Figured I'd take a quick break from my busy complaining schedule to drop a recommendation.
The Walking Dead by Telltale games. Episodic game with point & click adventure sensibilities. Based on the comic series of the same name but has an original, self-contained story. Final episode about to be released. A cool $25 gets you all five episodes.
When I first saw this I dismissed it as yet-another-bloody-zombie-game. To a certain extent I was right to do so. On the surface it's a stock-standard take on the zombie apocalypse (slow shambling zombies this time, for those keeping count).
However, it also turned out to be one of my favourite games of the year and some of the most fun I've ever had with a game.
The Walking Dead focuses on story and character interaction with some of the best written dialogue in the business and quality voice acting to boot. In fact I think it might just be the best zombie apocalypse story I've come across in any medium. It also features one of the best child characters I can remember encountering in any medium [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6406-Think-of-the-Children].
The story essentially boils down to charging the main character with the care of an eight year old child then marching you through a series of small-scale but brutally unrelenting tragedies. Dark, twisted and downright fucked up plot twists abound. Luckily, the game knows to contrast this with frequent moments of levity, humour and optimism.
There is a degree of player choice on offer. It's about on the same level as Mass Effect in that regard. The main story is railroaded but topped with the garnish of your choice. Numerous small choices generally only affect dialogue and character reactions while rarer choices affect who dies and who lives. Choices big and small are carried through the episodes. There is some indication that they might step things up for the final installment, since the second-to-last episode can end with the player being all alone or accompanied by varying combinations of up to four different companions.
This next part is where I point out that the game isn't perfect and highlight a few flaws.
The railroading can get a bit heavy handed at times. On one occasion, despite having everything needed to solve a puzzle, I was unable to do so until I talked to a specific character and had them heavily hint at what had to be done.
Speaking of puzzles, they're pretty simplistic. On the other hand, they're also consistently logical and don't revolve around ridiculous applications of inventory items.
The animation is decidedly low-rent. It generally suffices, but fails comically every now and again.
A couple of times my progression has been brought to a grinding halt by interface bugs. A quick Googling provided simple solutions, but still a pain.
However, flaws aside, The Walking Dead is a fantastic little game that you really should play.
The Walking Dead by Telltale games. Episodic game with point & click adventure sensibilities. Based on the comic series of the same name but has an original, self-contained story. Final episode about to be released. A cool $25 gets you all five episodes.
When I first saw this I dismissed it as yet-another-bloody-zombie-game. To a certain extent I was right to do so. On the surface it's a stock-standard take on the zombie apocalypse (slow shambling zombies this time, for those keeping count).
However, it also turned out to be one of my favourite games of the year and some of the most fun I've ever had with a game.
The Walking Dead focuses on story and character interaction with some of the best written dialogue in the business and quality voice acting to boot. In fact I think it might just be the best zombie apocalypse story I've come across in any medium. It also features one of the best child characters I can remember encountering in any medium [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6406-Think-of-the-Children].
The story essentially boils down to charging the main character with the care of an eight year old child then marching you through a series of small-scale but brutally unrelenting tragedies. Dark, twisted and downright fucked up plot twists abound. Luckily, the game knows to contrast this with frequent moments of levity, humour and optimism.
There is a degree of player choice on offer. It's about on the same level as Mass Effect in that regard. The main story is railroaded but topped with the garnish of your choice. Numerous small choices generally only affect dialogue and character reactions while rarer choices affect who dies and who lives. Choices big and small are carried through the episodes. There is some indication that they might step things up for the final installment, since the second-to-last episode can end with the player being all alone or accompanied by varying combinations of up to four different companions.
This next part is where I point out that the game isn't perfect and highlight a few flaws.
The railroading can get a bit heavy handed at times. On one occasion, despite having everything needed to solve a puzzle, I was unable to do so until I talked to a specific character and had them heavily hint at what had to be done.
Speaking of puzzles, they're pretty simplistic. On the other hand, they're also consistently logical and don't revolve around ridiculous applications of inventory items.
The animation is decidedly low-rent. It generally suffices, but fails comically every now and again.
A couple of times my progression has been brought to a grinding halt by interface bugs. A quick Googling provided simple solutions, but still a pain.
However, flaws aside, The Walking Dead is a fantastic little game that you really should play.
