The Walking Dead: Season 2

The Walking Dead is a hot property right now, no matter which medium you are analyzing it from.

The TV show, despite its lack of consistency, is AMCs biggest hit now that Breaking Bad is over with.

The comics themselves I'm not familiar with but apparently they are a fantastic source element to pull from.

Who will make it out of Season 2 alive?

And now we have Season 2 of one of the breakout gaming hits of 2012 that, to be honest, really shocked the industry. It was a videogame with such simple gameplay that many scoffed at the idea of it. But those who did decide to give it a chance were captivated by a group of characters so lifelike, and so well written, that it became one of the few interactive experiences where players actually spent time weighing their decisions. Deaths could stain your hands red without you even knowing it, but by that same token you could make choices to further your group of survivors. It was a branching epic of choices and consequences, all set in the bleak world of The Walking Dead. The visuals may be cartoony, but Season 1 was anything but.

And then that last Episode of Season 1 hit (each season is 5, 2-3 hour-long episodes in length) and The Walking Dead: Season 1 became something more. Gamers who were desensitized to the violence of it all (myself to a degree), those who had never really felt emotion while playing a game (certainly not me) were balling their eyes out. And not because of any cheap rug pull that Telltale Games did, but because of the relationship of the main characters, Lee and Clementine. A final decision felt like a death blow to the controller of the game and left almost all who played it, myself included, one of the most painful videogame memories of our lives. It was a grim sort of magic, to be captured and enamored by this much sadness...by the nearly impossible decisions that the game asks you to make. Suffice it to say that Telltale put themselves on the map with The Walking Dead: Season 1.

Then out came Season 2 and I immediately bought the season pass to lockdown all 5 episodes. A voice in the back of my mind asked, can they really do it again? I had doubts. But I was optimistic. At the same time I was playing Telltale's phenomenal The Wolf Among Us (which I ultimately decided not to review because I didn't think it would get any hits) which was the same exact type of game as The Walking Dead, but based on a different comic property. But could Season 2 really hit me like the first had?

Yes and no.

Best way to kill zombies? Archaic cannons...?

I found no such "OMFG I'm an emotional wreck right now" moments, but instead I found a deeper and more disturbing study of the character of humans. Surprising for a game set in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies, but the game makes it evident right from the start that humans are their own worst enemy in this world. Who will abuse their power? What decisions against humans will you have to make in order to survive? Are all humans worth saving? It's very heavy stuff, especially that last Episode and while it may have lacked some of the emotional punch of the first Season, this one is one that you will think about for far longer.

A well written and acted villain. Truly VERY
ruthless.

The story and general plot progression this time around was far different from the first. The first Season certainly had a lot packed into each episode, but it felt like it was more whole than this Season. I attribute that to it A) being the first season of a new property and B) the fact that the characters were generally more memorable. From where you start in Season 2 to where you end is astonishing, especially given the battle against a human camp that happens in the middle, complete with a ruthless villain voiced by Michael Madsen. I guess it's not all that surprising given that its about 10-12 hours of total gameplay, but it's still a breakneck pace which is an improvement from some of the slower sections of Season 1.

I don't think I would be alone in saying that Clementine is currently one of the best characters in gaming and one that the gamer does anything to protect. In Season 1, as Lee and her protector, I made choices not in the best interest of myself, but for this little girl. I was visibly angry any time she came under danger or anytime that a fellow group member would threaten her somehow. Now in Season 2 you are playing as Clementine but the "fatherly" feeling still remains. I would do anything to keep Clementine alive. And the game really does put that statement to the test. But she is such a strong, well written, smart, amazing character that I really have no other choice. Clementine. Must. Live. Simple as that.

The gameplay remains largely unchanged, for better or worse. For many gamers, ones that I would venture to say are a tad immature, the conversation-deciding, point-and-click-esque style of gameplay is too simple when compared to others out on the market. But it's the way that Telltale makes their games...not much you can do about it. Personally I like it as it's a great change of pace and it really makes the story and characters stand out a lot more. Thankfully, a lot of the walking-around-big-areas-talking-to-everyone-until-something-happens sections from the first Season are gone which really helps the aforementioned pace of the story. There are some really entertaining sections that have you making quick movements, fast decisions, and slaughtering zombies, but these are hardly the parts that will really stick with you.

"But...but...what do you mean there are no more
Dippin Dots?! I don't want to live in this world
anymore."

Unfortunately, these games that Telltale makes are obnoxiously buggy. Now, I know I'm not a game developer, but I simply don't understand the lack of polish. These games aren't graphically straining, there truthfully isn't much input from the user when compared to other games, and there are no large environments to load up. So why are the load times long or frequently freezing? Why are there so many stutters in between scenes and the actions I choose? At this point in the lifecycles of the PS3 and Xbox 360 it really is unforgivable and it was something that plagued Season 1 and The Wolf Among Us as well. For a game with such an immersive story and well written characters, nothing pulls you out and reminds you that "Hey this is just a game!" more than a long load time or stutter between actions. With Telltale now taking on more stories (perhaps unwisely?) with Borderlands and Game of Thrones Seasons coming soon ON TOP of continuing The Walking Dead and most likely, The Wolf Among Us, it's time that they take the time and money to invest in some better developers to make these games play smooth as butter, especially on the newer generation of systems.

LOOK OUT CLEMENTINE!!!

So...looking for a conclusion? The Walking Dead: Season 2 was not as good as the first. But then again, it never was going to be. The first Season was special in the fact that it was, just that, the first. The first game in a reinvigorated genre coupled with a level of story telling that is generally only seen from a handful of developers. It burst onto the scene and had the shock value behind it. There were no expectations or hype attached to it. Season 2 didn't share those same attributes so of course, gamers are going to be a little more critical. As someone who adored the first Season, I found Season 2 to be cut from the same cloth of quality. It's characters may have been a tad less memorable (other than Clementine of course) which led to some less emotional scenes, but the positions it puts you in, and the questions it asks that have nothing to do with the hordes of walking dead surrounding you, are where it shines brightest.

I just hope that whatever Telltale adventure I dive into next has the bugs worked out.

CONS:

• The characters are a little less memorable this time around
• Some episodes are weaker than others (but generally they are all strong)
• Weak beginning episode
• Less memorable characters = often less emotional decisions/consequences. I would suggest to Telltale that they keep the character count down a bit in Season 3. I just felt like my group this season was constantly changing for some reason or another and I only really got attached to a few characters throughout
• The glitches, freezing, load times, and stutters are unacceptable for a game of this nature. Telltale needs to put in the effort, time, and money to make these things either disappear or significantly decrease

PROS:

• Clementine is easily one of the best characters in gaming right now. Just like in Season 1, I have never been so protective of a character's well being as I am with her
• The story and decisions that must be made put that first bullet point to the test on several occasions
• A fantastic focus on the human element of the zombie apocalypse. Whereas the first game had zombies as the primary threat, in this Season they are more just a threat that feeds into the larger threat: human beings and what they do with power
• Going off that bullet point, Michael Madsen's villain is great
• Some really exciting gameplay moments that were thrilling and got the blood pumping
• The last episode is expertly crafted and pits you with a decision that will forever change Clementine
• Some shocking deaths that left my jaw dropped
• There is a wicked sort of genius in the difference between Seasons. At first I was going to make a CON something like, "The game misses the relationship between Lee and Clementine" but I then realized that I was that relationship with Clem now
• Fantastic original score
• The breakneck pace was welcomed and I enjoyed how much got accomplished in each episode
• A very strong plot with well written characters and filled with decisions that actually make a difference

Rath's Review Score: 9/10