison ect, ect.

What, you mean you don't buy video games to argue about relationships and act exceedingly emo? If people didn't, Square Enix would be out of business.

[blind2d]

That'll be the DLC. :D

What's 'DLC'?

[bassman]

What's 'DLC'?

CLICK HERE! (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+does+DLC+mean%3F)

:p

[blind2d]

Arigato. Nifty thing, that. Um... so, downloadable content? But... or is that wrong? If not, I'm still confused. Arguing with Glenn will be downloadable? That's just dumb...

[Mitchified]

Arigato. Nifty thing, that. Um... so, downloadable content? But... or is that wrong? If not, I'm still confused. Arguing with Glenn will be downloadable? That's just dumb...

You mean dumb like the concept of creating a video game about a series that's almost completely centered around character development in the first place? What's it going to be, a turn-based RPG so that you get the story but not the exciting moments (Rick casts Lit3 on Zombie!), or a Resident Evil-esque game that can't possibly have the "feel" of the series?

My biggest problem with zombie games from a story perspective will almost certainly be in whatever this game becomes: the protagonist can be bitten about a million times and still be alive and kicking. That's why, for me, zombie games don't work. You take away the ability for a zombie to kill you even if it only is able to inflict a minor wound and you have dumber and slower versions of better video game antagonists. At least something like Left 4 Dead explained that they weren't really zombies and that the main characters somehow had an immunity to the virus.

[blind2d]

Mitch, Mitch, Mitch... you don't get it, do you? Zombie games aren't supposed to be realistic! If they were, would they have zombies in them? Yes, but they wouldn't be nearly as interesting to the ADHD youth of the future! They want action, violence, mindless button-mashing and co-op modes! Atmosphere? The fuck is that? We don't need no stinking atmosphere or emotion, we gots a chainsaw!!! Noisy guns, and shit! WHOOO!!

[Mitchified]

Mitch, Mitch, Mitch... you don't get it, do you? Zombie games aren't supposed to be realistic! If they were, would they have zombies in them? Yes, but they wouldn't be nearly as interesting to the ADHD youth of the future! They want action, violence, mindless button-mashing and co-op modes! Atmosphere? The fuck is that? We don't need no stinking atmosphere or emotion, we gots a chainsaw!!! Noisy guns, and shit! WHOOO!!

I think you just described Bulletstorm.

You're right, of course. Something more realistic wouldn't fit in with what's been coming out recently. For every thought-provoking game like BioShock, you get a lot of crap like Dynasty Warriors that are just mindless button-mashing experiences. What I would love to see is someone give a zombie game the same kind of treatment as, say, Silent Hill: Homecoming. Make it an actual horror game as opposed to a first person shooter or Resident Evil 5 (which when compared to something like Mass Effect 2, it just seems silly). Guns aren't just lying all over the place in the real world (excluding Arkansas), and ammunition for them would be extremely scarce. Actually use that as part of the game mechanic.

[blind2d]

That's too complicated and difficult for game designers... sigh... I wish we could go back to the days when people were happy with Megaman and Banjo-Kazooie, things like that... Fun, but not too complex or fast-moving... well, a little fast, but yeah...

[Danny]

Official telegram from daniel smith

hello -- stop

fuck banjo kazooie -- stop

that is all -- stop

[White_Zombie]

I'm a little bit skeptical on this one, i wonder how they'd pull it off. At the moment TWD is a cash cow based on the success of the TV series. The company could just put out a shitty game figuring it would sell well based on the fame and line they're pockets. I remain neutral, and I'd buy the game regardless because I'm into zeds. I'm just hoping they don't run TWD into the ground for a quick cash in.

[darth los]

Official telegram from daniel smith

hello -- stop

fuck banjo kazooie -- stop

that is all -- stop

What did BK do to you !?!

It's just a retro 3 D platformer in the old mario 64 style. No good?

:cool:

[Danny]

and I'd buy the game regardless because I'm into zeds.

That kinda thinkings why twilight got big. just saying.

[bassman]

That kinda thinkings why twilight got big. just saying.

How so? Twilight got big because of the teenage/female audience it was directed at. Not because it was vampires or werewolves....

[Danny]

How so? Twilight got big because of the teenage/female audience it was directed at. Not because it was vampires or werewolves....

replace original comments 'zombies' with 'vampire romance?!?' and youve got every damn person who jerks off to interview with a vampire having there interest piqued.

[bassman]

Okay....didn't understand the "romance" part...

[mista_mo]

"oh...Bella..I..I think you are the guiding light in my dark, twisted soul..." *looks into conveniently placed mirror, does sexy pouty face*

"OHHHHH FUCK ME! FUCK ME SILLY! GIVE ME YOUR PALE VAMPIRE GENITALIA! OHHH WHOOWOWOWOWOWOWOW ARRRRRHHHH WOOO".

[Danny]

Okay....didn't understand the "romance" part...

...nevermind, you dont get it.

[Rancid Carcass]

"OHHHHH FUCK ME! FUCK ME SILLY! GIVE ME YOUR PALE VAMPIRE GENITALIA! OHHH WHOOWOWOWOWOWOWOW ARRRRRHHHH WOOO".

Or you could replace the words 'pale vampire' with 'rotting zombie'... :elol: :barf:

[bassman]

...nevermind, you dont get it.

Ya got me. How do you do it?

[blind2d]

I'd f*ck Kazooie... not into dudes, sorry... But yeah, I like her spunk.
And f*ck you for leaving out the goddamn hyphen!

[Gryphon]

Or you could replace the words 'pale vampire' with 'rotting zombie'... :elol: :barf:

I doubt that would sell many video games...:confused:
I would hope! :elol:

[glazedoverdead]

"To the earlier posts about whether or not a TWD game would suck..."

That's true... the kids do love the blood, guts, and action, but I must say that I like both types of zombie killing action in games. I love Left 4 Dead and I sure as hell enjoyed the creepy fun of games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. (not that S.H. is a zombie game) and I think if they could take a little from each of those games and create sort of a combo of action and the drama it would be great. All those scenes of character development could be movie breaks in between the action of play and then you could go from one action scene to the next. I mean hell, take the scene where Rick goes into town and gets trapped in the tank etc, could be one hell of an action packed level of fun right? Break all of those crazy scenarios down into different levels of play mixed with some kick ass graphics and screenplay from the show and we could have one hell of a game on our hands...

[MikePizzoff]

"To the earlier posts about whether or not a TWD game would suck..."

That's true... the kids do love the blood, guts, and action, but I must say that I like both types of zombie killing action in games. I love Left 4 Dead and I sure as hell enjoyed the creepy fun of games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. (not that S.H. is a zombie game) and I think if they could take a little from each of those games and create sort of a combo of action and the drama it would be great. All those scenes of character development could be movie breaks in between the action of play and then you could go from one action scene to the next. I mean hell, take the scene where Rick goes into town and gets trapped in the tank etc, could be one hell of an action packed level of fun right? Break all of those crazy scenarios down into different levels of play mixed with some kick ass graphics and screenplay from the show and we could have one hell of a game on our hands...

Sorry to say, but you're not going to get that. Telltale Games make pretty shitty games. They're sub-par XBOX Live Arcade releases. It'll probably be a crummy point-and-click type game.

Just my opinion, anyway.

[Neil]

Not sure how much new information this brings to the table - http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=33719

[kidgloves]

More details here

http://www.telltalegames.com/walkingdead/page1

[Danny]

getting flashbacks to LOST: via domus.....

[Neil]

More details here

http://www.telltalegames.com/walkingdead/page1

No game footage? :(

[Rancid Carcass]

No game footage? :(

Some screens at IGN:

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1218728p1.html

[acealive1]

rockstar and team bondi would do a great walking dead and bttf game seeing as well LA noire turned out

[Neil]

Some screens at IGN:

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1218728p1.html
Can't work out what the style of gameplay is?

[Danny]

Can't work out what the style of gameplay is?

it's telltale, dont they exclusively do point and click adventure games?

[Neil]

it's telltale, dont they exclusively do point and click adventure games?

*groan*

[Rancid Carcass]

Teaser trailer, doesn't give away much, nicely done though:

http://uk.ign.com/videos/2012/03/15/the-walking-dead-the-game-teaser-trailer

[ProfessorChaos]

zilch on the gameplay footage, but nailed it on the mood/atmosphere/tension-building.

holding judgement till more is revealed.

[Danny]

*groan*

welp, Neils jimmies will be rustled. been playing the telltale jurassic park game and its the barest hint of point and click in a SEA OF F*CKING BADLY MADE QUICKTIME EVENTS. This game better have atmosphere but the wazoo or its gonna blow. hard.

[acealive1]

get rockstar to make this game

[Neil]

q5dx_Y7Ry-Q

[Rancid Carcass]

15 minute interview interview with Kirkman plus gameplay footage (starts at 7min). Looks like a pretty decent adventure:

http://uk.ign.com/videos/2012/03/22/playing-dead-episode-3-walking-dead-the-game

[Neil]

The graphics look interesting, but not so sure if the gameplay will be?

[Danny]

The graphics look interesting, but not so sure if the gameplay will be?

how it works in their jurassic park one: you watch a video of them being chased and every so often are prompted to hit up down left or right and if you miss then you go from gold to silver, then bronze 3 times then fail the 'scene'.

[angelSarah]

I love the tv series so much and I'm looking forward to the video game! I've found these two videos:

hWh4XLPOr_k
MsUWjQ0jQPM

Looks great! :D

[AcesandEights]

^^

Welcome and thanks for sharing the links!

I agree the footage looks good, but I don't know that the gameplay will be my cup of tea.

[kidgloves]

13 mins of gameplay


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLX79XLi408&feature=related

[Danny]

Well that looks better than i was expecting, certainly more interactive than the jurassic park one they made. and im digging the cel shaded look that imitates the comics. if its leaning more to the comics than the show im probably gonna pick this up for the mac.

[AcesandEights]

Some of that looks pretty damn cool, especially the cell shading (correct term?) that makes everything look like comic art, to a degree.

I'm just not sold on the game play.

[Neil]

But it looks like a game totally on rails? It's basically an animated comic book where you press buttons when it tells you? Hmm... Where's the "game" in that?

[kidgloves]

The atmosphere is spot on though. Will definately pick this up. 400 ms points for the 360

[Neil]

The atmosphere is spot on though. Will definately pick this up. 400 ms points for the 360

I sort of agree, but if all you have to do it click a button when it tells you, is there really much risk? So is there really any skill or tension?

[babomb]

I prefer the cinematic types of games rather than the "kill everything in the room and run" types. I know it's nothing like it, but Resident Evil 2 was the best game ever made IMO. Next best was RE4. RE5 was good but didn't have the same qualities.

[Danny]

But it looks like a game totally on rails? It's basically an animated comic book where you press buttons when it tells you? Hmm... Where's the "game" in that?

we call those adventure games, been around for about 30 years :p

[kidgloves]

I sort of agree, but if all you have to do it click a button when it tells you, is there really much risk? So is there really any skill or tension?

