[REVIEW] The Walking Dead: Episode 3 - Long Road Ahead

The Walking Dead: Episode 3 - Long Road Ahead
Release Date: August 29, 2012
System Reviewed: Xbox 360
Plays Like: The other Walking Dead chapters; The Secret of Monkey Island

(Ed. Note: It goes without saying, but some may find spoilers in here, despite them not being blatant. You have been warned.)

What's Great: A continuation of the great story so far. It escalates fairly quickly, but it gets just as shocking as the last two chapters, so it definitely keeps you on your toes. Just like in the last episode, prior events do shape how things change and proceed, so you may want to freshen up on your decision choices before plunging into it.

What's (Not So) Great: The story's escalation. In the second chapter, shit didn't happen until later in the tale, whereas here, it goes down within the first 30 minutes or so. I still find issue with the controls (moving the cursor with the right-stick, and making decisions with the face buttons isn't exactly prime, nor is using the D-Pad for choices as an alternative, forcing you to move away from the left-stick). Some of the reaction times during fights seem to have been shortened, so you may find yourself dying more than you did previously.

Bottom Line: The entire story arc is getting better, with some of the side-stories either coming to a close, or escalating beyond belief. During the first hour or two, I had Ron Burgandy's voice calmly saying:

The game is getting better, what with twists and turns become more prevalent. The ending wasn't as shocking as the last, and there was more "to do" than there was story, but it still has me anticipating Episode 4.

Grade: B

(Played the entirety of the Episode. Kind of hard to tell you what I did, considering that there's not much branching off you can do.)

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[REVIEW] The Walking Dead: Episode 2 - Starved for Help

The Walking Dead: Episode 2 - Starved for Help
Release Date: June 27, 2012
System Reviewed: Xbox 360

Ed. Note: There are spoilers in this review, but they have been whited-out. Just highlight to read.

What's Great: A fantastic continuation of the story. I enjoyed how the story began, but now, you're making decisions for the group. The level of "disgusting" is ramped up, as, what I thought was a dream sequence ended up being the real deal (SPOILER!: I seriously thought that Lee was dreaming the situation with Mark being cut in half after being wounded by the bandits, and his legs being the main course dish everyone ate up). The game is starting to turn into that promised "tailored" experience, and I love seeing my changes being recognized by later chapters of this game.

What's (Not So) Great: Some decisions aren't handled the best way. For instance, divvying up rations was partially fucked, in that, why can't the kids share the cheese and crackers? Why can't I split up the beef jerkey between two adults? Haven't you people heard of the leap-frog schedule, where people alternate days of eating; it sucks, but the situation at hand it brutal. Other choices don't appear to have that much of a lasting, such as everything that happens between those on the dairy farm.

Bottom Line: If you've played episode 1, you should continue the story, no doubt. If you have yet to pick up the game because people said episode 1 was dull, you have every reason now to pick it up. The releasing of the episode wasn't exactly what I wanted - it took two months to get episode 2 - but I do appreciate that Tell Tale has acknowledged that, and states that episode 3 will be out in about a months time. This is going to be the longest month of my life.

Grade: A-

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