It's been a long time coming (it was announced back in Feb. 2011, and even delayed once) but the first episode of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead game is finally upon us! Telltale is known for their excellently written story-based episodic adventure games (and really are the only company who has gotten the whole episodic thing to work), but not every single one of their games have been stellar (although the vast majority of them have). So is the Walking Dead game more like Sam and Max in The Devil's Playhouse (amazing) or Telltale's Jurassic Park (not so amazing)? Zombie shamble over the jump to find out.I'm just gonna get straight to the point here and tell you yes, Telltale's take on The Walking Dead is fantastic. It's writing and gameplay fit the mood and style of both the comics, which the game is actually based on, and the popular AMC show-- so if you've watched only the show and never picked up an issue of the comic you'll still feel right at home in the WD world. In the game, instead of playing through Rick Grimes' adventures (because we already know that story) we're placed in the shoes of Lee Everett, a man with a shady past on his way to prison when the zombie apocalypse breaks loose. On the way he'll meet a little girl named Clementine and become tasked with keeping her safe in this new and hellish world. Along the way you'll meet a color cast of new characters, along with some old friends (Glenn, Herschel, and more) from the original Walking Dead books.
The gameplay is an interesting mix of Heavy Rain inspired quick time events, traditional adventure game puzzles (use item A on item B to progress plot or obtain item C) and Mass Effect style conversations, with choices that actually effect the plot in lasting ways. You'll decide who to save in given situations, effectively choosing who lives and who dies. Also the choices you make actively effect what the other characters think of you, whether they like or dislike you, and if they will come to your aid if you find yourself in a jam. The convo system is surprisingly deep, you have a limited amount of time to make a choice, and more often than not silence is actually an option, something you don't often see in games like this. The puzzles are considerably less obtuse than most adventure games, which makes sense in a game that is trying to present some level of realism, but also leads to some pretty easy puzzles that definitely won't leave you stuck or scratching your head. I wouldn't say the game is hard (at all) but who said games all had to be that kind of challenge. Sometimes it's just fun and engrossing to experience them. Still though, I wish I found myself using my brain a little more, but hey, it's only the first episode-- maybe it gets harder later.
The combat (when it actually happens) is all through quick time events (push q or e fast!) or quick clicking on a certain area. It's not your regular zombie killing game (don't go into this expecting Left 4 Dead) but if you know anything about the source material you'll know The Walking Dead isn't about rampant zombie murder. Each zombie fighting moment actually has weight and feels like a life or death situation, instead of a happy-go-lucky shoot-fest like most zombie related games. Something feels oddly real and visceral about clicking frantically on a zombie's head in order to bash it with a hammer repeatedly. It just really works, and since time is also a factor in these moments, you always feel appropriately frantic and pressured to do what you must to survive.
The graphics capture the look and feel of the comic book perfectly and look good, despite the game's lower system specs and reasonable file size. It's truly one of those situations where excellent art direction succeeds in place of raw horsepower. Character animation is actually really good, nothing looks hokey or crappy like Telltale's Jurassic Park dinosaurs did. The zombies are appropriately zombie-like and are filled with great gory little details like missing jaws or limbs. Telltale really pulled out all the stops in this one, with terrific art direction that even rivals the fantastic look of their last Sam and Max series. (Dang, this is making me want to play through The Devil's Playhouse again.)
The writing (which is beaucoup important in a game like this) is stellar and once again matches point for point the feel and tone of the game's source material. You do actually get invested in the game's characters and think about how they will react to your dialog choices and actions. They'll be some you actively want to look out for, and others you'll want to punch in the face-- and they'll punch you in the face as well, given the chance. It all just does a superb job of dropping you in Lee's shoes and making you feel like an active, important part of the world-- like you can affect it in more ways than just through zombie killing. I found the conversation system so engrossing I didn't even mind the fact I wasn't out fighting for my life against zombies every moment. It almost transcends "video game" as we know it and becomes a more deeply interactive story than most games even hope to be in a very much Heavy Rain kind of way.
Man, I'm really gushing about this game here. Let me get back to reality for a second. The Walking Dead game is not without a few faults though. I've heard (though I haven't experienced them myself) the game suffers from some audio hiccups from time to time, which kind of sucks when dialog is so important to the experience. I wish the episode was a bit longer as well (I finished it in a couple of hours, and I took my time) but for the price ($25 for a five episode season, so $5 an episode) it's understandable the game would clock in at such a short amount of time. You don't get to see the effects of a lot of your choices either, but that comes with the territory of being the first episode in a series. Other than these few short issues, the game is excellent and worth the price of admission, and doubly excellent if you're a fan of the comics or show. Go pick it up!
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