They've been making a big thing about the replayability of it. Multiple consequences depending on your actions. It looks more a puzzle game to me than anything ie you have to solve the "problem" of one scene before moving onto the next. I think the button mashing is just to give you some sort of action.
It looks like a game screaming for a big screen and decent sound system for full immersion.
I was quite surprised to see one of the writers wrote The Book of Eli.

[Danny]

They've been making a big thing about the replayability of it. Multiple consequences depending on your actions. It looks more a puzzle game to me than anything ie you have to solve the "problem" of one scene before moving onto the next. I think the button mashing is just to give you some sort of action.
It looks like a game screaming for a big screen and decent sound system for full immersion.
I was quite surprised to see one of the writers wrote The Book of Eli.

one good thing about the jurassic park one was that you didnt just fail or win, you could falter or fumble at something and it branched to a different event based on what you did.

[Neil]

we call those adventure games, been around for about 30 years :p

LOL! But in adventure games you typically can go in different directions and do things in different ways!?

This looks like a single path, with just clicks to move on!?


Or am I misunderstanding something and infact you can take different options and go in different directions!?

-- -------- Post added at 09:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 AM ----------


one good thing about the jurassic park one was that you didnt just fail or win, you could falter or fumble at something and it branched to a different event based on what you did.
OK! So my interpretation of it being a concrete single thread of story/tasks is wrong!?

[kidgloves]

There's an excellent disussion about this game from a writers and gamers perspective on Giant Bombcast. Im very hopeful for this.

http://www.giantbomb.com/podcast-xml/

So many Brits seem involved as well :cool:

[kidgloves]

This is out on the PS3 tomorrow. Should also be on the 360 as well but I haven't seen anything official yet.

[Rancid Carcass]

The review is out on IGN - and it's a good one!

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/122/1223558p1.html

:cool:

[Neil]

Well, I never! Be interesting to see another review!

[kidgloves]

Another good review

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/24/the-walking-dead-episode-1-review/

and another

http://www.shacknews.com/article/73393/the-walking-dead-game-review

and another

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/4/24/2970001/the-walking-dead-episode-one-review

[Neil]

Didn't realise the game is being delivered in five episodes, one a month! So it be 4-5 months until you get all of them!

[SymphonicX]

Didn't realise the game is being delivered in five episodes, one a month! So it be 4-5 months until you get all of them!

Yeah I'll probably hold off until they're all out and available. The idea is nice on paper but as a consumer I'm really put off by "episodic" releases. I like to buy a game and cane it all the way to the end, with it being my choice when to give up playing. This idealogy is a bit fragmented for my liking - so I won't be bothering until it's all out and there are some good recommendations here from people who've played it.

[Tricky]

So is this a game in the true sense or just an interactive movie where you have to push a button every now and again or choose certain lines of dialogue? :confused:

[bassman]

I wasn't too interested in this game, but now that I hear it's less of a run-and-gun zombie game of recent years and more of an experience....I may just have to check it out. When all episodes are available, that is.

[Neil]

Yeah I'll probably hold off until they're all out and available. The idea is nice on paper but as a consumer I'm really put off by "episodic" releases. I like to buy a game and cane it all the way to the end, with it being my choice when to give up playing. This idealogy is a bit fragmented for my liking - so I won't be bothering until it's all out and there are some good recommendations here from people who've played it.

Yes:-
- I'd buy it in a couple of months when most of the episodes are out. a) So there's plenty to play from the outset, b) More than than ONE episode has been reviewed - What's to say the latter one's don't stink!
- A review from a couple of folks here would be good!

[Danny]

Yes:-
- I'd buy it in a couple of months when most of the episodes are out. a) So there's plenty to play from the outset, b) More than than ONE episode has been reviewed - What's to say the latter one's don't stink!
- A review from a couple of folks here would be good!

-and whats to say later episodes wont be cancelled, it wouldnt be the first time. point and click adventure games aint exactly a hot commodity with the meat head gamerbros.

[Andy]

To be honest my interest in this bottomed out as soon as i found out telltale games where behind it and nothing ive seen has revived it.

Dont think ill bother with this one.

[Trancelikestate]

Back to the future was a massive disappointment. So much could have been done but instead, no. I paid for that game. I did not pay for Jurassic park and was still disappointed. At least the JP models looked realistic. These walking dead models are far too cartoony. Picture Zelda with zombies. Whoever chose tell tale for a zombie game, especially this one was high as hell. Wouldn't hurt to focus on the familiar characters either instead of creating new ones. Tell tale is notorious for this. Not even so much as a cameo from any of the original JP characters and I'm sure they would've created new characters for BTTF if it would have been an option at ALL.

Tell tale games don't feel like video games at all. They're more like those comic books Tom Hanks wanted to invent in "Big". Choose your actions/dialogue. Might sound good but for real gamers it sucks. It doesn't have to be a mindless shoot em up but it should have guns.

[Neil]

To be honest my interest in this bottomed out as soon as i found out telltale games where behind it and nothing ive seen has revived it.

Dont think ill bother with this one.
Have you read the reviews?

[Danny]

Have you read the reviews?

Neil in this day and age reviews are as good as worthless.

We live in an age of 8-10 excellence and 1-7 garbage. Paid reviews are rampant because if you dont agree then advertising is pulled from your site and "truefan/faggithatas" are the only two audiences in a a modern critical mindset where there is perfect and dogshit and nothing in between.

Wait till people have played it, then listen to them.

Its the 'rule of amazon': 3 star reviews are always the most accurate, 1 and 5 star ones are nothing but bias and outright lies.

[kidgloves]

Played through this for the 1st time last night on the 360 and this is what I think about it.

From a gameplay perspective, its total garbage. If youre looking for a game experience from this then don't bother and don't start crying if you bought this expecting a good game. Its total crap as a game.

But. And its a big but.

As a Walking Dead experience, its superb. I can totally see why Kirkman chose Telltale. They have got the atmosphere and characters during a ZA spot on. The main protagonist Lee is very interesting and goes through some serious shit. By the end of the 1st episode I knew all the remaining characters and I am thoroughly looking forward to the next episode.
The easiest way to describe the "game" is as an interactive colour motion comic set in TWD universe. It has glitches. Its on the rails. Some of the character reactions are bizarre. The "puzzles" and story can be confusing if you don't go the programmed route of solving them.
The voice acting and most of the animations are excellent and the story has some tense moments and tough decisions to make. I'm going to have a 2nd runthrough in a bit and make different choices because I made the choices I would make in a ZA. Tonight I'm going to be a prick and see what happens.
In short.
If you approach this with a gamers mentality and snobery you will hate it and Kirkman thanks you for your cash.
If you approach this as an episode of your favourite comic/tv show which you get to interact with, then you will love it.

To put it into perspective, it costs less than a pint would set you back in our capital.

[Trancelikestate]

Pretty much what I said/expected. If you guys want a better idea, heres 13 minutes of gameplay.

iLX79XLi408

[Neil]

The easiest way to describe the "game" is as an interactive colour motion comic set in TWD universe.

Doesn't sound so bad if you go in knowing this?!

[krisvds]

Have to agree with kidgloves.
This is not a 'game', not even a throwback to the classic Sierra/Lucasarts era of pointy click adventure games with which it does share some similarities.

You walk around an environment searching for objects to either put in your inventory or just 'look at ...' If you encounter NPC's you can choose what to say through elaborate dialogue trees and so on.
But that's where the similarities end because the game does not (so far?) feature any puzzles whatsoever. You just have to pick up stuff in the order the game wants you to and then, when presented with a 'puzzle' will automatically give you the correct action. There's no 'I'm stuck on a puzzle and am going to use every thing in my inventory on enverything in the environment' moments here.

And I enjoyed it tremendously as an interactive comic book. The 'gameplay' consists of making ethical choices and does this very well. It just begs to be replayed just to see how different choices shake things up. And some of the decisions you make are quite hard and will have a profound effect on how the story will play out. Even the 'next time on the TWD' preview that wraps up the episode differs depending on what choices you made. Nice touch.

Because of their going with the interactive comic book route this is easily the best zombie apocalypse rendition in a videogame that I have ever 'played.' The writing is very good as is the voice acting.
It still could be a whole lot better though: I wish they gave you the option to play it in black and white as it would suit the overall oppressive atmosphere better. The colours they use are just too sunday morning cartooney. It being 'on rails' does not help either. Sure, you change how people will react to you and at times who gets to live or die but the game is still leading you from point A to B. I just wish they made it a bit more complex.

Apart from that, I'd recommend it to every one who enjoys TWD and doesn't mind 'playing' anything other than a classic videogame.

[kidgloves]

Doesn't sound so bad if you go in knowing this?!

It definately does help. Its pretty much what I was expecting and its a bonus that its actually quite a good experience. A good AV setup definately helps.

[Neil]

It definately does help. Its pretty much what I was expecting and its a bonus that its actually quite a good experience. A good AV setup definately helps.

How much gameplay time to go thru the first episode roughly?

[krisvds]

It took me 2 hours and 30 minutes.

[Neil]

It took me 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Eeek! Guess as long as the other chapters are as long, that's OK... But to have to wait a month before any more is a bit of a pain! I think I'll wait a few months so I can play 3-4 at once!

[kidgloves]

Quick update from my 2nd runthrough last night.
It doesn't matter what choice you make it doesn't change the storyline at all. I tried to make every character suspicious of my behaviour but the same characters appeared at the same time in the same scenes. Oh well. No problem. I got my moneys worth and really enjoyed it for what it was. Looking forward to the 2nd episode.

[Neil]

Quick update from my 2nd runthrough last night.
It doesn't matter what choice you make it doesn't change the storyline at all. I tried to make every character suspicious of my behaviour but the same characters appeared at the same time in the same scenes. Oh well. No problem. I got my moneys worth and really enjoyed it for what it was. Looking forward to the 2nd episode.

That sounds absolutely crud then surely!? What's the point of the options?!

[Trancelikestate]

It's the same way in BTTF or JP. It's basically a semi interactive walking dead cartoon.

[kidgloves]

That sounds absolutely crud then surely!? What's the point of the options?!

You do get different lines of dialogue and animations from the characters but you always end up at the same point.

[Danny]

That sounds absolutely crud then surely!? What's the point of the options?!

i dont quite understand this. what did you expect? and how is this different from 90% of videogames?

i mean i should make some mass effect 3 joke here but i'm really not sure what you were expecting from this game.

[Tricky]

If only they'd created a world the size of Skyrim (obviously modern day America rather than a mountainous fantasy world) and based the game in there with the same kind of character interaction that the game presents you with. Walkers roaming the countryside and herds of them trying to get into the strongholds. A man can dream...

[MinionZombie]

If only they'd created a world the size of Skyrim (obviously modern day America rather than a mountainous fantasy world) and based the game in there with the same kind of character interaction that the game presents you with. Walkers roaming the countryside and herds of them trying to get into the strongholds. A man can dream...

As some of us has talked about from time-to-time, kind of like Fallout 3 but with zombies, and where zombies aren't necessarily the primary threat. I could go on about the ideas we discussed elsewhere again, but well...

