Okay, let me just get this off my chest: The Walking Dead Episode 1 is FRIGGING AMAZING. Completely and utterly amazing! And the best part? There's still four more episodes to go! It takes the choice making, character driven aspects from Mass Effect and puts it into a point and click adventure game about zombies, wherein the main objective in this apocalyptic world is survival. That sounds pretty bad-ass doesn't it? Well guess what? IT IS! Oh and did I mention? ZOMBIES.
Story:
The Walking Dead Episode One: A New Day puts you in the shoes of Lee Everett, a man who is in the middle of being sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit (or did he?) when a Zombie suddenly appears on the road and causes the cop car he's in to crash. From then on it's a non-stop race to the finish line (which in this case means surviving til' the next episode!) which really puts you and Lee through the wringer both physically and emotionally by the end. It feels like the perfect pilot to a great T.V show, and rewards the player by letting him/her witness the outcome of their choices as the Series progresses. It's an intriguing premise, which continues to get sweeter as very early on you're put in the care of Clementine, an 8-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to see her parents again. She's now your responsibility, so if you make the wrong decision or put her in danger then it's not just you that's getting your guts ripped open. Of course it isn't just about slaughtering hordes of undead, this isn't a game where you can mow down armies of zombies with a giant chainsaw (Dead Rising 2 takes that award), the bread and butter of the Walking Dead is interacting with the survivors of the apocalypse, not the zombie slaying. In fact, those of you who just want a zombie killing simulator can check out right now, because The Walking Dead is 100% narrative. The adventure game, point and click aspects only serve as a way to get from one conversation to the other, really. And for a game that is solely based on narrative and your decisions in said narrative, the writing better not suck. From a storytelling point of view, this game exceeds in every aspect. It's amazing how you get so attached to these characters in what is (for video-game standards) an incredibly short amount of time. Mass Effect has at least forty hours, this one does it in less than three. Lee Everett is very much the everyman, and his possible reactions in any situation come off as realistic and likeable. The game does a great job of making you feel for him, even though he's supposedly a convicted murderer. Clementine isn't an annoying little brat either, in fact she's rather intelligent for a girl her age, and surprisingly capable in many instances. The other survivors are well thought-out as well, the highlight being Glenn, a character from the comics and the T.V show who is just a really nice guy. My favourite moment comes up halfway through Episode One were it's this one big argument between the survivors over what they should do if a boy is found out to be bitten. It's incredibly tense, and it just builds and builds until a mob of zombies outside start to take notice...Okay before I delve into spoiler territory and start hyperventilating over every single moment of awesome-sauce in this game, let's just say it'll be interesting to see how my actions will affect the characters reactions to me in the next Episode, not to mention the outcome of Lee's story. 10/10.
Gameplay:
Gameplay elements are mostly sidelined in the Walking Dead. It's a point and click adventure game, so you're literally just doing that: simply point your cursor at the zombie/object/interactive item and click on it to see what happens. It's ridiculously easy and minimalist at first glance, but when you're a few seconds away from becoming zombie chow all of the sudden the simple act of 'point-and-click' becomes a lot more adrenaline fuelled and as a result more gripping for the player. The zombie encounters in Episode One are expertly done, you could be talking calmly to a character one moment and savagely wrestling a walker the next. These encounters can get rather visceral at times (I tried to chop off the head of a zombie four times with an axe), but don't overly rely on gore either. It's all about your reaction time, not necessarily your skill. So apart from the zombie encounters, what else is there gameplay wise? Well there was a puzzle that had to be completed near the end, but I haven't really dabbled in adventure games before so I can't accurately say just how good the puzzle was compared to other titles. It's relatively easy and isn't too tasking on the brain's synapses, but you still get an air of gratification when you've figured it out (Hint: USE THE BRICK). As I've said before the Walking Dead is mainly focused on the narrative aspect of things, but the few gameplay elements involved are suitably tense and done well. 8,5/10
Visuals and Sound:
The Walking Dead is a cheap indie title (it's 400 MS or £5 for an episode, which for three hours per Ep of content is good value for money) so I wasn't expecting much in terms of visuals, but low and behold the game is rather pretty to look at. The game developers wisely made the game look like the source material (The Walking Dead comic books), so everything has that cell-shaded cartoony slant which set's it apart from other survival-horror titles. Most of it looks hand drawn, and it really feels like you're stepping into an interactive comic book. There is the occasional mishap though, and some of the movements look wonky. As for the sound aspect of the game, the voice acting is top-notch and the accompanying musical score is adequate. The zombies all gargle in the satisfying manner that we're accustomed to, and the gore effects are bone-crushingly juicy. Overall there isn't a single complaint to be had with the presentation. 9/10.
So in conclusion, this is one heck of a good game. For casual gamers like me who enjoy a gripping narrative coupled with some tense scenes it's a great purchase, and for fans of the comic book (and now T.V series) it is simply a must have. It's one the best things you can get on Xbox Live right now and shines no matter what microscope you put it under, not to mention being incredibly accessible to wide variety of gamer's: 9,5/10.
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