Reviews// The Walking Dead

TellTale games is credited with trying to single-handedly pull the point and click adventure genre back into the limelight. At times it has come close to hitting home runs – Back To The Future – but have also had moments of kicking itself in the balls – Jurassic Park.

It's latest attempt worried me slightly. I'm a huge fan of The Walking Dead, both in comic book and television show formats. I had always thought the franchise would make a good game although at the same time I could never have thought I'd trust someone with the world it was set in.

So... on the game's release I couldn't help myself. I paid up and started to play.

Story
You play as Lee Everett, an unfamiliar character in this world gone to shit. You start in the back of a police car where the driver opens up enough to tell you that he doesn't believe you're a criminal. You have the opportunity to study the world around you from your window, where you notice that chaos might be building as police cars and the odd ambulance speed past.

It's all a bit clichéd at the start - lines heard from many films and TV shows that have come before it. Lines that scare you into thinking that the game ahead will be a predictable one. Let me tell you now that as it progresses, the opening signals couldn't be further from the truth.

Once you leave that police car characters are introduced thick and fast. Some seem like important characters to your adventure only for them to be eaten up by the undead, while some develop over the short time you get with this opening episode of the series.

What's important though is that the story is constantly surprising. You find yourself second guessing characters and taking sides. You make decisions that might come back and bite you on the arse like a zombie chasing you up a ladder. Nothing is clear cut, just like both the TV Show and comics that brought the series its fame.

The story feels like a sort of parallel universe to the original graphic novels, much like the TV series did. There are characters you will recognise mixed in with new faces. Thankfully the new guys are likeable or interesting enough to not feel out of place. There are one or two that seem obvious. There are sympathetic and overly hateful characters, but there's enough middle ground for it all to seem genuine, something the Walking Dead name has always adhered to.

Along the way you're asked to make some pretty big decisions. Do you ask a little girl to stay and hide, or do you get her to come to you for safety? Do you travel in the cover of night or would you prefer to walk in the day time when it's slightly less scary?

The most exciting choices you get to make lies within the dialogue. You have choices to lie or open up to characters. In return you could gain allies or break down trust, all of which alters the plot in very subtle ways. Although the game gives slightly too much feedback when it comes to characters' reactions to your decisions, it makes each choice feel like one of importance and adds tension from start to finish.

Gameplay

Some have described this game as a point and click adventure and that's not too far from the truth. Even on the 360 version (the version I'm reviewing) there is a curser on screen during game time. However, it never falls into the same old traps we're used to when playing point and click games.

In fact I'd say this was more like Heavy Rain than Broken Sword. There's a lot of time spent being a viewer rather than a player but it never feels dull. There are no perplexing puzzles to crack, there's no aimless wandering. It's incredibly well directed and will keep you playing through long sessions.

At times I got frustrated with the controls slightly. The lack of inverted cursor control will put some off, as will the art of distinguishing between controlling your character's movement and what you're selecting. But after your first hour's worth of play you'll get used to and even enjoy how it plays.

Audio and Visuals

Visually The Walking Dead can look as awful as it sometimes does beautiful. The cel-shaded effect works well and characters look solid and thought-out, but some elements of the game let it down, most noticeably the Zombies themselves. Some are used more than once, most look like the cheap skellington that was hung up in your science classes at school but none of them offer the amount of fear that they should. In fact the game only gets scary during conflicts between living characters, and in a world filled with flesh eating monsters it just doesn't seem right.

While the comics-emulating visuals look OK, they are sometimes exposed as cheap and nasty. Some scenes are complete, and have had time and effort poured into them while others seem less than polished and stand out amongst the good.

The soundtrack fits in with the game perfectly and complements each emotional scene, as does the voice acting. There isn't one bad actor amongst this cast and it makes all the difference.

The Future

This episode is a good start to a potentially fantastic series. By the time you finish you'll be crying out for more and I can only hope that every branch of the plot will carry over to the next instalment.

I hope TellTale knows what it has here. It's the first opportunity to deliver a truly ground-breaking game. At times it feels as though this could be Mass Effect. You constantly make choices that you feel will impact the plot (if they haven't already) and knowing there is plenty more to come only excites me further.

The highest compliment I could pay this game is that I want more. The next episode is a day one purchase for me and if it's anything like this one then we are all in for a great ride. I'd strongly suggest that you jump on board.

Pros
+ Engaging and interactive store line
+ Great use of audio
+ Genuinely scary in places

Cons
- Looks ropey in places
- Controls can take a while to get used to

SPOnG Score: 8/10