As for TWD The Game Episode 1 - I really enjoyed it. I connected with the main characters and actually cared. It's nicely put together, despite the odd glitch or rough edge. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it initially (had zero interest in Jurassic Park, and not much in BTTF - the latter I was hoping for something akin to the Ghostbuters Videogame from 2009), but I really dug it. Kind of like a cross between an interactive comic book/point & click adventure.

Gonna re-do the episode being a dick (it's usually a case of good/indifferent/bad dialogue choices) - however naturally they need events to proceed to the same locations, otherwise you'd be requiring a lot more work to make entirely disparate options (which would suit an open world game, see above, but not this kind of game), so it's understandable ... however, I'm hoping that such choices will make more and more of a difference in future episodes (which they seem to suggest, when every now and then you get an info blip saying something like "Clementine will remember you looked after her" or "Carley will remember you trusted her" etc).

Nice to see the odd little tie-in with the wider TWD universe - e.g. our favourite pizza delivery boy.

I did get lost at one point simply because I didn't notice a pillow on the ground right in front of me, but that was more my problem than the game's really. Also, totally dug the music in the back room of the store - a nice emotional anchor.

So yeah - I dug it. Looking forward to the coming episodes. :)

[Danny]

for everyone doing 'be a dick plauthroughs', i didnt see a choice of save slots at all so you may only have one playthrough that auto loads your choices in episode 2. be careful with that.

I just beat the first episode myself, took 2 and a half hours and got it for £20 on steam for mac so ill get the others auto downloaded and im glad it wasnt wasted. it was tense, a little bit emotional at times which i find rare in a game and the plot was fast paced enough to keep me wanting more and not the same typical zombie hack and slash affair. like the comics the big thing about the walking dead is the people, the zombies are just the natural disaster that causes danger and forces them together.

I dug Lee, seemed a bit plain but no more than rick is, a few characters i liked, the old dude at the end i fucking HATED but thats what they wanted so great success on that part. plus clementine was that rare none whiny irritation of an escort character.

on the whole it was easy but not too easy. you could still fail- though i only did in the first QTE, but you dont get stuck trying mental item combos and groaning as you sit through another repeat animation so it wasnt too bad for a lite adventure game.

the graphics i dug, i love cel shading and dont think its ever used nearly enough and it seemed to bridge the comics to 3d whilst having something reminiscent of turn of the century pc games i couldn't put my finger on, but in a good way. the zombies i should mention stood out, there was only two instances of repeated models, a LOT of unique zombies even if they were in a single shot. i dug that attention to detail a lot.

It leaves you wanting more whilst not feeling ripped off. its somewhere between a traditional adventure game, an interactive comic book and one of those rare super detailed flash games on newgrounds. that doesnt mean its cheap bare in mind, just how it plays and feels.
On the whole if you dug the comics you will certainly dig this and be left wanting more. Id you want gore and shooting go back to your call of duty zombie mode this aint for you. this is the thinking mans zombie game. its slow paced in terms of second by second pacing. you are supposed to be thoughtful and always sure of your direction at all times. theres nothing loud, frenetic or in your face about this game. again a lot like the comic and its another reason why i dig it- but i know it wont be for everyone.

NOW, SPOILERS FOR ENDING STATS!
i was one of 43% that told the truth on hershels farm. i saved kennys son, i told carly the truth and gave the girl at the inn the gun. i forget most of the other choices but i was amused that i was one of the 16% that saved doug over carly. no doubt a woman in a mini skirt appeals more than a neckbeard. but i weighed the options and i doubt she was a better shot than the woman with military training and probably not the only 'crack shot' i will meet. but allready dougs technical knowhow came in handy enough to save the day and he saved her to begin with proving hes more of a hero whereas she wanted to fuck off and leave the girl at the hotel to die at the start of that section. so clearly he should be more useful. at least that was my thinking at the time. i assume a lot of dudes thought carly would be a romance interest but i think i just lost one of two people who know i should be in jail and was two dumb to put batteries in a radio :lol:

[krisvds]

for everyone doing 'be a dick plauthroughs', i didnt see a choice of save slots at all so you may only have one playthrough that auto loads your choices in episode 2. be careful with that.

The game gives you three save slots on PS3.

... and you have a point about the batteries thing :)
.... I was 'one of the dudes' though in my first playthrough, mainly because she seems t(h)rustworthy not giving your background away. ;)
I was surprised that , at the time a slight minority chose to give motel girl the gun.

[MinionZombie]

Yeah I've seen three save slots on the PC edition too - clearly so people can play it three times, each doing 'all ones', 'all twos' and 'all threes', if you will.

Seems the choices here might not have a huge impact - yet - but I'd imagine they'll come into play much more in later chapters.

[Neil]

Just need to hope the other episodes are good I guess!?

[syclonix]

..it's on sale on amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WWW2C8/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=laurcrowfurn-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007WWW2C8) for $22.49 in case anyone missed the steam introductory price.

[SymphonicX]

I know I said I wouldn't bother but I got it for free the other day - so of course I gave it a spin...

it's not bad eh? Great story telling (best in a game since The Witcher 2?) - but as expected the actual things you can do as a player is severely limited. The "danger" is also very limited and there aren't really that many opportunities to mess it up. I think I died about 2 times during the whole thing.

Puzzle wise it's also not very challenging - find the item, use the item in it's most logical place, thats about it really. Everything's easy to find, and all the objectives are too easy to reach.

In terms of it's atmosphere though, it's top-notch. 10/10 for that - but everything else is so limited, and so limiting as a result, that it's not so much a game as a point and click adventure or one of those RP books "if you take the left fork in the road, turn to page 57" etc etc.

The "choices" were fun, but again limited. I didn't feel the need to play through again and do it the alternate way - I guess there are four variations possible of this particular episode - I'm sticking with my choices as they were made in the heat of the moment and that's the strength of the game.

As I say though, storytelling and acting is particularly strong, but the rest is just fodder to progress that in itself. The game feels tacked on, as though you're watching a fully fledged animation that's interrupted by user interface. Still a good idea and I'll probably buy the other eps just to see how it pans out for the characters in my story...

[Neil]

^^ Got to worry what the next 'chapters' will be like quality wise!? Due another one soon aren't we?

[rongravy]

Yeah, I haven't played the first episode, but my kid has. I watched it on youtube though, and it's way cool except I have to hear theradbrad's commentary over it. I'd like to see someone cut it all together into an enjoyable pre-TWD cartoon because what I saw was pretty dang sweeet. Also nice and bloody...
I do admit replayability doesn't look very good, but then again I still play Mike Tyson's Punch Out and there's not much to that either.
When is the new episode out? I heard the guy, radbrad or whatever, say it was at the end of this month. And that's pretty darn soon, and near over. I did like what I saw. Too bad you have to wait a month between episodes.

[SymphonicX]

rumour mill has it around june for the next ep...

[Neil]

rumour mill has it around june for the next ep...

Thought the deal was one a month!?

[Rancid Carcass]

Thought the deal was one a month!?

Yeah, but they didn't say which ones! :p

[SymphonicX]

Yeah, but they didn't say which ones! :p

yep and we've already skipped May so June has to see ep2....

Unless of course they're being total fucktards and haven't finished the next eps in time thusly are subject to all sorts of delays....wouldn't surprise me!

Still looking forward to ep2 though, I have bought into the story element, it takes my hands off my controller and gives me food for thought whcih is nice.

Picked up Skyrim again the other day, after a three month hiatus due to work - that's fulfilling my action requirements right now

[kidgloves]

Episode 2 is out tomorrow for the 360. Whoopee:D


edit
Looks like Friday not tomorrow for the PS3 and PC

[Danny]

Awesome, i've actually been surprised how many of my freinds and not just me have been moaning about the delay on this one. :lol:

[rongravy]

About effing time.

[Neil]

Episode 2 is out tomorrow for the 360. Whoopee:D


edit
Looks like Friday not tomorrow for the PS3 and PC

Now, it'll be interesting to see what people think of it!

[MinionZombie]

About ruddy time! I'll be interested to see how/if your actions start affecting the plot in a larger way. I really enjoyed episode one, so naturally I wanna get in on this.

[SymphonicX]

well that took nigh on what...three months?

F*ck that. Of course I'll get the other eps just to see how they pan out but I won't be holding my breath to get each next episode.

Episodic games don't work it seems - Alan Wake was a bit of an abortion too, if I remember correctly? Not sure this is the way the industry should go...It's devaluing good games.

[LouCipherr]

About effing time.

DITTO!


Episodic games don't work it seems - Alan Wake was a bit of an abortion too, if I remember correctly?

I don't know about that. Alan Wake was a great game (aside from some minor technical glitches) and I've even revisited it quite a few times since my original run-through. Not sure what everyone else thought about it (although if I remember correctly, MZ liked it despite a few issues he had with it), but I really dug AW and even AW's American Nightmare. :D

[MinionZombie]

Blimey, it's been three months since episode one? Didn't know it had been that long! :stunned:

As for "episodic gaming" sucking, look no further than the fact - five years on - we're still waiting for Half-Life 2: Episode 3!

Alan Wake, though, is not an episodic game at all. It's a complete game - you buy the disc, you get the whole game. They released two DLCs, and they then did American Nightmare as an XBLA spin-off, but in no way is it "episodic". They do have the 'TV show DVD boxset' idea going whereby you have six 'episodes' (or chapters, or levels, or whatever you fancy), but yeah - not a case of "episodic gaming".

My opinion of Alan Wake? I loved it (as did Danny). There are a few issues with it, sure, but I absolutely adored it. I've been trading in a bunch of games recently - even some excellent titles (such as Red Dead Redemption), but I won't be trading in Alan Wake (I have the Collector's Edition) as I dig it so much. I've not played American Nightmare yet - I'm not sure if my new Windows 7 PC could really handle it (it was never intended to be a game playing rig) ... ideally they'd release it on-disc for the 360 (like what happened with RDR: Undead Nightmare). I'd certainly like to play it!

[LouCipherr]

Alan Wake, though, is not an episodic game at all. It's a complete game - you buy the disc, you get the whole game. They released two DLCs, and they then did American Nightmare as an XBLA spin-off, but in no way is it "episodic". They do have the 'TV show DVD boxset' idea going whereby you have six 'episodes' (or chapters, or levels, or whatever you fancy), but yeah - not a case of "episodic gaming".

Ah, yes, you have a point there. Not really "episodic" in the true sense of the word even though the DLC's sorta continue the game. It's not like it was put out like "The Green Mile" serial novel was when Stephen King originally released it (one book per month, each was about 100 pages and continued the story).

Still a kick-ass game, though.

And MZ - wtf!? You're trading in RDR? Are you nuts?! :lol:

[MinionZombie]

Ah, yes, you have a point there. Not really "episodic" in the true sense of the word even though the DLC's sorta continue the game. It's not like it was put out like "The Green Mile" serial novel was when Stephen King originally released it (one book per month, each was about 100 pages and continued the story).

Still a kick-ass game, though.

