Lee Everett

The Walking Dead – The Game – Episode 5 No Time Left

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Finishing off the final of my Walking Dead the game reviews for season one, I thought it fitting to add the season finale trailer.

The first four episodes of The Walking Dead put the game into perspective of how in depth this game was really going to be.  This episode brings everything to a huge climactic head and you being in the main role of Lee Everett is overwhelming in this episode.  His story is packed full of emotions, suspense and very tense moments, and very terrifying all at the same time.  Unfortunately this is possibly the end of the road for Lee as he has been bitten, and Clementine has also been taken.

The sole purpose in this episode seems to be finding Clementine, no matter the cost! This episode throws you into what seems to be Lee’s final hours of life, and the split second decisions are more frequent as well.  In previous installments, you’ve had to make one or two major decisions, but Episode 5 has us making them left and right – deciding where the group should head, who to tell off, etc… Really there are only a couple choices that change the game drastically and affect the story (one of those decisions are very early on in the game, and it’s one of the most gruesome out of all the episodes), but Telltale has dones such a freaking amazing job at the story telling of the group that even the small decisions seem epic in this one.  We know that this is the end of Lee, and honestly this is such a fitting end to an epic story character.

This episode moves so fast mainly due to the way time plays out for Lee and being bitten by one of the nasties.  Basically you never know when the decision you just made will be your last one to ever make for this character.  This episode also does a good job weaving all the characters together in a emotional dance and when the fast pace of the episode does slow down, we almost get a chance to reflect on everything that’s happened up to this point.  Having a conversation with Kenny about Duck and Kat plays out differently based on who you tried to save in Episode 1.  A lot of the “He or she will remember that” bits from the previous episodes make an appearance once again.  This episode seems to be more personal in manner than any of the others to date and references a lot of your previous actions to build that personal touch.

Gameplay is packed full of action, but there is a ton of conversation building, and character development as well.  Again, the voiceover work is absolutely amazing as always and honestly is what keeps me coming back to this game!  The graphic novel style of the game is still beautiful in it’s own sense and still remains one of my favorite game designs ever!  This episode also holds one of the games largest zombie fights to date and some of the most emotional end game conversations you’ve ever listened to.  This end of the story honestly leaves you speechless, and really holds you on the edge of your seat all the way till the credits roll!

I can’t wait to start playing season 2, and Season 3 is to be announced on release date sometime this year!

 

scr.ee tags:

#thewalkingdead #seasonone #episodefive #finale

The Walking Dead – The Game – Episode 3 The Long Road Ahead

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the-walking-dead-episode-3-long-road-ahead-cfa6bde45c8f98ab66fe-midThe more I play The Walking Dead, the more I feel like being the bad guy at times…. When I started episode one, I felt like I needed to make all the good choices and be that stand-up guy for Clementine.  Starting episode two made you question whether Lee was going to be that good guy, or the protector and survivor he needed to be. Now, after finishing episode three and looking back at my choices, it really makes you question if you did the right thing, or did you make the best survivors judgement call in the split second of time they give you to mash that choice button? Faced with the toughest decisions to date, there was no question over how a choice would make Lee look or how that choice would affect the group.  This episode was so fast paced and when something happened, I personally felt a knee jerk reaction and you make that split second choice.  This is what I love about the game the most is the way it pulls the emotions into things….the situations almost bring the survivor out of you at times.

I’m a huge Walking Dead fan if you haven’t caught on yet… I love the show, the comics, the story, and overall premise of what The Walking Dead is.  The parallel between watching Rick Grimes – The main protagonist of the AMC original TV series evolves as does he evolve with each new comic, I personally get to see an ever evolving Lee Everett in the game.

111780_maxThe Long Road Ahead is the third out of five series in the game that have been released and best way I can describe this episode is “A roller coaster going a hundred miles an hour and no ones watching the controls”  Our small group get’s to see some of the most screwed up, emotional twisted moments to date in game.  This episode brings in a situation with the bandits who have nowhere else to turn now that the dairy farm is out of commission, as well as Kenny and Lilly who are still at odds, and to top everything off…..there’s a thief in the midst your little group now.

By this point, it’s safe to assume you’ve gotten really connected with these characters now and have learned a ton about them and who they really are….and probably even have some favorites that you tend to lean towards more than others. So, when the season-defining choices appear on screen, there’s an emotional roller coaster at times that come for us players and the characters we’ve grown fond of.

frame_0002Since episode one, this game and the characters in it create a very unique emotional relationship that brings the games context to a deeper level.  This episode really brings together Lee and Kenny’s relationship and you begin to see how important trust is in this game.  You also understand how important protection, and grasp the idea of who has your back and who doesn’t.

As always, this episode looks amazing with its comic-style, and the voice acting is above and beyond amazing! These two aspects of the game really bring you into the game and you just get completely lost in the story.   One great portion of this episode that brings such rich satisfaction to the story is the side adventure stories you are challenged with which becomes a huge plot of the story unlike the previous episodes.  This episode in my book has been one of the best to date, but I’m not done with the game yet and so far this has overall been on of the best games I’ve played all year.

scr.ee tags:

#thewalkingdead #seasonone #episodethree

The Walking Dead – Game Review – Episode 1 A New Day

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images (15)In the first of my five episode reviews of The Walking Dead Season 1, you jump right into the game as the character Lee Everett, a man who was convicted of killing a man, and is currently on his way to prison.  In the midst of being transported to prison, the great zombie apocalypse abruptly outbreaks and you are now in control of this characters fate. Lee has been given a second chance of sorts now that the zombies are out and about, so it’s up to you to keep Lee alive and survive in this amazing horror.

