I'm writing this review after finishing the game through once. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers. Gameplay: Standard TellTale. (Meaning not much at all.) We play these for the stories sure, but I have to say - I'm not overly happy with the direction TellTale is taking here. They are moving further away from anything resembling game play with every release. You control the main character (Javier) for about twenty minutes total... for the whole game. I'm all for casual gaming, but they've taken it too far. You don't even pretend to aim your gun anymore. It's just a button push now. One thing different this time around is that they've gotten rid of the ability to load a "chapter" to replay from. You now have to play the whole episode from the beginning, if you want to start over... (No restarting from the middle.) I'm still trying to decide if that's a good or bad thing... Bugs: Some. Not terrible. Better than Batman, anyway. I encountered a few cases of lag, which disappeared completely after I dropped the resolution a little. I also ran into one instance of crazy geometry, shooting off into infinity, from Javier's backpack (Fixed with restart.) Story. Overall not bad. Can't really say much about the story without spoilers. It certainly felt forced in some places. Some characters and "choices" and get "dead ended" poorly and abruptly. It all ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger, which is definitely a pet peeve of mine. It wasn't too bad, in this case, though. I enjoyed it, so I give it four stars. If I was judging it against the first The Walking Dead, it'd give it a three.
First, the technical problems. Like a lot of other people, I had trouble running this game. Really bad lag and glitchy textures - even after the patch. I find myself disappointed in the new engine. Maybe it'll improve over time, but all the extra trouble hasn't been matched by much of an improvement in graphics or gameplay. I'm not too upset about the initial problems. It's an episodic game, so there is a lot of waiting involved anyway. I'm confident all the technical issues will get sorted out. As for the game. What can I say? It's BATMAN! It's looking really good so far. My only criticism is that Batman's character seems a little melodramatic at times. He's very good when no one's watching, but when he starts "acting" like Batman, he goes a little overboard. Maybe it was intentional. The quick time events are still there. They've added some nice variety like "left" and "right" at the same time (which I didn't even know was possible) and holding [shift] and pressing "Q"... that kind of thing... They also allow you to "aim" the batarang. Which is cool. There is also some very light puzzle solving elements in the form of "linking" evidence to recreate a crime scene. It would be nice if we get see more of that in later episodes. Batman has been dubbed by some as the world's greatest detective. This game would be a good opportunity to allow players a bigger role in solving some mysteries. I was disappointed with the length... but wanting more is evidence of a good game. I'm really excited to see what they do with the rest of the series.
(Disclaimer: I haven't played the GOG version.) Ah, this takes me back. Sitting in my first apartment, playing the Playstation 1. It's easy to forget how much of a leap that era was for video games... Games like D and Resident Evil were coming out and giving gamers visuals and experiences they hadn't had before. This game is all about the spooky. The game is made of pre-rendered 3D. You basically go around a "hospital" which, if I remember right, just looks like a house. The gameplay is in first person, and revolves around interacting with things in the environment, as well as some light puzzle solving. Animated 3D cutscenes progress the story. To current eyes, the models and animation are atrocious, but back then - they were good. One thing I remember is that the game is deliberately slow paced. There is no fighting or action elements in this game. It was sometimes torture to explore. Things like doors and stairs have transitional animations (like Resident Evil), which get really old when you're lost. Even turning around takes time. All in all, if you're under 35 - I'd say give this one a miss. If you're over 35 and remember when the PS1 came out - you should consider getting it. It'll take you back. Three Star Game + 1 For Nostalgia.
I'm excited to see where they can take this game. It really feels like a bare-bones experience right now, but if they keep working on it and adding to it - it could be a real winner! The scenarios/encounters are random (much like FTL), but there aren't many of them... so it feels like you're doing the same thing over and over... (because you are.) You're also limited to five survivors... which is an unfortunate and unnecessary limitation (in my opinion.) And in "story" mode - there is permadeath with no chance of replacing a fallen survivor - which again seems very unnecessary. If they added more content and features, this game would be a real gem. It is an excellent bare bones experience though... I'll be watching for dlc and updates for this one!