And MZ - wtf!? You're trading in RDR? Are you nuts?! :lol:

I'd had a damn good many hours out of RDR and played it through twice, and I figured I probably wasn't going to play it a third time - even though it is indeed an excellent game - plus I got almost a tenner for it. I still have RDR: Undead Nightmare, but I want to trade too (but the prices going around at the moment aren't much cop, so I'm holding onto it in case the prices rise again). Similarly, I'd had more than 200 hours out of GTA IV (seriously), and I figured I'd covered that pretty well with two play throughs and endless hours of titting about - and I got eleven quid for that - a five year old game - which was pretty darn rad.

Better that someone else gets some joy out of the games I've traded in, rather than them just sitting on the shelf not getting played, and me not getting any added cash to buy a bunch of stuff I've been after for ages (such as getting caught up on TWD trade paperback volumes).

[Neil]

So, anyone tried this long over due second episode yet?

[LouCipherr]

Better that someone else gets some joy out of the games I've traded in, rather than them just sitting on the shelf not getting played, and me not getting any added cash to buy a bunch of stuff I've been after for ages (such as getting caught up on TWD trade paperback volumes).

Such a generous man. :D I can understand what you're saying though. I tend to end up keeping everything I buy for my gaming systems, even though lord knows I probably won't ever play any of those older games again. At least not for another 10-15 years, at which point I'll probably pull out the ol' system and give a few games a whirl for nostalgia. I do that with my Atari 2600 and my Sega Genesis every so often. ;)


So, anyone tried this long over due second episode yet?

Not yet, I'm waiting for the PC version, which I believe comes out tomorrow. C'mon, FRIDAY! You're taking too long to get here! :lol:

[kidgloves]

So, anyone tried this long over due second episode yet?

Its excellent. Got 2 saves from episode 1 running at the same time and there is quite a bit of variation to the scenes and interactions. Basic storyline is still the same.

[slickwilly13]

So, anyone tried this long over due second episode yet?

Beat it last night. Anyone have questions?

[SymphonicX]

Blimey, it's been three months since episode one? Didn't know it had been that long! :stunned:

As for "episodic gaming" sucking, look no further than the fact - five years on - we're still waiting for Half-Life 2: Episode 3!

Alan Wake, though, is not an episodic game at all. It's a complete game - you buy the disc, you get the whole game. They released two DLCs, and they then did American Nightmare as an XBLA spin-off, but in no way is it "episodic". They do have the 'TV show DVD boxset' idea going whereby you have six 'episodes' (or chapters, or levels, or whatever you fancy), but yeah - not a case of "episodic gaming".

My opinion of Alan Wake? I loved it (as did Danny). There are a few issues with it, sure, but I absolutely adored it. I've been trading in a bunch of games recently - even some excellent titles (such as Red Dead Redemption), but I won't be trading in Alan Wake (I have the Collector's Edition) as I dig it so much. I've not played American Nightmare yet - I'm not sure if my new Windows 7 PC could really handle it (it was never intended to be a game playing rig) ... ideally they'd release it on-disc for the 360 (like what happened with RDR: Undead Nightmare). I'd certainly like to play it!

Interesting - I only said that because I thought I read on here that it was an episodic game - and that there were problems with the DLC not being released in a timely fashion - seems i mis-remembered, so apologies...

I've never played AW so can't comment on it as an actual game, but it seems AW is not the idealogy to compare TWD to...

Time will tell on TWD - review ep2 you lot!!! damnit!! :)

[MinionZombie]

Such a generous man. :D I can understand what you're saying though. I tend to end up keeping everything I buy for my gaming systems, even though lord knows I probably won't ever play any of those older games again. At least not for another 10-15 years, at which point I'll probably pull out the ol' system and give a few games a whirl for nostalgia. I do that with my Atari 2600 and my Sega Genesis every so often. ;)

Or Sega Mega Drive as it was known over here - I have a Mega Drive II, which I got for Xmas 1993, and I still have it to this day with all the games I built up over a few years of playing it heavily. I haven't plugged it in in a long old while, but a couple of years ago I did and had a bit of an old school tour around some of the classics. Ahhh, memories ... I certainly won't be getting rid of it anytime soon, if ever.

I know what you mean though - I'm a bit of a hoarder too - I have some films on DVD for example, that are utter shite, but I'm highly unlikely to trade them in or anything. I've been forcing myself to not be so 'hoarder-ish' of late - putting out old paperbacks and hardbacks that I won't read again to charity shops (they do a roaring trade in selling used books, especially in our town, which must have a dozen charity shops dotted around less than a square mile of town, lol. Then I discovered a good way to trade in my 360 games that I wasn't using anymore, and I've racked up a good amount of cash from them too - I think I've traded in like 25 of them now.

I've still got a big collection of PC games, mind. Can't find a good place to trade those in ... fuck Music Magpie, before anyone suggests it though ... that company looks shady to me (they don't send your stuff back if it's "not accepted" from what I read on their site, and they charge you for postage IIRC).

Where were we? Oh yeah - TWD episode 2 - aye, I need to play it for the PC too.

Glad to hear there's a good range of divergence coming up - I too have two saved games (one where I do my very best, and natural instincts to be a good guy, and one where I go against my instincts and act like a total twat, and save all the opposite people).

[LouCipherr]

I too have two saved games (one where I do my very best, and natural instincts to be a good guy, and one where I go against my instincts and act like a total twat, and save all the opposite people).

I think all of us ended up doing that, didn't we? :D The first play-through, I played exactly how I would've if I were in the situation. The second time through, however, I played the complete asshole route, and to be honest? It was a hell of a lot of fun! :lol: :D


*edited to add: MZ - yeah, the "Mega Drive" - I'll never understand why they just didn't call it the Mega Drive or the Genesis everywhere. I mean, why change the name in different countries? Just seems weird. Regardless, I was a total slave to my Sega. Damn you Sonic the Hedgehog! :lol:

[Neil]

Beat it last night. Anyone have questions?

Yes, how does it compare quality/play time wise against the first episode?

When's then next one due out? Soon as this one was so late?

[slickwilly13]

Yes, how does it compare quality/play time wise against the first episode?

When's then next one due out? Soon as this one was so late?

The play time is probably the same or slightly less. The quality is about the same, but it lags in some parts for a couple of seconds. The story, itself, is pretty good. I cannot discuss it too much, because of spoilers. But I will mention it is dark and kind of creepy. A certain character from the 1st chapter has a nasty death.

There is currently no release date for the 3rd chapter. It was 2 months before the 2nd chapter was released.

[Neil]

There is currently no release date for the 3rd chapter. It was 2 months before the 2nd chapter was released.
I thought the deal was one a month? So the 3rd should have been out around now?!

[slickwilly13]

I thought the deal was one a month? So the 3rd should have been out around now?!

That is correct, but for some reason the 2nd chapter took twice as long to be released.

[Danny]

That is correct, but for some reason the 2nd chapter took twice as long to be released.

Rumour has it the companies in a bit of a bad way money wise and theres been some behind the scenes trouble behind the delays on all their projects,

[CoinReturn]

Rumour has it the companies in a bit of a bad way money wise and theres been some behind the scenes trouble behind the delays on all their projects,

That really sucks if true, as The Walking Dead has been Telltale's best project to date. Seems they've gotten a handle on how to tell a great story, and they did it with classic gaming sensibilities.

Gonna finish it today, but so far, I'd recommend it to everyone on this board.

[slickwilly13]

That really sucks if true, as The Walking Dead has been Telltale's best project to date. Seems they've gotten a handle on how to tell a great story, and they did it with classic gaming sensibilities.

Gonna finish it today, but so far, I'd recommend it to everyone on this board.

The story is very good in this one. Very creepy and nasty. The animation style helps with the atmosphere, too.

[rongravy]

I just got done watching it on Youtube, and even though the guy playing sometimes made shitty choices, I was pretty enraptured by it.
Maybe they'll get faster at cranking them out over time, but I like very much what I see so far.
I'd actually sit through a movie version of something like this, or the original story. I like the animation style, too. 3D the bejesus out of it.
I'd like to see the first two eps so far cut like a movie instead of having to hear whoever's playing it doing his commentary over it. Maybe someone will edit it all together and I just need to be patient.
I haven't played either yet, but my kid bugs me to get them. I'm about sold enough to goof around with it a few times myself.

[slickwilly13]

I'd like to see the first two eps so far cut like a movie instead of having to hear whoever's playing it doing his commentary over it. Maybe someone will edit it all together and I just need to be patient.


Not a bad idea. I have a camera, but no video editing software. I would not mind doing it.

[kidgloves]

Not a bad idea. I have a camera, but no video editing software. I would not mind doing it.

Same here.
That was a great episode. Bit of a downer and very solemn as it should be.
What a strange hybrid of entertainment formats this "game" is. They really have nailed the comic and tv show at the same time. Gonna go back and finish my 2nd save and see how different it really is. Im already looking forward to playing all 5 episodes in one chunk and I feel the same way about the tv show now it has a mid season break. Its a smart way of delivering entertainment to people.

[ThomasNorth]

Same here.
That was a great episode. Bit of a downer and very solemn as it should be.
What a strange hybrid of entertainment formats this "game" is. They really have nailed the comic and tv show at the same time. Gonna go back and finish my 2nd save and see how different it really is. Im already looking forward to playing all 5 episodes in one chunk and I feel the same way about the tv show now it has a mid season break. Its a smart way of delivering entertainment to people.

Same here. I love the comic book style art. I haven't tried playing through with different choices yet, but I probably will once all 5 are released. IMO, the first two episodes have gotten most things right from both a game and story standpoint. I liked Telltale Games series to this, but I was pretty skeptical when I heard they were doing a Walking Dead game, but they've done a terrific job.

I have found most of my choices tend to be consistent with the majority. Interesting that most choices seem to have 80+% of players choosing one of them. I had one choice in Episode Two where I was not in the majority.

[kidgloves]

Same here. I love the comic book style art. I haven't tried playing through with different choices yet, but I probably will once all 5 are released. IMO, the first two episodes have gotten most things right from both a game and story standpoint. I liked Telltale Games series to this, but I was pretty skeptical when I heard they were doing a Walking Dead game, but they've done a terrific job.

I have found most of my choices tend to be consistent with the majority. Interesting that most choices seem to have 80+% of players choosing one of them. I had one choice in Episode Two where I was not in the majority.

Taking the "bad" route changes the dynamic of the storyline quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised by the story changes on my 2nd run through. I keep exposing Clementine to some nasty violence so god knows what effect that will have on her. Another character chose not to save me when they had the chance as well. Something I'm not gonna forget and will have to address later on.

[ThomasNorth]

Taking the "bad" route changes the dynamic of the storyline quite a bit. I was pleasantly surprised by the story changes on my 2nd run through. I keep exposing Clementine to some nasty violence so god knows what effect that will have on her. Another character chose not to save me when they had the chance as well. Something I'm not gonna forget and will have to address later on.

It would be an interesting twist if they made some of the "bad" choices end up being good. e.g. perhaps exposing Clementine to violence will actually make her more apt to survive later in the story.

One thing I would like to see is a few more ambiguous choices that prompt a bit more parity in the % of players choosing one or the other. The "car" choice in episode 2 was like that... I think it showed like a 51 / 49 split.

