The Walking Dead Episode 2 REVIEW THREAD/ SPOILERS!!

[Zeruis]

Well let's see... the emotion in this episode is more driven then episode 1. Larry's death and the fight for dictatorship really spawned on me. As for the plot twist at the dinner, WOW. I honestly cannot think that they can make this series darker. Gameplay controls are again fine in this episode, but just as you start a new scene, some occasional pauses or lags come. I really hope that Telltale fixes this.

[Eneles]

Loved the episode. Actually got goosebumps at one point... (see attached ;D)

Assumed the worst about the people on the farm like most here, but was captivated for the duration none the less.

Still encountering a bug with my ability to move the cursor (which I posted about here after the initial release), but it seems to only occur in closer, more confined scenes.

Can't wait till the next episode! Holding my interest so much more than the TV series

[Accall]

I agree with most of the criticism that's already been posted here.

First things I did when back with Danny was of course snooping around the barn with Kenny, getting caught by Andy when dinner's ready and, when inside the house, go upstairs to find Marc, running back down screaming "CANIBALS!!" and getting knocked out.

Wow, I thought. Finally a great story branch. What happens if you want to progress differently? So I loaded up the savepoint after hunting with Danny, NOT breaking into the barn and just go outside without Andy catching me red-handed, sneak upstairs, find Marc and run down to stop people from eating, but not immediately confronting the St. John's - you know, for waiting until their attention wanes, then grabbing Andy's gun and confront everybody.

But fiddlesticks. Turns out that my first instinctive playthrough was the ONLY way. Why, Telltale? I thought the story was supposed to be shaped by the way I want to play it. But from what I see, you are extremely limited in your choices either way.

[Marsten]

It's my first post here, so hi everyone!
I was so pissed off at the delay of the episode that I was really negative towards it. But after I played it I got over that. Yeah it had some bugs, and shortcomings, but overall it was an awesome homage to the comics. Guys at Telltale seem to understand perfectly what made Kirkmans story so unique - its because of the people, not the zombies. Everyone, even grousome cannibals have a human side to them, and even the kindest person has his dark side when put in extreme situation. I see some people here that seem to be dissapointed by the way this game handles players choices. Looks like some of the players expected maybe different storylines, and scenarios based on what you do. But in my opinion they seem to be missing the point of the game. The choices are here to do what the comic book couldn't - give you a little glimpse into yourself, and see how you would have reacted in those extreme situations that Rick and the gang had to endure during their survival. If you read the comics, I'm sure everyone thought at one point or another, that they would handle things differently, they would save that guy, or killed another. Now you can do that. You can see what kind of person you really are when the curtains of society fall, and only pure humanity remains. And it wouldn't be possible if not for excellent writing, and one of the best voice actings I ever witnessed ina game. It is by far my favourite Telltale title. Keep up the good work guys, just please don't dilly-dally on next episodes.

[Zombieface]

Originally Posted by Marsten

Keep up the good work guys, just please don't dilly-dally on next episodes.

Yeah, I hope they lean more towards the original "monthly" release and less towards the "periodically throughout 2012"! lol

I can't wait to do the bandits in! lol

And find out what happens if you do or do not take the food! (I took the food, hell yeah I did, on my main save) but I'll eventually play through on my "Carley save" as I call it, lol, so's I can see what happens if you don't take the food.

[oldgun]

I thought the writing was great in episode 2 and it had more of a story feel this time as opposed to the gamey feel of episode 1 (ie. battery conspiracy). A lot of twists and turns with good tension buildups.

The only bug I ran across was in episode 1, I had sided with the guy from Florida and his son against the big racist and his daughter. But in episode 2 during the swing scene the guy from Florida accused me of siding with the other guy so that storyline didn't register and cross over correctly.

Overall this was a very well done episode.

[ozzmann]

I have only played through EP 2 once but it was all good, no lag or bugs found so far.
And as for Kenny, well a man will up and go mad the moment he thinks his life is over. I don't condone what he did, but then again my family wasn't in the clutches of evil cannibals

[mightygack]

It is hard to remember a time when I felt my heart in my throat more than playing this game. My mouth was hanging open several times involuntarily. The scene with Katja and the crazy mother with the gun was well done I thought - thunder crashing in the background, moon in the distance, dark stairs, zombie reaching from the stairs, toooo fun.

