I'll bet you weren't expecting that from me.
In the past my blogs have been dominated by and limited to keeping a record of my emotional state. This, whilst helpful, isn't all that appealing to me any more. I want to be productive, to write of a million things and to improve upon myself in a trillion different ways - and that means that I need a little variety in my life.
That means that you'll get posts like this.
So, without further ado, my first ever and likely somewhat ridiculous game review!
"The Walking Dead" is an episodic role-playing game from Telltale Games based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series of the same name. Season one follows convicted felon Lee Everett and Clementine, an eight-year-old girl he takes under his wing not long into the first episode, as they struggle to survive the zombie apocalypse with both honour and innocence in-tact.
Whilst the story itself does not revolve around characters from the graphic novels or the ever-popular television series it does feature a few - including Glenn, Hershel Greene and Lilly Caul - and, as such, can be a remarkably interesting play for those already familiar with the "Walking Dead" universe.
Whilst the story itself does not revolve around characters from the graphic novels or the ever-popular television series it does feature a few - including Glenn, Hershel Greene and Lilly Caul - and, as such, can be a remarkably interesting play for those already familiar with the "Walking Dead" universe.
This is pretty much the game I was praying "Dead Island" would be. Remember all the hype surrounding the trailer? That beautiful trailer that gave us the impression that this would be the post-apocalyptic survival horror we'd been hoping and praying for?
A zombie survival game with believable characters and scenarios? With children not just present but just as vulnerable, if not more so, than the adults? That kind of realism in games is a rare thing. Dead Island, as you may have guessed, did not deliver.
The Walking Dead, however, is more or less everything this trailer made me believe that Dead Island would be. It's a realistic post-apocalyptic survival horror role-playing game with depth. Being an avid fan of both the "zombie apocalypse" and "survival horror" genres I can tell you now that after just one episode I honestly felt as though all my Christmas' had come at once.
Unlike other games lumped into the survival horror genre - such as those of the Resident Evil franchise - the Walking Dead does not make weaponry and ammo readily available. Not every problem can be solved by employing violence which means that this game won't be everyone's cup of tea. There's a lot of thinking, alliance forming and investigating to be done. Yay! Thinking!
Given the realism of the game it's also not one I'd recommend for the faint of heart. There are difficult decisions to be made, life or death scenarios, death (though, really, this is pretty much to be expected given it's a horror game) and some really disturbing plot twists. I mean really disturbing.
It's also got lots of feels - why yes, that is the technical term I'm going to use here - and makes you really sympathise for the characters woven into it, even the characters you're determined to hate! That, to me, indicates some pretty awesome writers.
Just sayin'.
The Walking Dead, however, is more or less everything this trailer made me believe that Dead Island would be. It's a realistic post-apocalyptic survival horror role-playing game with depth. Being an avid fan of both the "zombie apocalypse" and "survival horror" genres I can tell you now that after just one episode I honestly felt as though all my Christmas' had come at once.
Unlike other games lumped into the survival horror genre - such as those of the Resident Evil franchise - the Walking Dead does not make weaponry and ammo readily available. Not every problem can be solved by employing violence which means that this game won't be everyone's cup of tea. There's a lot of thinking, alliance forming and investigating to be done. Yay! Thinking!
Given the realism of the game it's also not one I'd recommend for the faint of heart. There are difficult decisions to be made, life or death scenarios, death (though, really, this is pretty much to be expected given it's a horror game) and some really disturbing plot twists. I mean really disturbing.
It's also got lots of feels - why yes, that is the technical term I'm going to use here - and makes you really sympathise for the characters woven into it, even the characters you're determined to hate! That, to me, indicates some pretty awesome writers.
Just sayin'.
The game can be played on a number of different platforms - including iOS, which I found particularly impressive given the scale of the game in question. I, personally, played through all five episodes on Steam having bought a season pass back in September after watching a "Let's Play" of the first episode on YouTuber Pewdiepie's channel.
Given that I have only managed to play through on a single platform to date I don't think I can offer much in way of a comparison game-play wise, though I've heard it said that some platforms - specifically the iOS version - have more issues than others. PC wise I found the controls were pretty simple, easy to understand and consistent throughout all five episodes, which I liked.
You will occasionally have the scenes in which your mouse sensitivity, or apparent complete and utter lack thereof, will lead to a "Game Over" screen in spite of your best efforts but let's be honest - you're probably playing with a run-of-the-mill mouse. They're not exactly designed for these kind of games so the best advice I can offer in this regard is to be patient.
It's not a huge problem. In fact I think I only had like one or two instances throughout all five episodes in which it was even an issue, so stick with it because it's do-able and if you can't then I'd recommend trying it on console first.
What else? Ha! I'm so professional, aren't I? Well, in summary this is pretty much one of the most awesome games I've ever played in the survival horror genre and - even though it has more or less broken my tiny little heart - I can't bloody wait for season two!
I could go on for hours praising this game but this post is already far too long so I'll end this spoiler-free!
Rating: 10/10
Given that I have only managed to play through on a single platform to date I don't think I can offer much in way of a comparison game-play wise, though I've heard it said that some platforms - specifically the iOS version - have more issues than others. PC wise I found the controls were pretty simple, easy to understand and consistent throughout all five episodes, which I liked.
You will occasionally have the scenes in which your mouse sensitivity, or apparent complete and utter lack thereof, will lead to a "Game Over" screen in spite of your best efforts but let's be honest - you're probably playing with a run-of-the-mill mouse. They're not exactly designed for these kind of games so the best advice I can offer in this regard is to be patient.
It's not a huge problem. In fact I think I only had like one or two instances throughout all five episodes in which it was even an issue, so stick with it because it's do-able and if you can't then I'd recommend trying it on console first.
What else? Ha! I'm so professional, aren't I? Well, in summary this is pretty much one of the most awesome games I've ever played in the survival horror genre and - even though it has more or less broken my tiny little heart - I can't bloody wait for season two!
I could go on for hours praising this game but this post is already far too long so I'll end this spoiler-free!
Rating: 10/10
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