[Danny]

just beat it, first off my choices


i chopped the guys leg off
i fed the kids, the dude with the glasses and lilly
danny shot the woman, not me
i leant a little more to lilly this time compared to kenny the first time since hes putting family before the group which makes him seem more reckless and selfish
i opened the barn door, but lets be honest you have to have half a brain cell to not know what was going to be there.
i headed upstairs and found him but got back in time to stop clem eating
i was direct and told people it was human meat
i tried to resuscitate larry, kenny crushed his head with a salt lick
i tazed danny, but then lilly got him with a sickle
as he lay there saying how it was right to eat people i chose to kill him since if we left they would either force the bandits onto us or just keep luring innocent people into the trap, clem saw and got wary of me.
tech guy showed up with a laser pointer he used to distract andy
i pleaded with brenda, but if im honest i saw in the storm i was slowly pushing her to the legless zombie on the landing and my plan was to get it to grab her
i didnt kill andy, punched him a few times but then left.
then i took the food in the abandoned car figuring it was probably from the bandits and we needed it badly and convinced clem wearing the hoodie was temporary


surprised on the whole this time bar being in the 50% margine for the finale that i was in the 88% for all choices bar the car one. considering i went very against the grain with the first i wonder if we all just did similar things, or if in a rushed production time they narrowed the possible choices to lesser, more diametrically opposed moral extremes than many shades of grey this time.

On the whole its got a waaaaay more predictable story, but its also got a lot more production value, this time i only encountered 3 QTE's and everything else was fully player controlled live action or puzzle solving. It was longer, more atmospheric and a lot more enjoyable than the first.
My only complaint was the puzzles were way, way easier but it made the whole experience feel more like a cartoon for adults than a videogame and im super excited for the next episode and honestly? im enjoying this more than the comics right now. Very glad i paid the £20 preorder price for the whole season on steam

[MinionZombie]

Just started playing Episode Two - so far, so good - looking forward to playing the rest of the episode.

So far I'm up to...just after some of the others from the Motel arrive, and Clementine and Duck go to play on the swing - I stopped there so I can spread the episode out a bit, and not just barge it in one session. Just had the bit where the bandits attacked us and we had to use the tractor for cover - that was a nifty sequence.

In terms of handing out food - I gave it to the hungry military guy, whose name I forget, Clementine, Duck, and ultimately ... ugh, forget her name now too, but the bitchy woman on top of the RV, after Carol refused to take the food.

Anyway ... onwards ... I'm a bit suspicious of these farm folks...we'll see, I guess.

-- -------- Post added 05-Jul-2012 at 11:31 AM ---------- Previous post was 04-Jul-2012 at 05:09 PM ----------

Just finished Episode 2 - rather enjoyable. As Danny said, the plot for this one is fairly predictable, but it's still creepy and enjoyable to get where it's going.

I made pretty much all the same choices as Danny, except...

I didn't kill Danny - initially I did, but when I saw Clem saw me, I replayed that segment ... speaking of which, the moment you have to grap the gun is a little tricky to get your cursor over the point you need to click ... a slight wrinkle there ... and I've still got Carly with me, but in my other save I've got the 'tech guy'.

I did retry the moment where you scream out "don't eat that!" to see if I could get them all to not eat it, but then have to re-do it a third time and go with my original choice where I stopped Clem from eating it.

I too ended up siding more with Lilly this time around, but I wasn't particularly aiming to as I'm more loyal to Kenny, yet he's pushing forth in a direction that I can't always agree with ... perhaps he's the "Shane" of this group?

All-in-all - good stuff, and I'm looking forward to episode three. :)

[krisvds]

After waiting way too long for this I just noticed it was just put op on the European PSN.
Guess I know what to play tonight ... Finally!

[Neil]

After waiting way too long for this I just noticed it was just put op on the European PSN.
Guess I know what to play tonight ... Finally!

Let us know what you think.

[krisvds]

Loved it. The writers really nailed the whole depressing zombie apocalypse feel. Dark and creepy stuff.
I guess people who enjoyed the first episode and/or the genre will love this one even more. Don't want to go into spoiler territory but the focus on human interaction is really well done. It really follows the path Romero laid out with the whole 'the zombies are just there, it's humanity we have to fear from the most in a situation like this' angle.

It's still Telltale though; lotsa lagging in places and VERY light on the puzzling. This s not a 'videogame'. It's a piece of interactive fiction/playable comic book with little to no 'gamey' stuff. I enjoy it for the writing and the slowish pace. The only complaint I can think of is that they should include at least a few tough puzzles per episodes (old school Lucasarts adventure style ...).
Some of the choices they present you with could be 'tougher' or more ethically ambiguous as well.

Other than that; a very worthwhile addition to the TWD world and the genre in general.

[Danny]

Apparently telltale apologised for the delay on their blog - which is understandable since jurassic park as a fucking mess development wise and the final product- and this is coming form someone who dearly loves that movie- was terrible and lost them a lot of 'industry cred' as it were so they are having to be on the offensive damage control this time. So they are saying they are trying their damndest to get episode 3 next month.
However the mere fact that they are 'trying' signifies they dont think its actually 100% that we will get one next month at all. Dont get me wrong i love this game, its their best work, but i dont think we will see the end of this series till december at the earliest...

[SymphonicX]

agree^^

I did always think episodic gaming wouldn't work, but then I based that on a game I'd never player - that didn't turn out to be episodic...lol...but maybe the point still stands - episodic games mean developers drag their heels on each title and invariably delay it.

Anyway I played ep2 - and man, what a story. Some real "OMG" moments in there. Really shocking. And a great pay off - it plays on your suspicions all the time, things are what they seem, but they're not, but they are - everyone's so well rounded and fleshed out...and yeah...there are I think about 4 "what the fuccccck" moments in it, and they are absolutely golden.

Stunning story -one of the best. Wish it wasn't point and click though - although still immersive.

[slickwilly13]

Death of a character discussion. Major spoilers.

What did you guys think of Larry's death? I did not see it coming and I even tried to save him. He was a very unlikeable character and I tried to meet his approval. Too bad his head was smashed by a block of salt. Nasty death.

[SymphonicX]

Death of a character discussion. Major spoilers.

What did you guys think of Larry's death? I did not see it coming and I even tried to save him. He was a very unlikeable character and I tried to meet his approval. Too bad his head was smashed by a block of salt. Nasty death.

The whole episode is spoilt below:

ALL of the deaths had my jaw agape....especially the woman in the forest...I thought...christ, have I just indirectly shot Clementine's mother?!? As far as I can see though, you can't save this woman, and it turned out she was just a nut anyway, right? I liked Larry, he was to me the character that was most likely to show a change of personality...it was a shame he went...I came down on his daughter (Lilly?)'s side....the people in the farmhouse instantly struck my superstition and I sort of wondered if they'd follow the cannibal route - reminded me of the couple that Denzl Washington and Mila Kunis meet in Book of Eli. Fantastic. But yeah I was disappointed that I didn't get to save Larry...!

[MinionZombie]

Similar thoughts to slick and symph...

Was that Clem's mother? Probably not, but there was a bit there where I was thinking "woah! wtf?!" I too tried to save Larry - believing it to be the right thing to do - at least give it a shot, and if not and he comes back then give him the salt lick treatment ... I try to side with Kenny, but he keeps pushing in a direction that I ultimately don't want to go down, or he moves in a direction that isn't the way I'd go on something even though the outcome will essentially be the same. Lilly's got a right sour puss on all the time, but I couldn't help but side with her more in this episode.

When I saw they were locked in a room with Larry - and knowing of his weak heart - I did wonder if they'd have him keel over and pose a threat, and sure enough, hehe.

The dairy farm folks almost immediately had me suspecting them, and I figured it'd be cannibalism - so that was predictable, but nevertheless, the reveal was still rather good.

[ProfessorChaos]

this game is boss. found the 2nd episode a bit predictable, but still highly enjoyable. anybody on the fence should just shell out 5 bucks and give it a shot.

[Danny]

whole things on sale on steam, $15 for all 5 episodes, $3 an episode is a steal!

[rongravy]

whole things on sale on steam, $15 for all 5 episodes, $3 an episode is a steal!
You can buy them like that, even though episodes 3-5 aren't out yet?

[Danny]

Yeah on steam its called like a season pass or something, i paid like £20 and then whenever i open steam on my mac and theres a new one out it just auto downloads it.

[MinionZombie]

Zero Punctuation gives the game a review:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6044-Walking-Dead

[Neil]

^^ That was awesome! I think they liked it? Sort of! :)

[MinionZombie]

^^ That was awesome! I think they liked it? Sort of! :)

Are you familiar with Zero Punctuation reviews, Neil? They're often quite negative/ranty, so this one is actually a pretty darn good result. Surprising though that the guy has no real knowledge of the comic or TV show. :stunned:

[CoinReturn]

Episode 3 is up on PSN, and will be out tomorrow for 360/PC.

[Danny]

God damn, about time, i've been excited for shit after episode 2 was just such an excellent experience. cant wait.

[Neil]

Looking forward to the reviews of episode 3 then!

[AcesandEights]

Had a lot of fun following/playing eps 1 & 2, so 3 should be solid. So happy to see that it's being followed through on. :)

[Neil]

Just ordered the game from Steam as 40% off!

[slickwilly13]

That bitch! I did not even get a chance to score! "L"

-- -------- Post added 30-Aug-2012 at 08:55 AM ---------- Previous post was 29-Aug-2012 at 06:00 PM ----------

I beat chapter 3 last night. It is a very good episode and not as predictable as the last one.

A lot of character deaths in episode 3 and they spare no one. This is probably the darkest episode so far. There is also a certain nameless character, who is involved in a disturbing feeding scene " Goodbye, She Quietly Says".

[CoinReturn]

Just finished it myself, damn that was intense! Also incredibly bleak. Here were my choices:


I shot the girl in the street
I did not abandon Lilly
I fought Kenny
I had Kenny shoot Duck
I helped Omid


Bring on episode IV!

[Danny]

Just beat it, hectic, bleak and very grim. But from a gaemplay standpoint id say i enjoyed it the least of the 3, its no drop in quality but there was no standout bit like the opening car ride from the first or the stormy house bit from the second that stood out. it mostly just blurred together.
now as for choices:

to start off i didnt shoot the girl, she had chunks out of her and so she was dead either way, it was cruel and not what id do for real but for a game i just used her as a distraction.
i went looking for the missing items and found them in a vent and we got attacked by bandits. duck got bit in the process and on the road when we stopped lily went mental and ben and shot doug. so i left her since she was getting unhinged and didnt want to risk her shooting the kids.
i talked kenny down instead of fighting him - though he seemed to make every attempt to start some shit..
i ended up shooting duck and then cut clems hair and taught her how to shoot and planned to meet her parents, though instantly regretted that thinking it was a bad idea.
then i met those two random douchebags, ben told me he DID take the food for the bandits, we got away with me having to push omid to the train which hurt his leg but we got out safe.


On the whole a weaker episode. it gave you way less time to make choices, gave some characters complete personality 180's and introduced new people i instantly took a disliking to.

Still i'm living with my choices so to speak and not replaying for 'better options' so i get an honest end to it, then ill try for the best option after beating all 5 episodes. still cant wait for the next one after the twist of this, really think one of my decisions is gonna bite me in the ass.

