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The Walking Dead (Episodes 1-5) by Telltale Games is a breakthrough videogame in numerous ways. For one, it's the first DLC game to become a mega-hit and be lauded as "Game of the Year" almost universally. It far surpasses the popular television series in artistic merit, intrigue and emotional impact. And finally, it never compromises its vision or panders to its audience, creating a story that is catastrophically tragic and completely unforgettable, regardless of the choices the player makes (which are still substantial.)
I'll get the only negative out of the way and state up front that the gameplay itself is nothing special. It can even be a little frustrating until you get the mechanics down, but those mechanics are simple and it doesn't take long to adapt. The game is a combination of minor puzzle solving and "panic events" whenever zombies or other enemies attack, forcing you to react in QTE style with little or no room for error. The saving grace of this process is that if you die, the game will automatically reload very close to or right at the point where you failed.
The graphics are nothing fancy, which is probably to be expected for a DLC game, but they get the job done and the gritty, cell shaded comic-book look serves the story and atmosphere quite well. The audio is one area where the game truly shines, particularly the voice acting which is delivered by a stellar cast and feels completely authentic throughout.
The crux of the game is difficult choices, and this is what The Walking Dead does better than any other game I can think of. In most games where the player has choices he can make via dialogue trees, it's almost always obvious which choice is "good", "evil" or which is the smartest choice to give the player some kind of immediate or long term benefit. The Walking Dead takes that old hat, shits on it and sets it on fire. There are few good options in The Walking Dead and in setting that precedent, it remains faithful to the idea of a true apocalypse, a situation in which you can't just fight or talk your way out of everything because you're some amazing, all powerful individual.
Not only are the choices hard, they are TIMED. In action situations you will have to react split-second. In conversation, where the biggest decisions are made, you will usually have somewhere between 5 and 15 seconds to make up your mind and confirm your choice, depending on how urgent the situation is. The conversations often get heated and you will feel the consequences of your choices sooner rather than later.
The best compliment I can give the game is that the characters and the relationships you form with them feel more "real" than any game I can recall. You can finish all 5 episodes in 10-15 hours, but its relatively short length in no way detracts from its potency. This is a MUST PLAY game. Get the downloads or buy the whole thing on disc like I did, and get ready for one hell of a ride.
8/10
