So initially I was going to save this until Halloween. But seeing as the stuff I said I would review this month seems to be a bit all over the place as well as the reveal of what Season 8 of the TV series will be like, I decided to review it earlier. Now fans of the Walking Dead know that we get two slightly different universes told across several mediums. There's the comic book series where it all began which this series of games collectively serve as a prequel to (with the exception of Michonne which takes place between issues 126 and 139 of the comic series). And then there's the TV series which loosely follows the plot of the comics, but with some vastly different but similar scenarios such as the use of original characters like Daryl, the fates of some characters being changed (i.e. Andrea being killed off early on and Rick's daughter having a longer lifespan) and the stories of some characters being altered (like Eugene becoming a full on Savior instead of a hostage, or is he?). So naturally, TellTale got their hands on the brand and decided to make a few games out of it and to this day, it has become one of their best series of games and helped them pave the way for making games out of other brands like Minecraft and Batman. So grab your guns and pitchforks as we kill some walkers and maybe shed a tear or two:
The Walking Dead
Taking place at the very beginning of the zombie outbreak, we meet Lee (voiced by Dave Fennoy), a man who has been sentenced to prison for a crime he committed. In the police car, things go well to begin with. But soon enough a zombie attacks the car, thus allowing Lee to escape. Coming to grips with this new reality, Lee eventually comes across a young girl named Clementine (voiced by Melissa Hutchison) and together, they set out to find Clem's parents while making friends, acquaintances and enemies along the way. Like with TellTale's other work, this is a point and click game as well as decision based which makes it more tailored to the player. Its graphics are very reminiscent of the comic books (which I believe was the intention) and just like with the TV series, it has a focus on human emotions and survival. Split into 5 episodes and a DLC called 400 Days, this is a very good game. Its emotional, keeps fans happy and does its own original story and not heavily relying on the main cast of The Walking Dead to make it good. I also understand that this was among TellTale's games that helped establish themselves as a serious video game developer and publisher and its a formula that works really well. 9/10
Season 2
So like other game sagas, this series allows you to transfer save data across the many games and its a formula that has paid off well. So following the events of the previous game, Clem travels with two remaining survivors from her group, only to be separated from them later on. After a while, she meets a dog who ultimately becomes vicious and before long, a horde of walkers arrive. Clem is saved and joins a new group of survivors who are escaping from a bad man. As Clem learns more of the reality she's in, she must make some tough choices and overcome a number of challenges that lay ahead. Its another 5 episode game with some updated graphics which look very good as well as a number of new and old characters. Some you want to root for and others not so much. Its tough to top a game that did so well and unfortunately even though there is a lot that I like about this one, the game ultimately has weaker storytelling and some of the stuff that's new, isn't that great or interesting. But having said that, its still pretty emotional and does make you question on if what decisions you make can be justified and can Clem be all she's made out to be. 7/10
Michonne
So we move from the past and go to the near present. Those of you who read the comic books, may recall that Michonne (voiced by Samira Wiley aka Poussey from Orange is the New Black) had to go away for sometime and TellTale felt that her story should be told and well this game is just that. Set between issues 126 and 139, Michonne is travelling on a boat with 4 men. On her travels, she starts to have hallucinations of her daughters and what might've been should she stayed with them instead of leaving. She and the crew eventually find themselves an abandoned boat and after recieving a transmission on the radio, she and ship captain Pete (voiced by Malik Yoba) go to the boat, only to get themselves caught in the middle of a trap set up by a much larger group and along with two other people who were also scavenging, are taken hostage. And from that point on, Michonne has to make some decisions to survive and must overcome what happened before the outbreak. Even though this is much shorter than the rest of the series at only 3 episodes long, its enough to give us some idea as to what Michonne was up to. And you know for a popular character like her to get something like this, it's actually pretty decent. I'm not entirely sure if the TV series will cover this, but I would like to think that they would, but we shall see. 9/10 (just to clarify that I did briefly review this as part of my Best of 2016 post on gaming, but that was just a short review so this is or I would like to think this is a more in depth review)
A New Frontier (Season 3)
So going back to the main series, this game starts off with a new group of survivors led by a man called Javier (voiced by Jeff Schine) who learns of his father becoming a walker and along with his family, are forced to leave for parts unknown as the outbreak begins. 4 years later and taking place after the first two games, Javier and his family arrive at a junk yard to scavenge supplies. But following a run in with some enemies, he then meets a now teenage Clem who offers to assist Javier in finding his family as well as to bring him into a save zone called Richmond. But soon enough, trouble starts occurring and the two characters must make some choices to survive. So first of all, I really like that the game uses the same graphics engine that the Batman game used as it looks very colourful, but still reminiscent of the comic book series. Its also got a great cast of new and likable characters as well as a couple of old faces and its just a very good game. But it does have problems with the storytelling and the episodes are very short too which isn't a bad thing, but when you have to wait a while for the next episode to come out, it really does feel like a while. But I like it still so there's that. 9/10 (Covering the whole game this time as I previously covered only the first two episodes as part of my Best of 2016 post on gaming)
So after all that, was it worth playing. I'd say yeah. I mean it may be quite distant from the characters we all know and love, but it manages to do its own original story without having to rely too much on the main series. But its nice to have a few familiar faces like Glenn and Jesus pop up here and there. And I can't wait to see how it all ends when the Final Season comes out next year. 9/10
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