[MinionZombie]

I see episode four is scheduled for release sometime in October.

As for episode three, plot-wise it was the best of the three - but I do agree that there was less time to make choices, but then in other cases you had shedloads of time. Weird.

I'm feeling that there's a sense of inevitability with the plotting, in other words, slightly different routes to get to the exact same conclusion, which is a little bit disappointing, but then again to truly have a really 'wild' game where branches go totally independent of one another would be an intolerable headache for a writer, and the devs in general, plus there'd be so much content that people would miss out on.

But yeah, plot wise it was the strongest episode. A few shocks in there in true TWD fashion, and I'm looking forward to playing the final two episodes.

Also, did anyone else forget to get the crackers out of the car with a zombie in it?

[kidgloves]

Episode 4 is out for those who didn't already know

[MinionZombie]

Episode 4 is out for those who didn't already know

Ta for the heads up - it's on my to-do list.

[ProfessorChaos]

i've had episode 4 for a couple of days now but cannot stop watching postseason baseball...so many good games and so much drama.

will find time to play it this weekend, though, for certain, as saturday is an off-day for the MLB.

[Danny]

OH GOD, OH JESUS CHROIYST!

Man, just beat episode 4 and holy f*ck, holy fuuuucccckkkkkkk THAT. F*CKING. CLIFFHANGER.

So right off i was prepared to leave ben behind, when i heard about the boat i was certain and let him drop at the belltower. then molly buggered off and i said 'oh shit' and realised what a mistake i made.
As for the rest i had kenny shoot the starved kid zombie to get his shit together but i buried the kid, kinda choked me up a bit that whole scene did too.
i got kenny to get his act together and sober up. calmed vernon down and ended that peacefully.
took clem with me too the school, didnt leave her with a dude who might zombify.

On the whole i dug it, expected molly to be psycho and was surprised i was wrong, fully expected clem to be kidnapped by the stalker and im guessing vernon got out of dodge because riding the train has pulled a state wide chain swarm of thousands of zombies to the noise, each followed the moans of the ones before it.

Lee getting bitten got me worried, i cant help but think this is going to end with clementine shooting him and escaping to sea with omid and his girlfriend who is clearly pregnant at this point to be a family and no doubt kenny with have some heroic sacrifice to redeem his more dickish behaviour.

[MinionZombie]

Played it - enjoyed it - all round good stuff.

Ben was a constant bugger up, so I let him fall - heck, he said it was cool with him :elol: - I still feel bad about that, but on the other hand he was a massive liability and I was really wondering to myself "how much more danger is he going to get us all into?"

Gutted that we get bit, too.

I was half wondering if the man on the radio was Clementine's father, but then again she would recognise her own Dad's voice, even through the radio, and he wouldn't be talking all weird surely ... so that's a far too wild theory. I wonder what it'll all be though.

Good theory on the train/herd situation, Danny - I hadn't though of that.

I had figured that the Doctor zombie had been schtupping Molly as soon as I saw her stabbing the shit out of him in the alleyway. I liked her character quite quickly, so hopefully we'll see her return in episode five.

Also, I agree, I think it's quite clear that whats'er'name is up the duff with Omid's kid - but I too brought Clem along. Leave a kid alone in a house with a near-death man and that's it, or keep her where I can keep her safe myself? Simple choice, I'd say. It's dangerous either way.

[CoinReturn]

Looks like the retail version could be worth picking up:

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/10/a5rblcceaa-27kjpg-largejpeg-fcdc87_800w-610x816.jpg

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/21/the-walking-dead-the-game-retail-bundle-details

That 1000 page compendium sounds too cool, especially for those of us (me) who haven't read the comics.

[aaron2]

looks interesting....But i will go with "back to future"..I'm not much in Zoombies and all ;)

[JonOfTheShred]

This game failed so hard for me. I tried to get into it, but I disagree with nearly every decision TellTale went with. It just seems like this company makes a shit-ton of excuses to make lazy, hack products.

For example, the graphics are awful. And they used the excuse "We're trying to capture the look of the comic." Well you failed miserably, in my opinion. Charlies work is dark. The game looks and even feels way too much like a Saturday morning cartoon. And I don't think adding color is what gave it this edge - they just failed at capturing Charlies work, IMO.

"The story is what matters, not the gameplay!" Ok, you want to put story first? Fine by me. But the gameplay shouldn't bore me to tears. There should be SOME redeeming qualities in it, from a gameplay standpoint. But instead, nope...just point and click, and stumble through boring, awkward conversations that don't even give you enough time to read your options to respond with. And what's even MORE....

The voice acting sucks. The voices feel fake, makes it feel even MORE cartoony. The entire opening in the police car, I was thinking, "Oh no...this feels way too kiddish...maybe it'll get better." I grit my teeth through Hershel's farm. That kid...I forget his name, Goose maybe? Or Duck? He was annoying. So fucking annoying. Enough for me to immediately regret buying the game. Then I got to choose between him and Hershel's son, so I was like, "FINALLY, a satisfying gameplay element. I can get that little asshole kid killed." NOPE. Didn't mean shit. My decision was predetermined by the game. CRAP. CRAP. CRAP.

Kept playing, and now I'm holed up in a store with some ridiculously over-the-top character trying to kill the shitty kid. Now I want him to die just as much as the little kid. I AGREE with him, Duck should be shot in the face, but his voice acting and delivery is so hack, I want HIM to die as well.

This is a poor game, I'm sorry. If they wanted to make a zombie show for little kids, they shouldn't have sold it. It should've been free on Cartoon Network.

[ProfessorChaos]

i, for one, was pleasantly surprised by this game...while it has its issues, it's far better than i expected. my gf really likes it too. definitely planning to download the final episode tomorrow.

[slickwilly13]

This game failed so hard for me. I tried to get into it, but I disagree with nearly every decision TellTale went with. It just seems like this company makes a shit-ton of excuses to make lazy, hack products.

For example, the graphics are awful. And they used the excuse "We're trying to capture the look of the comic." Well you failed miserably, in my opinion. Charlies work is dark. The game looks and even feels way too much like a Saturday morning cartoon. And I don't think adding color is what gave it this edge - they just failed at capturing Charlies work, IMO.

"The story is what matters, not the gameplay!" Ok, you want to put story first? Fine by me. But the gameplay shouldn't bore me to tears. There should be SOME redeeming qualities in it, from a gameplay standpoint. But instead, nope...just point and click, and stumble through boring, awkward conversations that don't even give you enough time to read your options to respond with. And what's even MORE....

The voice acting sucks. The voices feel fake, makes it feel even MORE cartoony. The entire opening in the police car, I was thinking, "Oh no...this feels way too kiddish...maybe it'll get better." I grit my teeth through Hershel's farm. That kid...I forget his name, Goose maybe? Or Duck? He was annoying. So fucking annoying. Enough for me to immediately regret buying the game. Then I got to choose between him and Hershel's son, so I was like, "FINALLY, a satisfying gameplay element. I can get that little asshole kid killed." NOPE. Didn't mean shit. My decision was predetermined by the game. CRAP. CRAP. CRAP.

Kept playing, and now I'm holed up in a store with some ridiculously over-the-top character trying to kill the shitty kid. Now I want him to die just as much as the little kid. I AGREE with him, Duck should be shot in the face, but his voice acting and delivery is so hack, I want HIM to die as well.

This is a poor game, I'm sorry. If they wanted to make a zombie show for little kids, they shouldn't have sold it. It should've been free on Cartoon Network.

If it makes you feel any better, Duck is bitten later in the game and there is a scene where you shoot him in the head.

[rongravy]

i, for one, was pleasantly surprised by this game...while it has its issues, it's far better than i expected. my gf really likes it too. definitely planning to download the final episode tomorrow.
It's out? Sweeeeeeet. I don't/haven't played any of them, but they are pretty cool to watch on Youtube on the big screen.
I'd be happy if there was a toon out there like this on tv. Can't wait to see how it all ends for Lee.

[JonOfTheShred]

I think I just had expectations too high for the game. I think making a point and click game is kind of wasting the rich universe Kirkman created. An open world like GTA? Now THAT would've been cool. Hell, Kirkman should've hired Rockstar! Especially after Undead Nightmare!

Or a FPS RPG like Skyrim. Big open world.

I think if I had played this game BEFORE everyone was going on about how good it was, I would've enjoyed it more. But my expectations were so high I bought all 4 episodes at once. It fell flat for me in every department, unfortunately. Although, I also had just finished playing through Assassins Creed II and Assassins Creed III for the first time. (Slept on that series until III came out.) And I think almost every other game would seem disappointing after playing AC III. I'll give it another go eventually, but I don't see what all the fuss is about it.

[Neil]

I think I just had expectations too high for the game. I think making a point and click game is kind of wasting the rich universe Kirkman created. An open world like GTA? Now THAT would've been cool. Hell, Kirkman should've hired Rockstar! Especially after Undead Nightmare!

Or a FPS RPG like Skyrim. Big open world.

I think if I had played this game BEFORE everyone was going on about how good it was, I would've enjoyed it more. But my expectations were so high I bought all 4 episodes at once. It fell flat for me in every department, unfortunately. Although, I also had just finished playing through Assassins Creed II and Assassins Creed III for the first time. (Slept on that series until III came out.) And I think almost every other game would seem disappointing after playing AC III. I'll give it another go eventually, but I don't see what all the fuss is about it.
I have found certain elements of the gameplay very frustrating and tedious. Click X , then Y, before time limit for Z runs out... Fail 3-4 times... before success... Repeat!

But as for the graphics, story and voice acting, I've enjoyed it. That said, I've not played it for about a month or so now... But I will go back to it and finish it at some point!

[JonOfTheShred]

I have found certain elements of the gameplay very frustrating and tedious. Click X , then Y, before time limit for Z runs out... Fail 3-4 times... before success... Repeat!

Yes, that's what I'm talking about. That kind of stuff draws me out of the story. I'm much more impressed when a game manages to tell the story through exploration. Left 4 Dead, surprisingly, had a really good way of telling a story through the setting. When you explore the world, so much is told through the writings on the walls, for example. If only they had a Romero-esque shamblers mod for that, without any special infected and only headshots kill the Zeds. It boggles my mind they didn't release that as an official game mod, it wouldn't be hard at all for Valve to make, it'd probably take a full two weeks of work to get that mod running crisp and clean. I'm disappointed in them, they've had so many "INFECTIONS" too, and still haven't made this one happen :(


But as for the graphics, story and voice acting, I've enjoyed it. That said, I've not played it for about a month or so now... But I will go back to it and finish it at some point!

I might like it better when I try it again. It felt like it was aimed at a PG-13 crowd, as opposed to the NC-17 crowd. Not saying there should have been tits and ridiculous levels of swearing, just that...the TONE feels cartoony. I was expecting dark. But I didn't make it very hard in the game, there were roadblocks (such as the inexcusable "Duck" character) that were too much for me to hurdle, and I dropped it after maybe a half-hour to an hour of play. Right now I'm supposed to find a pace-maker, but I got too bored with the game to continue and started Skyrim for the first time instead, and now that game has my full attention :p

For Zed games, I enjoyed Dead Island and Undead Nightmare immensely. Hell, I even loved Resident Evil 6 - Leons campaign was some of the best SHTF gameplay in a long time. Felt like Resident Evil 2 in a lot of places.

