The Walking Dead: Season One

First, let me say that this is my lone exposure to the Walking Dead franchise. I'm familiar with the basic premise of the Romero-influenced zombie story (which this follows to a tee) and that's it. There's apparently a few fanservicey moments for fans of the comics - which I didn't catch. Second, I don't have anything against "interactive movie" games. I think it's a genre rife with potential, that just hasn't been fulfilled yet - and this didn't really change my mind. Telltale's stuff is almost the opposite of Quantic Dream's stuff in that the actual writing and characterization is good, but all the choice is illusionistic. None of it has any real impact on the story, or even leads to alternate endings. This is best exemplified by the major "choices" in the first episode. Zombies attack and you choose between either helping a young child, or a grown man who could actually help you survive longer. Regardless of who you go for, the child is saved, and the man is dragged off and killed. The only effect here is that the kid's father "remembers" what happened and may develop a bit of a grudge against you which crops up in future dialogues. That's it. You get a second choice at the very end to save either a tech geek, or a rather eye-roll inducing babe with a gun. You actually do have a choice here as to who lives and dies, but it ultimately doesn't matter because the character who lives ends up getting only a few interesting moments in the second episode until s/he's unavoidably killed off early in the third. The point I'm making here is the game's choices really don't do much. The game tries with all it's might to make you feel like your actions are shaping the story and it's ultimate conclusion, but it really doesn't. So what's good about this? The writing. Unlike David Cage's garbage, it's actually good and emotionally evocative. You'll find yourself actually caring about the characters and their fates. In other words, this game has feels.

Season 1...Georgia...set at the start of the zombie apocalypse. This season is a tad stronger than season 2 since the transition starts here imo. Still loved season 2 as well though. Such a great series so far. Very easy. I'm a dunderhead when it comes to adventure games but I didn't need a faq whatsoever. The other reviewer is right about the "illusion" of choice. There are decisions to be made...but in the grand scheme of things, many events will happen a certain way. And going back through it I was surprised that although you feel like you're making a big decision in certain spots...that very little changes when you pick something else. But illusion of choice is not bad at all. There are some choices to be made. The game backs you into an emotional corner where you'll hate yourself no matter what choice you go with. Neither option is good but it's worse if you don't pick. You'll wonder if you did the right thing and you'll love it. You only get worked up this way because you really do get invested in the characters. The dialogue is solid and the characters feel like random people they picked off the street and threw them together to see what would happen. I've never watched the TV show but I tried this because of all the hype and it blew me away. There are some gory scenes so if you can stomach that then I totally recommend this. expect to get around 2-4 hours depending if you inspect everything and exhaust all dialogue options.

Most games use story to connect one level to the next, but in The Walking Dead the gameplay connects chapters of the story together... the story is the main focus in TWD. This game has one of the best character development and story of any game out there. I found myself liking some character while disliking others and the choices I made in the game reflected my feelings towards individuals in the group. I have never had a game make me question my own morality. A choice I made in the heat of the moment later filled me with self doubt and regret... did I make the right choice... and believe me, the choices are not easy.

This point and click adventure game is an emotionally heart wrenching game. The puzzles are pretty basic and simple but the game does a great job of making you feel the tension of living in a post apocalyptic world. The voice acting from the entire cast is absolutely phenomenal and the game has one of the best stories ever told with a flawlessly written script. Play this if you're a fan of great storytelling and don't mind quirky aspects of adventure games. Don't play this if you're a graphics whore and always wants to play his game in Ultra HD.