Four months after its initial début, Telltale Games has released The Walking Dead: Season Two for the Playstation Vita. This episodic zombie thriller will consist of five segments in total, with the first two episodes available now. New installments are scheduled for release 4-6 weeks apart. The new story arc focuses on the young heroine Clementine, who was introduced in Season 1. Choices continue to play an important role throughout the series as you make decisions that will influence future events. Drawing on the world of Robert Kirkman’s original comic book series for inspiration gives this title the strength to stand on its own, separate from the popular TV show. Telltale Games takes players on a journey where they will need quick thinking and an innovative use of items in order to survive and the Vita offers an interesting set of features to aid you on this undertaking.
The first of the five episodes entitled “All That Remains” opens with a prompt to upload a saved file from Season One; decisions made during the first game will be carried over to the new season. Randomly generated selections will be chosen if you opt to start a new game without uploading any saved data. The first few minutes of gameplay find little Clementine accompanied by her protectors the expecting mother Christa and her boyfriend Omid. The makeshift family carefully approaches an abandoned truck stop in search of a place to rest. After a string of ill-fated events the story jumps ahead sixteen months where a mature and somber Clementine comes into view. Her trademark hat still sits proudly atop her head, while rugged jeans have replaced her sweet white dress. Clem has adapted to this new and cruel world where she can only rely on herself.
Visually the game is very striking with the bold outlines overlaid on top of very detailed cel-shaded characters. The characters convey raw and convincing emotions in this extremely stylized aesthetic that harkens back to the comic source material. Clementine’s weary sideways glances and pure determination read readily across her face. The graphics can be both gorgeous and gruesome. Scenes are artfully staged using oblique camera angles that create a sense of dread, as you anxiously wait for something to jump out from behind every corner. The grayed color palate adds to the comic book feel as areas have a similar tone and colors blend so readily into one another offering a sense of gloom.
The touch screen controls allow you to tap on items to examine or hold them and you will be prompted in some scenarios to swipe in a certain direction to avoid obstacles like the zombie walkers. It is possible to use the right analog stick to move a cursor around the screen to select objects this is a throwback to classic point and clicks games but this doesn’t offer much in the way of precision. Certain minigame-like challenges require you to accomplish seemingly simple tasks such as threading a needle with a combination of touch screen inputs. At times the touch screen can feel unresponsive. You might be left feeling certain you dodged left within the given amount of time but you end up facing the “You Are Dead” game over sequence. Loading times can be quite long for a downloaded game, this makes dying all the more frustrating.
The majority of the game is spent sowing seeds that will mature into relationships that need further cultivation in later entries. This leaves you wanting to immediately jump into the next episode in order to see where these ties to other characters take you. The subtle variations in the four responses you have to choose from help to develop complex and interesting conversations. The options aren’t polarizing “yes” or “no” answers that leave the player feeling like there is no middle ground between good and devious. A circle rotates to mark down the time remaining as you hurry to make a decision while weighing the potential outcomes as time ticks away. This mechanic ensures that you feel a sense of spontaneity when you reply. The cast of voice actors thoughtfully expresses their responses they are never curtly stated, allowing the statements to feel sincere and natural.
Playing through the entire episode my first time took almost two hours. While this may seem like a relatively short time, it didn’t at all feel that way while playing it. By being able to complete the game all in one sitting, without distractions or breaks, you are able to be immersed into the uneasy and creepy atmosphere from beginning to end. This is a case where you won’t be setting the game down to come back to finish it, only to realize you have forgotten pieces of information. One downside with a game like this is the re-playability. At best, it is moderate, as I found myself going back into certain chapters to travel down a different path and see how interactions between characters differed. At a certain point near the end of the game I had to pause and turn off the sound because the cries of Clementine were just too much, almost to the point of becoming nauseating. This is an example of the powerful atmosphere created when elements of gameplay and story work so well together.
You will be left questioning your choices and asking yourself if you could be as brave as Clementine, given the same set of circumstances. These uneasy feelings seem to be intensified when you are using a handheld. Having to hold the game at a close distance, it’s easy to become totally engrossed. As my first experience with a Telltale Games title, I was more than pleased with their approach to the graphic adventure genre. Some developers seem to have forgotten the importance of telling a simple story well. Telltale Games have a winning formula here and I can’t wait for more.
Vita
Style
Single Player
Developer
Telltale Games
Publisher
Telltale Games
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