[rongravy]

I just got to see it all. Without spoiling it, I will say there was a little coda at the end that left for a nice cliffhanger for season 2, no?
This was definitely a kickass ending to it all. I wish someone would just piece it all together as a movie because I loved it.
Although they strung the episodes out over months, it always left me wanting more/wondering what was coming next.
Can't wait for more. Doubt I'll ever play them, but as long as they churn more out, I'll check out the finished product on Youtube.
Thumbs up all the way. The guy I saw playing it out was actually somewhat crying at times. Very emotional.
Him and the ending...

[Danny]

Havent played it yet, but ive seen screencaps that have shown certain things in the backgrounds of every episode taht hint to an entirely different story taking place, and its not the walking dead comics, makes you wonder if theres a season 2 planned to run chronologically concurrent to lee and clems story.

[ProfessorChaos]

while i didn't shed any tears, the ending definitely packed a punch.....hell, this whole game did. the death of characters felt so real compared to any other games i've played, and this game sure did kill off a lot of people.

i'm sure they're going to release a season 2, and if they do, i'll be right there.

[LoSTBoY]

Have to say, this could be game of the year material with the last couple episodes.

People complaining about the gameplay would probably prefer playing Call of Duty or some other FPS if it's constant action they want.

This is a flavour of game that is more like an interactive movie, and has some amazing senarios that make you go "FUUUUUCK." or "DIE YOU BASTARD!"

I don't think I have teared up at a game for a long time, but this one had my eyes stinging at the end.

[Neil]

Talk about love it or hate it!


Have to say, this could be game of the year material with the last couple episodes.


This game failed so hard for me.

[LoSTBoY]

Although Jon has bought the game, it sounds like he only got to the start of chapter 2:


"Kept playing, and now I'm holed up in a store with some ridiculously over-the-top character trying to kill the shitty kid"

A lot of people disliked Duck and definetly hate Lenny. It's part of the story, you are not expected to get on with every character in it.

Play the game. All the way through. Then come back here and tell me I'm wrong.

[mista_mo]

It's funny to read back in this thread and see how many people here were immediately hating on it. It's also funny to see those same people praising it now! I play this game when I can, though I wait for my fiance to be with me so she can watch me play it...she actually likes to watch, and has gotten into it more than I have. Gonna finish episode five tomorrow...cannot wait!

[MinionZombie]

Just finished up episode 5 - a solid entry to the game, and moving in more ways than one.

Fingers crossed for a second season.

Danny - do you have a link to those pictures and details which suggest a concurrent story in the background etc?

Although I would hope season two returns to some of the characters we know from this run...

With Clementine on her own in some field with just a gun and then two figures walking on the horizon - could they be Omid and whats-her-name? - I can't be having them leave Clem's story at that point and not return to it.

[Danny]

It's funny to read back in this thread and see how many people here were immediately hating on it. It's also funny to see those same people praising it now! I play this game when I can, though I wait for my fiance to be with me so she can watch me play it...she actually likes to watch, and has gotten into it more than I have. Gonna finish episode five tomorrow...cannot wait!

I remember the really, really shitty jurassic park one from them left me really goddamn wary of this. I figured it'd be basically the inside of the chemists from episode 1 for the whole game and im damn glad i was wrong, but their previous work really didnt inspire confidence at the time. for me at least.

[LoSTBoY]

Think I was drunk when I wrote this post, nothing to do with the thread :/

[slickwilly13]

It won game of the year.


http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=778819

[MinionZombie]

They also won an award for the best character, for Lee. :)

[JonOfTheShred]

Although Jon has bought the game, it sounds like he only got to the start of chapter 2:



A lot of people disliked Duck and definetly hate Lenny. It's part of the story, you are not expected to get on with every character in it.

Play the game. All the way through. Then come back here and tell me I'm wrong.


Played through more of the game and - survey says - it still sucks. I wanted to EXPLORE, not walk along a single track with no option to change my story. It's "Choose Your Own Adventure" except, your choices don't have any consequence to the way the story plays out, and it doesn't really feel like an adventure.

My thoughts on the game (unrightfully) winning game of the year:
http://rantlister.com/?p=1309


Don't think for a second because I don't like this overrated pile of hack-gameplay, I am only into "Button Mashers" like Call of Duty. That's the weakest argument people can have for something - instead of defending the game, they attack the credibility of the critic. Same crap happened with Dark Knight. I hated that movie, and everyone's all like "You just didn't UNDERSTAND it." No, I understand the movie perfectly fine, apparently it is the defender that doesn't understand the movie enough to defend it properly.

I WANT to be proved wrong by this game, and will continue to trudge through the remaining chapters. But if things don't get interesting in both gameplay and story by the end of Chapter 2 (the voice-acting is horrific - not quite as bad as Dead Island, but pretty damn close) I'm abandoning this thing altogether.

PROVE ME WRONG. Tell me why this wouldn't work better as a Saturday morning Cartoon Network spin-off of the comic. This feels like "The Clone Wars" or "Godzilla: The Animated Series." It doesn't even break 2/10 as far as gameplay is concerned, and no amount of good story-telling will detract from the fact this doesn't feel like a legitimate game. Give all the credit in the world you want to TellTale for gripping narratives, but they're completely hacks at making video games. They've done the same crap with Back to the Future and Jurassic Park: cash in on a popular franchise, claim to focus on 'story' as an excuse to sacrifice actual gameplay, and make profit off someone elses ideas. They didn't create a universe. They sure as hell didn't make a FUN game, in an actual game sense. And the element of the game that received most of TellTales attention - the story - falls flat because both the art direction and the voice acting detract from all ability to get lost in the plot. Feels too cartoony, not gritty enough for the story to pack that emotional punch.

The potential of a Walking Dead game is astounding, and it boggles my mind people are impressed with THIS. But I'm gonna trudge forward, finish the rest of the chapters, hoping things pick up in 3 and 4. As it stands, this is one of the biggest failures in gaming, as far as I'm concerned. I guarantee no one would give a damn about this game if it didn't have the Walking Dead name attached.

I had more fun with Operation: Raccoon City. And that game was pathetic. But at least it was actually a game. Even if it was a cash-in (just like this game is), the gameplay was OK. Perhaps if they combined forces, TellTale and the hacks that made O:RC could consolidate to make ONE slightly above average title.( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[Neil]

^^ Can you not accept, it's really not your cup of tea, while some other people enjoyed this 'interactive cartoon'?

[mista_mo]

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's a pile of shit. Like Neil said, it isn't your cup of tea. I don't know why you get so mad because honestly, It isn't that big of a deal. You should calm down before you have a heart attack man

[Danny]

Well i left this one, mostly because i literally had a family member die irl this month and wasnt in the mood but i finally got around to it and fuck thats the goddamn game of the year.

I cut my arm off, lost my shit with kenny, gave up my weapons, didnt kill the stranger and told klem to leave me - since no 9 year old needs to kill two dudes in one day.

On the whole i loved it but there was some minor gripes with this one. First and foremost this is exactly how i thought it would end, thats no bad thing when i kinda chocked up a little at the ending, but still it would be more of a twist if lee just had a infection or something and didnt die like every bitten character ever just to think outside the zombie trope box a little. That and for my path choice everyone knew omids girlfreind was pregnant, but its never said by her, nor hinted at, you just get it yourself early on if you aint dense, then kenny gets it in the attic then lee just knows for no apparent reason. bad writing? or i got a weird set of choices?
Aside from that i felt it was a bit short but at 12 hours in total its a good length for a game that cost me £15 and i love how all the "clementine will remember this" stuff is clearly setting up a season 2, something i will be ready and waiting to buy at the first chance

On the whole it was a refreshing change to a medium get increasingly lowbrow and trope filled the closer it gets to movies since most devs seem to think a game is just a movie, it was nice to see one balance that with being an actual videogame instead of 'kill waves of dudes between cutscenes' timewaste like most games today. Loved it and eagerly await more.

[LoSTBoY]

Don't think for a second because I don't like this overrated pile of hack-gameplay, I am only into "Button Mashers" like Call of Duty. That's the weakest argument people can have for something - instead of defending the game, they attack the credibility of the critic. Same crap happened with Dark Knight. I hated that movie, and everyone's all like "You just didn't UNDERSTAND it." No, I understand the movie perfectly fine, apparently it is the defender that doesn't understand the movie enough to defend it properly.

Apologies, I should not have put that. I was like a fanboi with his jimmies truly russled. :) However I would like to say that you are playing a genre of game you apparently don't like. This is not the games fault but your preffered game playing choice.

This is an interactive game like Sam & Max and Broken Sword, which are very story driven with puzzle solving in between. I feel you are looking for more of a platform game with a lot more action gameplay.



I guarantee no one would give a damn about this game if it didn't have the Walking Dead name attached.


Do you mean us as zombie fans or everyone in general as Walking Dead is popular at the moment with the TV series?

Either way, a quick Google search shows plenty gaming non-zombie forums that enjoy the game for what it is.

[JonOfTheShred]

^^ Can you not accept, it's really not your cup of tea, while some other people enjoyed this 'interactive cartoon'?

The world is too politically correct. It's like negative opinions are frowned upon, and everyone prefers fake smiles and pats on the back. I enjoy expressing my opinion and validating said opinion by illustrating points relevant to the discussion. This game was a waste of my money, and as such, I will CHOOSE to discuss it in the forum. I already stated in another post I understand why the game would appeal to others - but I'm not gonna hold peoples hands and sugar coat my opinion so they don't get offended because they disagree with my opinion on the game. I didn't tell anyone else their opinion was wrong, or not worthy of being shared for being too optimistic - is it possible to a share a negative opinion these days without people taking it all seriously and getting offended?

EDIT: I just read through the last page of the thread, and we were having a fine discussion about the merits and pitfalls of the game before, now that I'm looking back. I think the response I posted last (the Rantlister article) was copied and pasted from IGN after someone attacked me for disliking the game. We were actually cool in here, not sure why an argument even broke out now that I'm looking back. We've been civil in this thread, not sure what changed that?


Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's a pile of shit. Like Neil said, it isn't your cup of tea. I don't know why you get so mad because honestly, It isn't that big of a deal. You should calm down before you have a heart attack man

I'm not "So mad," I enjoy expressing my opinion. I don't need to "CALM DOWN," telling people to "CALM DOWN" for expressing a passionate opinion is annoying - don't patronize me. Believe me, I'm "CALM" and I'm not gonna have a heart attack. Maybe you should take less stock in what other peoples opinions are and instead express your own. I don't remember attacking anyone that LIKED the game for their opinion. Condescending to people with passionate opinions is an even lamer cop-out than "YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE GAME." This forum isn't fascist, I can say what I want about this crappy, overrated game. And I can also defend my opinion when people, for some reason, feel the need to attack me for having a negative opinion. Point out to me where I attacked other people for LIKING the game. Wait, what's that - you CAN'T? Well maybe that's because I RESPECT OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna elaborate on why this game disappointed me so much.