The really cool part about this game is the story all takes place concurrently with the comic book series.  You now taking over and controlling the story of Lee is all happening while Rick the main character of the comic book series, is calmly asleep in his hospital bed. Though the story is happening in conjunction with one another, the game is a completely separate story line.  There will be a few familiar faces along the way of the game but for the most part it’s a whole new group of survivors and a whole lot of plot twisting.  This game has a ton of action and cut scenes that help build the stories main and sub plot lines, but you “Lee” will spend a lot of time making on the cuff decisions and having to live with the outcome.

images (14)The Walking Dead removes any second guessing and makes you choose a decision in a split second. Basically someone will ask you a question and you’ll have a limited time to pick one of four responses. Whatever you decide, you and whatever group you are with have to live with the outcome of that decision.  Also, the group will remember what you say and take note of your decisions.  Remember this is the same story line that everyone plays, but how they answer the questions is what depicts how the game plays out.  I’ve currently got multiple sessions of the game going as I want to play out different choice lines to see the outcome of the game.  You have three save slots available so ultimately you have three chances at the game having a different outcome to the same story.

Into the game we go… as when you play a zombie game you want to crush a few skulls and bash some zombie scum right?  Ok, so with this game the creators made a very unique movement and reaction system.  I’ve been playing the mobile version of the game so the controls on the phone are a bit different then the PC or Console versions.  You navigate Lee with your finger and he follows on-screen.  Sounds easy right…?  Wrong, as you sometimes have split seconds to decide what direction to go, or what zombie you have to kill.  They have even designed the “OMG” button that you have to frantically tap to get out of some sticky situations in the game.  Overall the movement in this game gets an A+ in my book because it’s easy to learn, and easy to follow along with, though it is much harder to target a “Walker” than you would think.

Walking_dead_telltale_game_charactersThe graphics in game are spectacularly done as well… they have that gritty, dark comic book look to them.  There is not a shortage of blood and gore in this zombie montage of craziness either.  Visually this game is beautiful in it’s own twisted sorta way. Plus, with the exception of a strange camera angle or a cut scene jumping the game is amazing.  The game is amazing but it’s not flawless but for the caliber of game quality you get I really don’t have many complaints and what complaints I do have are trivial at best. This by far is one of the best zombie apocalypse games I have ever played.

scr.ee tags:

#thewalkingdead #seasonone

A Glance at The Walking Dead: The Game Season 1

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Happy Halloween Everyone!

I thought it quite fitting and ironic that these last few weeks of gaming have been intense, suspenseful, questionable, and even down right horrifying.  It’s Halloween and nothing else would even be right…right?  Well anyways….Zombies have completely overtaken my gaming experiences of late and it’s all due to the amazing work that Telltale games has put into “The Walking Dead Game” which has it’s flaws but delivers an amazing game experience like none other that I soon won’t forget.  I’m currently playing through season one of the game, and it’s unique player choice system, and award-winning script writing has won this game multiple awards.

images (15)This game was originally released to be five episodes in which you play a character named Lee Everett, a convicted murderer on his way to prison.  Though the convicted murderer has something much bigger than trying to learn the inmates code on his hands, and that is the zombie apocalypse that has broken out.  This gives Lee a whirlwind of decisions that he is now having to make, and guess who is in charge of those decisions and all the steps in between; yep you guessed it, it’s YOU! The decisions that you make in the heat of the moment have rewards, or great consequences that stay with you throughout the entire journey of the game.

This game is an adventure game by nature which is ultimately based off the critically acclaimed comic book and television series.  This isn’t your typical adventure game though, and as you play through the five episodes, the really important moments of the game come when you choose how Lee responds to situations and what he says in conversations with his fellow survivors.

images (14)This is a choice based game and specific dialogue comes up on your screen with timers, and you literally have seconds to choose exactly what Lee will do or say next….In this game when you choose and make your decision, the game adapts the story and moves on in the timeline, so choose wisely and choose quickly.  This exact feature is what makes The Walking Dead so special… everyone playing this game has the same task a head of them, which is to protect a little girl named Clementine that you encountered on your journey and you’ve taken her under your wing for protection.  The cool part about the decision system is everyone goes about the game a different way.  I might choose to befriend someone you hate, and you might choose to leave someone I took. I might blowup in anger, but you may keep a cool level headed mind. Whatever group you have with you will remember the decision you have made and that creates the dynamic of the group and how people react to you.

images (18)Once you are done with an episode of the game, it gives you a recap of your choices and how it compared to the percentage of what other players have chosen in that moment. The game itself has a way of drawing you into the moment, and you are basically the artist making the sketches for how the story plays out.  The main story has a very black and white foundation, and we’ve been hired as gamer’s to finish the drawings with whatever colorful choices we see appropriate at the time. Which is what makes this game such an emotional roller coaster and endearing.  Part of that connection comes from amazing writers in which they’ve added comedy, suspense, horror, and all those emotional moments seem to happen at just the right time.  The other big factor is the great voice acting, and visual style that is a picture perfect image out of the comic books.

Ok, now time for my critiques of the game and what I’ve seen fallen short or even off the wagon at times.  As much as I want to praise the whole game at being a superstar, there are a few things that really stood out to me as being what the heck just happened moments.  For instance, scenes will freeze as the next one loads, game play will slow down as the game tries to process intense action sequences, and at times the voices aren’t synced to the visuals on screen.  Even with these few hiccups in the game design, this is one of the best games I’ve ever played and don’t mind setting through a few flaws for the experience of a game like this one.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at each of the five episodes of season one and can’t wait to play season two, though I’m waiting a bit as I’ve heard season three won’t be out until sometime in 2015.

scr.ee tags:

#thewalkingdead #seasonone