Tiny Thoughts: Telltale's The Walking Dead

I won’t be able to talk about this too much due to the narrative nature of the game and ease of spoiler revelation but here we go...

Zombies are everywhere these days. They’re being stuffed into everything and video games are no exception to this trend, far beyond the Resident Evils and the Houses of the Dead that use gamer’s had become acclimatised to over the years. Typically such games are restricted to the survival horror or shooter genres however with few attempts to use them in other ways.

I’m not speaking of Typing of the Dead here but you may need to carry a keyboard with you. You know, for self defence...



Telltale games have been building up a reputation for story-driven point-and-click games since they brought the excellent Sam and Max franchise back in episodic form during the last decade and have continued to build on the thought dead genre. Over the years they have also tried to add action elements and while Jurassic Park didn’t quite understand the adventure aspect, their follow up has proved that they still have it.

Prepare for people doing whatever they think it takes to survive in Telltale's latest adventure

Chances are if you happen upon this little article you know full well what I’m talking about, the latest game is an adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic series “The Walking Dead” that claims to be set within the comic universe but I would imagine green-lighted by the relatively recent success of the television adaptation that has been slowly gathering momentum with season three beginning on AMC (and FX here in the UK) last Sunday. Sadly, it’s really since the TV show launched that the general population have been talking about the franchise en-mass.

Because of the comic origin, the graphics are stylised to appear as if they were off the page. Characters have sketchy lines incorporated into their actual models and the textures attempt to look as painted as possible. As is usual with Telltale's engine, the characters have a cartoonish look but this fits in with the source - especially the earlier issues under Tony Moore's tenure where the art was more stylised. Unlike the Jurassic Park game this suits the world

As is the standard with Telltale, this series is episodic with the player guiding an original character named Lee Everett – a college professor turned convicted murderer prior to the outbreak - through various locales in Georgia as he meets and attempts to work with other survivors of the Zombie apocalypse.

It may not be obvious from just a picture but Lee is one of the more likeable protagonists of recent times

The game claims to adapt to your choices – a dangerous thing to do creatively in a post-Mass Effect 3 world. While it is mostly flavour text, it does enough to convince you on your first time through and since we are only on episode four out of five currently, it doesn’t actually have an ending to royally fuck up yet anyways!

You’re not on your own though as very early on, Lee happens upon an unlikely ally in a young girl named Clementine (Notably one of the most believable child characters in a video game ever) whose parents were away when the shit hit the fan and are very likely to be dead due to a series of harrowing answering machine messages that you happen across. It asks you to consider something serious here. How would you safely guide a child through a world like this? How should you let your actions define you as a new role model? You might not want to admit it but most players going in develop a maternal/paternal bond with Clem and according to the stats that Telltale collect after each episode does have an impact on people’s decision making. This alone is marvelous and almost unique for a Video game – you care about the characters. A lot. The voice acting is great as well.

Clementine will make you her bitch.

Caring about the characters is good because in the Walking Dead universe where a bite means death (short of equally dangerous and immediate amputation) and dying in any way imaginable (or unimaginable if you’re not sadistically creative) cues reanimation, characters tend not to have elongated shelf lives. These other characters are not always going to agree with what you think is best for the group either and you will find yourself at loggerheads with your allies as often as you’re slapping Zombies around with them. They are certainly not afraid to TELL you that they think you’re an idiot for your actions. I’m not going to go into detail here because I would like to avoid spoilers – the game is still on-going after all. Familiar characters show up too with Hershel Greene, Glenn and Lily showing up in the very first episode and the famous Prison is referred to in the very first scene.

Decisions are a big deal. Not only do they shape parts of the story and what the other characters think of Lee they are also timed and constantly thrown at you while you are under stress. Did you choose right? Is there a right choice? Who should I save? Can they be saved? All these questions can be yours for low, low price of... seriously though, it fits the feel of the game to have to think on your feet and since silence is usually an acceptable response you can miss the question entirely and the game will continue. Pay attention!

The timer is the bar at the bottom. The tick time varies considerably by decision so you can never be certain how long you get to think about something.

All in all, The Walking Dead game has been excellent so far. It’s engaging even though the backbone of the story itself is rather pedestrian for the genre. At the same time you always feel like you’re moving towards something and even if you work out what is going on before the game wants you to, it’s still enjoyable. There are also no ridiculous adventure puzzles like you would find in King’s Quest or its ilk so the series is easily accessible for virgins of the field and I heartily recommend buying into the season pass. Whether it makes you question your actions or morals or not, Telltale's The Walking Dead is worth a punt for anyone who enjoys adventure games with a dash of action, though it may not be enjoyed as much by those that prefer heavy puzzles.

Action sequences are happy to break up the walking and clicking

I usually wait until the series is finished with before I pick up the Telltale games and play them through in one go but the waiting has added a lot to the tense atmosphere. Just like how the Back to the Future game made it into my top ten games of 2011 list, The Walking Dead is looking like it may be in the running for 2012 as it surpasses that one easily.

We also do not use the Z word.