Telltale Games
"The normal question, the first question is always, are these cannibals? No, they are not cannibals. Cannibalism in the true sense of the word implies an intraspecies activity. These creatures cannot be considered human. They prey on humans. They do not prey on each other - that's the difference. They attack and they feed only on warm human flesh. Intelligence? Seemingly little or no reasoning power, but basic skills remain and more remembered behaviors from normal life. There are reports of these creatures using tools. But even these actions are the most primitive - the use of external articles as bludgeons and so forth. I might point out to you that even animals will adopt the basic use of tools in this manner. These creatures are nothing but pure, motorized instinct. We must not be lulled by the concept that these are our family members or our friends. They are not. They will not respond to such emotions.
They must be destroyed on sight!" - Dr. Millard Rausch (Dawn of the Dead)
Robert Kirkman's zombie comic book epic that's not actually about the zombies, The Walking Dead, has been deftly transformed into a critically acclaimed AMC television series. Now Telltale Games has taken Kirkman's opus into the interactive realm of video games. Those familiar with the television show may begin the game a little disoriented. Those familiar more with the comic will feel more at home, if only because of the art style. The game occupies the same universe as both the comic and the TV show, but follows a different set of survivors. You won't see Rick or Shane in this game. You will see a couple of familiar faces, however.
Lee and... Glen?
The story follows Lee Everett, a convicted murderer, on his way from Atlanta to his home town of Macon, GA. Along the way, Everett is carrying on idle chit chat with the police officer charged with delivering him to prison, when Lee notices several police cars (and a helicopter) speeding by in the opposite direction. The officer takes his eyes off the road to look Lee in the eyes while regaling him with his stories, when a slumped figure appears in front of the car. The officer hits the figure and swerves off the road, plowing through a barrier and crashing into a ravine below. Everett is rendered unconscious in the crash and when he comes to, he realizes that he's still handcuffed in the car, while the officer has been thrown clear and lays motionless several yards away. The player's first real goal (there are some conversation choices to make during the car ride) is to get Everett out of the car. Once that is achieved, the player is to check on the police officer. After grabbing the keys for the handcuffs, the officer stirs to life and attacks Everett. Assuming the player is able to blow the officer's head off, Lee is then faced with a group of walkers (the comic, TV show, and games' name for the zombies in the story) and is chased to a suburban home on the outskirts of the woods. Here, Everett will encounter the second constant character in the narrative, a little girl named Clementine, whose parents were in Savannah when all hell breaks loose, leaving her alone for Everett to care for.
Lee and Clementine
Graphics
As mentioned above, the graphic style in The Walking Dead apes the art style of the comic book. And, outside of perhaps the recent Naruto games, this is the most successful attempt I've seen at transferring the art from a different medium into game graphics. The line work is gorgeous and really does harken to Charlie Adlard's pencils in the comics. The color palette is also reminiscent of the covers from the comics. In short, this is as close as you'll currently be able to come to "playing" a comic book. The characters are expressive and the animation, while not silky smooth, fits the art style perfectly. The game is dark, but not overly so. In short, the game is pretty, if not in the traditional sense. This is an example of graphics serving the story and game.
Sound
In any horror-based game, sound is of utmost importance. Fortunately, Telltale knew this and the sound design is excellent. The atmosphere is solid all the way through and gives the universe a sense of solidity. But what really shines here is the voice acting. There are the occasional instances where it sounds like an actor was reading his lines alone in a booth (which I'm sure is actually the case, since that's standard operating procedure for VO work), but those examples are few and far between. The actors are nearly pitch perfect in every scene. The quality of the VO is near the top of the of the heap in games. Often approaching Uncharted. If the quality in the first chapter is any indication of the rest of the series, you're in for a treat.
Something ain't right with the babysitter
Gameplay
If you're familiar with Telltale's other adventure games (eg. Back to the Future), you'll be somewhat familiar with The Walking Dead. But this isn't a clone of their previous games at all. The premise of the game play is similar, much like a point and click adventure, but there is more actual action involved. You control both your character and an on-screen reticule. The reticule is context sensitive and allows you to interact with other characters, items, and the environment. You directly control Lee with the left analog stick (PlayStation 3 version and, I'm assuming, 360 version as well) and the reticule with the right. When you move the reticule over an object, options reveal themselves as to how you can interact with them. Pressing the corresponding button on the controller (up=triangle, left=square, down=cross, right=circle) performs the action indicated. That can be something as simple as "examine," or something as active as "attack." Many of these activities are timed.
