Hello everyone,

Back again this week and were taking a look at A House Divided which is episode two in this fantastic game series.  I can’t say enough about this game, action, and story line you get pulled into.  While episode one “All That Remains” focused on character development and plot building, “A House Divided” pulls everything in and brings us a very violent story that destroys the relationships we saw built in episode one.

We continue down the path of Clementines amazing character and learn more about the dark path her story is taking, but this episode has taken a turn on character importance as well.  We learn about a new addition to this fantastic story and his name is Carver, a villain with a quiet and terrifying menace.  Like The Governor in The Walking Dead comics, Carver is going to have major, memorable ramifications on Clementine and the people of this episode.  Carver is smart, calculated and very controlling which is what makes him so threatening in this story arc.  Carver is after power and control and he’s set the stage for a very nasty future that Clementine and her group will have to face for many episodes to come.

As we saw in episode one, Clementine had some very interesting character growth and it was a very intense portion of the game.  Episode two is no different as when we see someone in this story change for the worst, it’s never far off that we will run into someone who is much worse. Over this episode’s two-and-a-half-hours Clementine makes a ton of big decisions about her group’s fate, especially during the stressful and bloody 30-minute finale, while reconciling and damaging relationships along the way. Short of Lee Everett, nothing has changed Clem in quite the same way as the catastrophic events Carver puts into motion during this episode.

“A House Divided” may be the biggest episode of The Walking Dead yet in my honest opinion, both in terms of the ground covered and the variables you encounter along the way.  Again, the story is made up of a lot of conversations between the multiple parties involved, and they take wildly different directions depending on who’s alive to have them and how you treat others. You may not see certain settings, have entire conversations, or interact with certain people depending on where you take Clementine by the end of the episode’s five-day stretch.

On Clem’s journey north to find safety and a missing friend, she also ends up in some of the best action fight scenes the game has seen.  This game series has always been a master at creating drama, and tension in the fight scenes and this episode has just brought those emotions to a brand new level of extreme. The only downside is It’s still concerning to see sudden frame rate drops and animation stutters during these sorts of sequences on the platform systems, but PC has preformed beautifully so that is my go to platform for this game.

Through most of this episode we get to see a very different playing field that Telltale has created with the decisions that are made throughout.  The majority of scenes throughout this episode feel like they’ll each have lasting consequences on Clementine, or even a new group of trustworthy survivors. Depending on whether Clementine gives herself up or tries to sneak away to find backup, she’ll have entirely different game play options, conversations, and choices in separate locations.

This episode has seen immediate important shifts when big decisions are made instead of wondering when that one specific dialogue choice will come back to help or hurt you.

This episode has seen some big changes, but one thing has not changed, the writers have again blown us out of the park with the story and characters.  A chilling and introspective speech about regret, family, and letting go stands out as one of the franchise’s strongest character moments.  The best part of this episode for me, are the things that aren’t said that come out so clear.  All in All this is one of my favorite moments in the series and I can’t wait to play the next episode.

Until next time!