Game Review: The Walking Dead Episode One: A New Day

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 by Christopher Young Filed in: Christopher Young | Comics | Game Reviews

Point and click gaming is one of those game styles that has seemed to run it's course long before The Walking Dead came knocking. Anyone who has been gaming for a while will remember point and click masterpieces like Myst and Riven, which kept players enthralled in a rich visual world requiring a click here and there to move your player or solve a puzzle.

More recently Telltale has been making a modest attempt at reviving the game style with titles like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park. Personally I really liked their rendition of Back to the Future and Jurassic Park was ok. Point and click for me requires either good story telling, an awesome visual experience or some killer puzzles. Can Telltale succeed at hitting all three of these points while giving the fans a killer Walking Dead experience? Let's jump into episode one, A New Day and take a look.

Fans of the comic book series should be happy with the fact we are following the comics and not the show for our characters and storyline. You will see some of the same characters from the show but we will not be retreading Rick Grimes as he is still in a coma for the game rendition of The Walking Dead. The game is being released as a monthly episodic series costing $5 a pop. Each episode will take about two hours to complete depending on the player's level of exploration.

We begin the game as Lee Everett, a man convicted of a crime who is currently taking a little ride in the local police cruiser before being incarcerated. We know very little about our character as the outbreak begins. This is where Telltale shines by allowing the player to control their responses on screen. Depending on your response you might just learn a little about Lee and others along the way, or not, it is your choice all the way through.

The controls here are pretty ambitious in the fact that depending on your button click/response the story will change going forward. Players are expected to have a direct influence here as all of your choices will carry through the entire 5 episode series. As you converse with characters in game the ramifications of your choices will be remembered. A notification will pop up on screen alerting you to the fact so you will remember what you said or shows suspicion of you.

Outside of making response choices on screen the player has a few other game play responsibilities. There is the standard movement in a 3D environment which is required to explore your surroundings and solve various puzzles like, unlocking a gate so you can pick up a brick to break a window for distraction. There are also scenes of confrontation requiring timed button presses to avoid being attacked or defend yourself. This is all pretty standard point and click stuff so let's move on.

The characters in A New Day are surprisingly likable, almost as quickly as we are introduced to them. Lee is not the immediate leader, Rick was in the TV show. His mystery shrouded past will lead to many interesting conversations with the different folks you meet. You have plenty of stereotypical characters like the tough guy, the family man and the tough young chick. Each of these characters really seem to evolve and you will care about them.

The game will require you to make tough choices and there is no way around it. By the conclusion of my first two hour run I did feel a pang of guilt for some of the choices I made. Being in the middle of an epidemic that is bringing the dead back to life means things will get very adult oriented, very quickly. If you have enjoyed the comics you know the language and gore may be a little much for kids. Parents be warned, if you let little Johnny download this title and hear F bombs from the next room, that's your own fault.

This game is gorgeous to look at. The comic book look has translated almost perfectly to the big screen. The colors pop and the desolate environments are set up perfectly. All of the on screen text is displayed prominently making things easy to read. This is important because at times you will be limited to the amount of time when choosing a response.

The title is not without some flaws. The biggest one being glitches I noticed when a response is chosen. This does not happen every single time you make a response choice but often enough to warrant mentioning. A few of these stutters also pulled me from a scene momentarily but luckily the story is deep enough to suck me right back in.

Using the controller was a little awkward at times. This went from awkward to annoying when I had to use the right stick to move my cursor and also click a button on the right side. If the cursor was not over the correct area on screen I could not press a button to proceed. This led to a number of attacks and eminent failures which means restarting the scene. For me this was not a deal breaker because I was restarted so close to the scene where I died it took little time to finish.

So does the game do justice to one of the best comics out there?

Pros

+Awesome comic book look and feel

+Great story telling and player interaction

+Excellent price point and value

+Good replay ability

Cons

-Controls can be a bit clunky

-Odd glitching when a response is chosen

The Walking Dead's "A New Day" is a perfect example of why point and click can be so successful. The game is a story telling master that will only get better as we progress through all 5 chapters. If you think point and click is dead this game will change your mind. If you are hankering for some full on shoot em up zombie action, better look elsewhere. The story and dialog propel this intense ride leaving the player wondering if that last choice was really the best option.