I did see the main reveal coming a mile away but for all that the creeping menace was very effective. Always fun to watch "Southern gentility" give way to dark undercurrents of humanity - recurrent theme in lots of films too.

I also wish there were more choices to make but I know what a challenge this would be over five episodes. I also think this would make the games a 3-6 month wait instead of a 2-month wait because you would have a lot of trees to build out / tie up / keep going over five episodes.

I am a huge fan of the Walking Dead TV show. I do not have the kind of coin to blow on the graphic novels which I hear are awesome. I LOVE this game through the first two episodes and are keeping me VERY in touch with the Walking Dead universe while I am waiting for The Walking Dead Season Three.

Telltale, you are hitting this one out of the park. Take all the time you need for each episode, every other month is fine if it means more paths, interactivity, and less bugs. Keep it up!!!

[Anttila]

"Oh man this is fucked up!" - EP2
Just a (in a good way) sick episode! I'm really thrilled!

Thanks for continuing to make awesome adventure games!

I must honestly say, I have never been a 3D adventure game fan since I've grown up at the 80's/90's adventure game era. BUT this episode in particular made a huge impact on me and I must say, I've never seen anything like it.

Well yeah, the gameplay isn't like those LucasArts Adventure games, but I'd say you guys are the far most best adventure game devs of the millennium so far

Keep doing the good work!

ps. Noticed that this episode has none of those 3D engine lags than the first, that had very few indeed. Have you improved your engine or is this just more optimized?

[marcu5]

Originally Posted by Anttila

ps. Noticed that this episode has none of those 3D engine lags than the first, that had very few indeed. Have you improved your engine or is this just more optimized?

heh, guess you aren't playing a console version

[Anttila]

Originally Posted by marcu5

heh, guess you aren't playing a console version

Yes, I'm playing the PC version (with and xbox 360 controller though )

I played today from the start and noticed how much more the ep1 lagged than ep2, so I assumed they've optimized/developed the engine some more.

[Geaux]

I just want to start off by saying that this episode kicked ass!! The first part at the motel was a tad bit laggy (okay, it was terrible), but once I got to the dairy the lag went away. I did see the whole "dinner" thing coming a mile away though, especially with Mark missing. I wish they would have kept him around; I fed him for nothing!!

Also, Kenny really got on my nerves this episode. The first episode I mostly backed him except for his tractor-loving boy. I remained neutral this episode although I did back Kenny one time, but at the freezer I sided with Lilly just out of humanity and he suddenly hates my guts.

All in all, I think this was an amazing episode. Longer than the first one, and it really felt like I was experiencing something that Kirkman would come up with...MAYBE even darker!! But I thoroughly enjoyed the episode; it had my heart pumping, and I can't wait to see them top this next month...please be next month. Haha

Here are my stats for the first go-around:
Chopped David's leg off? - Chopped his leg off
Shot Jolene? - Had Lee shoot her
Helped kill Larry? - Didn't help kill Larry
Killed both of the St. John brothers? - Killed both brothers
Stole food from the car? - Stole food
And I fed Mark, Larry, Lilly, and Clementine. Couldn't bring myself to feed Duck...he can go find some bread crumbs somewhere.

[Zappzor]

I chose Carley because the world needs more alive women to reproduce!
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P.S. Kitchen needs women

[Ashole]

My first post. Hi everyone =]

Chopped David's leg off? - Chopped his leg off
Shot Jolene? - Had Danny shoot her
Helped kill Larry? - Killed Larry
Killed both of the St. John brothers? - Killed Danny (only bc that guy was a nutcase), Left Andy to suffer
Stole food from the car? - Stole food, but reassured Clem

When I rationed the food I chose Clem & Duck (cheese & crackers), gave Doug the jerky and (unfortunately) Larry the apple. I hated Larry and that was the only nice thing I did for him. I tried giving Lilly the apple, she refused so I chose the "Fine then don't eat" option.

Originally Posted by clairesnow

A few things really didn't make sense...Please if someone gets it help me understand

1. When I was out messing with the generator, Danny was sitting not far from me. He didn't see me.
2. At the end, Andy turned on the generator trying to put my head to the fence, (at this time the woman who said she was gonna cover me and didn't do it the entire time conveniently jumps out and shot Andy), so the fence should be on. Yet the walkers got in, without getting electrocuted.
3. Kenny got shot, and seemed just fine....