In addition to the active reticule interface, there's an interface for actual conversations with characters. Many of the conversations give you an opportunity to choose from several options, some of which are flat out lies. You must decide whom to trust. Tell someone about your real past and it may come back to bite you in the future. You can choose to stay silent, but that just hasn't seemed like a real option to me through chapter one. More than a few of the conversations are timed events, so, just like in real life, you must sometimes choose your answers without the time to give them much thought. So you have to stay on your toes.
Using this interface, players follow Everett's story as he meets new people, kills new zombies, solves new puzzles, and protect Clementine. Decisions you make along the way fundamentally affect the way the story plays out. It's not yet clear how they affect the story on a broad scale (only chapter one has been released thus far), but they can dramatically change the game on a smaller scale. Before I had the full game (well, again, chapter one), I played through the demo a couple of times and chose different options when they were presented. On my first play through, I found myself with a completely different set of companions than in the second play thorough. In fact, one of the people I left town with the first play through turned up as a walker in roughly the same spot in the second.
If all of this sounds a little complex, trust that it's only complex in the best sense. It's not as simple as a straight up point and click adventure, but it's not so complicated as to get in the way of the story. Players that are new to this type of game should pick up on things rather quickly. Which makes this perfect for fans of the comic and/or the tv series that want to explore more in Kirkman's undead universe.
If you're familiar with Telltale's other adventure games (eg. Back to the Future), you'll be somewhat familiar with The Walking Dead. But this isn't a clone of their previous games at all. The premise of the game play is similar, much like a point and click adventure, but there is more actual action involved. You control both your character and an on-screen reticule. The reticule is context sensitive and allows you to interact with other characters, items, and the environment. You directly control Lee with the left analog stick (PlayStation 3 version and, I'm assuming, 360 version as well) and the reticule with the right. When you move the reticule over an object, options reveal themselves as to how you can interact with them. Pressing the corresponding button on the controller (up=triangle, left=square, down=cross, right=circle) performs the action indicated. That can be something as simple as "examine," or something as active as "attack." Many of these activities are timed.
In addition to the active reticule interface, there's an interface for actual conversations with characters. Many of the conversations give you an opportunity to choose from several options, some of which are flat out lies. You must decide whom to trust. Tell someone about your real past and it may come back to bite you in the future. You can choose to stay silent, but that just hasn't seemed like a real option to me through chapter one. More than a few of the conversations are timed events, so, just like in real life, you must sometimes choose your answers without the time to give them much thought. So you have to stay on your toes.
Using this interface, players follow Everett's story as he meets new people, kills new zombies, solves new puzzles, and protect Clementine. Decisions you make along the way fundamentally affect the way the story plays out. It's not yet clear how they affect the story on a broad scale (only chapter one has been released thus far), but they can dramatically change the game on a smaller scale. Before I had the full game (well, again, chapter one), I played through the demo a couple of times and chose different options when they were presented. On my first play through, I found myself with a completely different set of companions than in the second play thorough. In fact, one of the people I left town with the first play through turned up as a walker in roughly the same spot in the second.
If all of this sounds a little complex, trust that it's only complex in the best sense. It's not as simple as a straight up point and click adventure, but it's not so complicated as to get in the way of the story. Players that are new to this type of game should pick up on things rather quickly. Which makes this perfect for fans of the comic and/or the tv series that want to explore more in Kirkman's undead universe.
I think Lee made his point.
Bottom Line
The Walking Dead revives the point and click adventure genre for the modern generation. It propels players along an alternate path in the comic book universe. You'll meet new characters, see what's going on in other parts of Georgia, and even run into a couple of characters you recognize from the comics and tv show. You'll have to make quick decisions and think on your feet. All of this makes this a compelling entry not just in the video game world, but in the world of The Walking Dead as well.
I'll revisit this review when the entire series has been released. Something I truly look forward to.
Pass, Rent, or Buy? Buy
The Walking Dead
Telltale Games
$4.99 (or you can buy all five episodes up front for $20 and get them as they're released)
PlayStation Store, X-Box Live, and Steam
Postscript - An iOS version has been announced, but has not yet been released. I'll update this review when it has.
The Walking Dead revives the point and click adventure genre for the modern generation. It propels players along an alternate path in the comic book universe. You'll meet new characters, see what's going on in other parts of Georgia, and even run into a couple of characters you recognize from the comics and tv show. You'll have to make quick decisions and think on your feet. All of this makes this a compelling entry not just in the video game world, but in the world of The Walking Dead as well.
I'll revisit this review when the entire series has been released. Something I truly look forward to.
Pass, Rent, or Buy? Buy
The Walking Dead
Telltale Games
$4.99 (or you can buy all five episodes up front for $20 and get them as they're released)
PlayStation Store, X-Box Live, and Steam
Postscript - An iOS version has been announced, but has not yet been released. I'll update this review when it has.