The Walking Dead Game episodes 1 and 2 are currently available on Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Steam for $4.99 each.

Tags: Christopher Young, Telltale Games, The Walking Dead, Video game review, Zombies

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Walking Dead Season 2 - Season Opener

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 by HorrorFix Filed in: TV | Video/TV

I was going into this season of Walking Dead with more than a little trepidation. I mean AMC has not had the best track record in the last few months for cooperation with their money making series like Mad Men and our own Walking Dead, of course. Darabont is still at the helm for now but with the rotating lineup of writers I was afraid that the season would be weak. I am pleased to "say so far so good". Episode 1 had just about every kind of drama that a zombie fan could ask for.

**warning may contain spoilers**

This episode starts off with Rick basically doing a recap on his trusty walkie-talkie for his friend that he left in his home town at the beginning of season one. This my friends is the last non-tense moment of the episode. Shortly into the episode the convoy runs into a huge traffic jam/ graveyard. Now this is a point of contention for me as to why there are dead bodies in the cars. Shouldn't they all be walkers if they were killed by walkers AND if they weren't killed by walkers, "why are they dead in their cars?" This by far isn't enough for me to dislike this episode... im just a bit anal about these things. That being said, the band of survivors takes an opportunity to resupply from the stranded cars and fix the RV.

The tension really starts to become palpable when a herd of walkers heads their way. The survivors hide under the cars and watch the feet of the walkers go by. At least for me this created an overbearing feeling of needing to hold my breath for them. That is what this series does so well: it creates a feeling that you want these men and women to survive. I've never felt fear for a character when they weren't being attacked but I felt it for these poor lost souls as they have to lay silently waiting for the dead to pass.

Just as they think it was over one of the group, a child, is spotted and chased into the woods. Rick pursues and in the end the child comes up missing. They then decide to take a group in to find her and become increasingly split over whether or not to keep looking especially at night when it will be hard to spot walkers. This is where the show and story always had to go, where the needs of the few can no longer outweigh the needs of the group.

Just as you think all is quiet and there is nothing else that can shock you about this premier... well.. you're wrong and its a "wow they really don't care who they kill do they?" moment. In my opinion it is a great moment because in this world everyone is susceptible to pitfalls and sudden violent death.

All in all its a must-watch for sure. It was 90 minutes and I've watched it twice already. If you loved The Walking Dead before then be happy cause it hasn't missed a beat. Oh and if you have never seen it...well firstly, why not? Secondly, are you really a horror fan? third..well I dunno, just watch the damn thing..geesh.

David Winterborne

Tags: The Walking Dead

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Review - The Walking Dead #85

Monday, March 26, 2012 by HorrorFix Filed in: Comics | Comics/Books

The Walking Dead by Image Comics. Written by Robert Kirkman, Drawn by Charlie Adlard. $2.99 Two things I need to say first before I give my review. One, I have never read this comic so bare with me as i catch up on it. And, Two, reason why is i have never liked Zombie stuff much. Yes, yes throw the rotten tomatoes and severed heads, but I just never got into the slow moving "Braaaaaaaiinnnssss." horror stuff. And I hate the newer, run like hell, I'm really just a vampire that eats brains instead, newer zombies even more. So that being said, here is my review. The art in itself is well worth picking this comic up. Charlie Adlard brings the dead to life with his striking depictions of the zombies, and expresses the emotions of the survivors to a fantastic degree. I cant feel the frustration of of the never ending battle as well as the sadness/numbness of loosing friends and other survivors. Robert Kirkman has not only created a well thought out creation, but I have to admit, he has drawn me into the story in just this first issue that I have read. I am now intrigued on the back story of these characters and how they have survived so long enough to go back and read all the issues before. Pretty good comic to make a guy that hates Zombies want to read it.

Tags: The Walking Dead

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Game Review: The Walking Dead Episode One: A New Day

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Review - The Walking Dead #85

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