It is a good episode, but I had the same feeling playing through the first episode, some things just don't make a lot of sense.

Those.. are actually good points.. lol


Overall, I give it a 10/10. The cannibalism was a total surprise to me (I never read the graphic novels) so it didn't strike me as a coincidence.

And I happened to like Mark. He was a good guy and a strong member of the group (we really needed him IMO)

Oh yeah, one more thing, the convo Lee and Mark had in the beginning in the woods, where they talk about Larry, I said he was a "racist asshole" then confronted Larry to his face about it (bc Mark had to blurt it out) lol

[Isterio]

This thread could be moved to:

The Walking Dead Episode 2 REVIEW THREAD/ SPOILERS!!

Thank you

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by Isterio

This thread could be moved to:

The Walking Dead Episode 2 REVIEW THREAD/ SPOILERS!!

Thank you

I just did - some posts now feel a bit jumbled, I apologize for this.

[johnhebert04]

Really enjoyed the 2nd episode!!! I am very excited to go back and play it using my other slots and new choices! I have to say, Kenny is a giant Puss!!! If you are against him he is like a child, and if you are with him he is happy. I used to like Kenny's character, but now I am starting to think he needs a swift kick in the nuts!!! Not really happy about the lack of zombies in this episode, but I understand why it was necessary. The TV show did the same thing for a while. I just wanna kill some zombies!!!! All in all, I am happy with it!

[the_stopping_life!]

i just love episode two!

thank you ttg for this rad release!

as many people out there i also think episode two is "better" then the first one, even if i think you can't say it like that. they work together: the way how it's "intermeshed" with the previous chapter makes it even better, let it stand out and shine! thats just implemented really well: there are these allusions on small decissions you have already done before and of course depending on serious, strong distinctions you get absolute different initial situations - i just want to know how some of the situations in ep. 2 play out without carley, can't imagine, she was really useful often. my girlfriend saved doug, i'll know soon. nerds are an advantage too i guess.

the game really lets you dabble in some situations in which you don't wanna be in real life i think - compunction, time pressure, the feeling that you could have done the wrong thing... well done! the unique gameplay crossover of "walking dead" really works! can't wait to see how the second chapter will end for my other half.

high replayability! high quality staging (even a tad better then in episode one i would say: camera angles, facial expressions stress-buildup and so on), high quality voice acting (again!), awesome setting, love the art direction, great gameplay - simply sayed: you just raised the bar - again! you really think that you are writing your own private story here.

even small dialogue-decisions can change already something, for example:

i told the brothers while there where asking again and again about the number of people and weapons and who our leader is, that we are "plenty", trained and armed well, that we are acting collaborative - not giving them too much information, not lay oneself open to attack... the small "potshot" at the end regarding my false statements was awesome.

did you notice: the retrospect and the preview are custom-built, fitting your decisions - not just a clip for everyone. i liked that too.

btw: right now i have "beef" with kenny, never thought this might happen after episode one. already wrote why in another thread...

awesome episode ttg! thank you, had a lot of fun playing through the new episode and my girlfriend loves the game too

edit: to the ttg devs -> if you haven't already saw the german movie "hell", go for it - you'll love it! very well fitting the theme here too.

please excuse my english.

[akabuzzb]

On my first time playing episode 2 I really thought Kenny was a jerk, I supported him in episode 1 and now he acts like I’m the enemy (including almost letting me die in the barn). But when I ran through it on my second save game (also supported Kenny in episode 1 on this save), I told Kenny that leaving was a good idea and the whole game changed moving forward. He had my back the entire time and even saved me in the barn. It was Lilly who was going to let the guy kill me.

Also on my second save game, I saved Doug. He turns out to be quiet useful (from setting up alarms to fixing electronics). He seemed to play a bigger part in episode 2 over Carly (I saved her in my first save game and she did very little in episode 2)

On my third save game (this one I backed Larry on) I am going to support Lilly 100% and see if Kenny is even a bigger jerk then he was in the first run.

I love this game.

[akabuzzb]

Well so much for a thrid run through.. corrupt save data... all 3 saves lost.. guess I get to play out all my options from the very start.