This isn't about me, this is about the game - if you want to defend the game, do it. If not, ignore me, no need to get juvenile because my opinion hurt your feelings.

EDIT: I actually just looked back through the thread, and we were being civil the entire time, I must be thinking about IGN where people were polarized in their responses to my opinion - people either told me to "Preach on" or to "OD on Tylenol." I'm not trying to be a dick, I just get passionate and over-the-top when I express my dislike of something.


Apologies, I should not have put that. I was like a fanboi with his jimmies truly russled. :) However I would like to say that you are playing a genre of game you apparently don't like. This is not the games fault but your preffered game playing choice.

This is an interactive game like Sam & Max and Broken Sword, which are very story driven with puzzle solving in between. I feel you are looking for more of a platform game with a lot more action gameplay.

I can understand the appeal of the game - story over gameplay - and have said nothing to insult fans of the game. I simply illustrated what I find contrived and boring about the game - namely, the art direction felt too cartoony, the plot is filled with cliches, the voice acting is awful, and the fact the company that makes it are lazy and cash-in on other peoples ideas. I was somewhat upset I wasted $25, sure. But I never told people that liked the game "YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Meanwhile, everyone's attacking me for attacking the game.

It's not just that the game is an "Interactive Game" that bothered me. I could've dealt with that and had fun. But the areas that NEEDED to be stellar for that game format to work all fell flat. The graphics look like "The Walking Dead: Fisher Price." The voice acting is over-the-top and goofy. The plot is filled with cliches. The characters, besides Lee, are all caricatures. All of this makes it very hard to immerse myself into the gameplay, and makes the whole affair feel shallow, lacking in depth, and completely tacky.

I'm not trying to convince people NOT to like the game. But when games like this get Game of the Year, it simply lowers the bar. I don't think TellTale should be able to cash-in on franchises and make half-assed games, sacrifing imagination for "an in-depth story herpaderp." Many elements are necessary to make a good game. Ignoring 9 out of 10 of these elements because the "story is all that matters" is a cop-out, in my opinion. Where's the exploration? Where's the dreadful feeling? I love the QTE's in games like God of War, because I'm completely invested in the game, enjoy the gameplay, love the exploration, and can immerse myself in because of the graphics and execution of the story.

My main point is this: The Walking Dead has so much potential to be an amazing game. Reducing a rich, expansive universe to an on-the-rail point and click game without any exploration or depth, with choices that are supposed to make a difference not even mattering in the long run, is a slap in the face to the source material. I have friends that loved Back to the Future: The Game AND this Walking Dead game, and they laugh along when I rant about the game, and they understand my gripes, and they agree with me the game could have been A LOT better. I also give them the benefit of the doubt, realizing they aren't cynical pricks with ridiculous standards, impervious to media hype. We coexist and respect each others opinions without getting butthurt that we disagree. I can't see why negative opinions aren't allowed in this thread.

I mean, the reason I went into so much depth with my response to the game was so the fanboys could see I'm not just trying to lash out against the popular opinion, and that we can reach a "agree to disagree" compromise. I wish I could enjoy the game like everyone else, but it fell flat for me. Not reason for us all to not get along because we have different opinions. I attacked TellTale and padded my argument with examples. I didn't condescend to fans of the game because they had a different opinion.


Do you mean us as zombie fans or everyone in general as Walking Dead is popular at the moment with the TV series?

Either way, a quick Google search shows plenty gaming non-zombie forums that enjoy the game for what it is.

What I'm saying is TellTale used the Walking Dead brand-name as a cash-in. Number 1 show on TV? Check. Easy to make game? Check. They were shooting fish in a barrel calling this "The Walking Dead: The Game." No one would have played any of their crappy games if they weren't merely cashing in on other peoples ideas. They did it with Back to the Future, they did it with Jurassic Park. Call me crazy, call me an asshole, call me whatever you want, it's not gonna change the fact that it seems like a REALLY LAZY way to make games - borrowing other peoples ideas and making sloppy, linear click-and-pointers.

EDIT: Looking back through the thread we had been having a civil and amicable discussion the entire time. My last post before this was copied and pasted directly from IGN, where people were attacking me for my opinion, so it read as unnecessarily harsh. No one did that here, until as a response from my last post, so my bad if it came across mean-spirited. Reread it, though - I'm actually asking people to prove me wrong and give me a reason to finish the game.

[Mr. Clean]

Episode 1 free on Xbox Live and all other episodes 50% off this week

[Neil]

Action Trip have given it one of their highest scores ever - 9.6/10

http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-game-series.phtml

[Neil]

Well... The ending...

Seems a bit of an open ending not knowing if after all that Clem is OK or not?

[MinionZombie]

Neil - a cliffhanger for the second season of the game no doubt. I've heard that your save game will continue over into the next game, so we'll see a continuation don't you worry.

[Neil]

Neil - a cliffhanger for the second season of the game no doubt. I've heard that your save game will continue over into the next game, so we'll see a continuation don't you worry.

There's talk of a follow up?

Not sure if I'd buy it. Although I enjoyed it, I sort of feel like I've very much been there and done it now!

[MinionZombie]

There's talk of a follow up?

Not sure if I'd buy it. Although I enjoyed it, I sort of feel like I've very much been there and done it now!

Yes there is a follow-up - they're working on it right now. Apparently it's due to start coming out in a few months time IIRC.

[Danny]

Yes there is a follow-up - they're working on it right now. Apparently it's due to start coming out in a few months time IIRC.

"randymarshcoveredinectoplasm.jpg is not found"

[Neil]

Yes there is a follow-up - they're working on it right now. Apparently it's due to start coming out in a few months time IIRC.

Hmmm... Doesn't appeal to me at the moment... Might change my mind in time I guess...

[MinionZombie]

"randymarshcoveredinectoplasm.jpg is not found"

:lol::lol::lol:

Well played, Clerks...


Hmmm... Doesn't appeal to me at the moment... Might change my mind in time I guess...

Well I for one simply must know what happens next to... ;)

[AcesandEights]

Guys...

My wife came home tonight and found me on the couch...

F*cking crying at the climax of the end scene between Lee and Clem. I couldn't let her kill Lee and carry that around. This shit was so, powerfully sad. Yeah, the story pretty much went down how I thought it might, but having Clem going off and not knowing if she'd get out of town, or meet up with the remaining survivors. For Lee to die without seeing her safety for even the short term as a bit more of a sure thing was rough.

Well, fortunately, I wasn't sobbing, so my wife didn't realize and still has never seen me cry, but with all the emotional stuff going the last few months, I'm sure this was quite a healthy outlet, but goddamn that was sad.

Goddamn, am I the only who had a major reaction to the ending of season 1?

[MinionZombie]

My reaction wasn't as extreme as some folks, but it definitely tugged on the heart strings and bust out "the feels" as the parlance of the interwebtubes goes. A very satisfying story, and it was great how they had a child as a central character who was not only not annoying as shit (Phantom Menace, anyone? :lol:), but also someone you actually cared about.

[shootemindehead]

So, I got this after hearing it was Game of the Year, after ignoring it completely when it was in episodic form. I'm up to Ep 4 now.

To be honest, how this won GOTY over 'Farcry 3' is absolutely beyond me. I know it was a dull(ish) year, by most accounts and that had to be a factor in it's nomination (and victory), but really, their's little in the way of a game going on here. As has been pointed out in the thread already, your actual choices don't matter a jot really and there's an incredible amount of codology going on with 'The Walking Dead'. It's sets the illusion that the resulting events could have gone differently, if you had chosen a different path...but they don't, cases in point below:

Choosing to save Carley or Doug means fuck all, as they will both get whacked by a member of your group no matter what. Carley gets hers from Lilly and Ben sorts out Doug in the exact same place. So there's absolutely no point whatsoever in rescuing either in the previous chapter. I chose Carley, cos she was a decent shot. I need not have bothered.

Also, choosing to take or abandon Lilly, after she wastes Carley means fuck all, because she buggers off in the RV anyway, once the group gets to the train sequence. Again, there's no point.

The above means that there is actually no real point to playing the "game" in 'The Walking Dead', because your are litterally shuffled from one place to the next with the exact same outcome, regardless of your decisions. Which is one hell of a deceitful excercise from a "game" that purports to "change" with your decisions.

Essentially, what you are getting here with 'The Walking Dead' is the conversation part of 'Oblivion' / 'Skyrim', without the rest.

More downsides include some of the most awful stuttering I've seen in a game in some time. This stuttering got me killed in one sequence, meaning that I lost out on the "Didn't Die Once" trophy. Not that I give a tinkers cuss about trophys. I am just including it hear for people that do care for such bollocks. I played this on a PS3 (disk version), so I cannot account for any other platform. But I am litterally stunned by the jarring that goes on. It's not like this is even a random open 'Skyrim' type world or anything.

On the plus side, I liked the graphics enough and the storyline was ok for a Quick Time Event, even though it was predicable and if I'd saw it as a film, I wouldn't have been that impressed. I do want to know what the last episode has to say, however.

I'll finish out the "game" tonight with episode 5, but I cannot honestly say that I'll be that interested in getting the next lot. Telltale really need to up the ante for the next installment and look into the possibility of having some real repercussions for players decisions, as this is the game that they are actually trying to sell.

Still, absolutely staggered that this got GOTY.

[MinionZombie]

@Shoot:

Yeah, I know what you mean about the "repercussions" - namely, there aren't really any. The story has a clearly defined path, with small alterations to certain elements depending on choices you make - so I too was disappointed by the supposed sense of 'choose your own story'.

However, I really got invested in the story, which is what made the game important to me - even if it was more of an interactive comic book than a "game".

I'll share some love with you for FarCry 3 - I loved playing that game. I totally got into it and spent many-an-hour yomping around that island - great gameplay, lots of fun, and I'd welcome a sequel to it. :)

[shootemindehead]

Yeh, 'Farcry 3' was bloody great. I loved trying to stealth my way through the game, taking out the bandits one by one. Not that easy to do.

Anyway, just finished TWD...

...and wouldn't you know it, Ben dies anyway, after my feckin saving him...and he took Kenny with him. What was the bloody point? Also, the end of game sum-up is arseways. It says that I left Lilly at the side of the road, when I didn't. I got her on the RV, to decide what to do with her later and she used it to run off later.

What would have been much better, if your game choices actually had ramifications. So, say you chose to chop off your arm and that helped you to survive and walk off with the kid in the end and if you didn't, then you died and turned and she heads off by herself as it plays out in the actual game. Also, a better conclusion to the whole saving Ben's arse, would have been if he slipped and fell, but used his last few bullets to allow Lee and Kenny to escape, and if you let him die, the Kenny dies allowing Lee to escape.

It certainly isn't impossible to have multiple threads to a game of this type, christ the old 'Blade Runner' game for the PC was able to acomplish that in the 90's. It wouldn't have been that hard to have your choices build up over the previous episodes and culminate in Ep 5. It certainly would have made the game much more enjoyable, not to mention replayable.

Game of the Year my arse.