The Walking Dead: Episode 2 Continues Telltale Games' High Standards - Preview
by Jake Weston , posted on 06 June 2012 / 4,387 Views
Telltale Games may have a reputation for their family-friendly adventure games such as Sam & Max and Back to the Future, but their latest episodic adventure game, The Walking Dead, is anything but. I had the chance to sit down with Telltale Games today, as they showcased The Walking Dead: Episode 2 - Starving for Help.
Taking place three months after the events of the stellar Episode 1 - A New Day, Starving for Help finds the survivors low on food and getting desperate. Players control Lee Everett, a former history teacher with a dark past, and the demo begins with him out hunting for food with another survivor in the forest. Players do not directly control Lee in this scene (though they will later), but Telltale showcased many of the choices that players could make throughout the episode. At one point, Lee has to choose whether or not to shoot a small bird for food. The bird is necessary to ensure that survivors back at the camp get enough food, but the sound of gunfire could potentially attract the undead (“walkers”). Of course, later scenarios require even more immediate and intense decision-making, but let’s try to keep this preview spoiler-free.
Telltale really hammered the importance of choice in The Walking Dead, highlighting several instances where the choices made in Episode 1 carry over to 2. Character relationships will either be amicable or strained depending on alliances formed before, and even changes to the surrounding environments were affected by choices made in the previous episode. After each major decision is made, a quick message will pop-up on the top left of the screen summarizing what just happened. It’s a nice touch to know which scenes are causing which actions, really making players feel like their choices have an impact.
Fans of The Walking Dead comic book, TV show, and first episode of the game know that it's about the characters, not the zombies, and will be happy to see this continued. Sporadic, intense combat sections are broken up by long, character building scenes, where the choices made here have ramifications later. Back at the survivor’s camp, Lee is faced with rationing out food to the survivors; unfortunately, there’s simply not enough to go around. Should players give the last piece of food to Lee’s daughter, Clementine, or to themselves so that they can have more strength to protect her?
Players who played Episode 1 will also remember how incredibly brutal the scenes in this game are. I’ve played many a violent game in my day, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a game make me cringe as one specific scene featuring a bear-trap did.
Voice-acting continues to impress, as Lee, Kenny, and Mark all perform well with their roles (though Lee’s daughter, Clementine’s performance is a little grating). The biggest stand-out is Larry, the bigoted beast of a man whose very presence is enough to make players feel on edge.
If the first 20 minutes of Starving for Help is any indication, Telltale Games is continuing the high standard set for themselves in the first episode. Players can enjoy the The Walking Dead: Episode 2 for PC, Mac, PS3 and X360 later this summer.
