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Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Episode?

zgamerzgamer
edited October 2012 in The Walking Dead
Just for fun, lets hear what we like/dislike about each episode. It helps judge each story individually than as a whole (both important and yet very different).

EPISODE 1
Strengths: Best intro sequence of the game (duh!), excellent pacing, great character intros, great finale
Weaknesses: Lee's over-clumsiness, unintentional making Carley look dumb with the batteries

EPISODE 2
Strengths: Solid pacing, terrific character writing and dialogue, choices have impact immediately, great tension, funny lines
Weaknesses: Telegraphed twist, Travis' stupidity

EPISODE 3
Strengths: Two or three of the most powerful moments of the game, fighting the bandits, strong dialogue, gets darker, "Duck thinks you are incredibly awesome"
Weaknesses: Weak finale, new characters not given enough development, some pacing issues, zombies' presence reduced

EPISODE 4
Strengths: Great music, Molly, choices paying off, fantastic finale and cliffhanger, funny lines, fun action
Weaknesses: Plot holes throughout most of the Crawford sequence and a few scattered points, Chuck being written off too quickly, the burial scene (a game this subtle suddenly become very ham fisted), pacing issues

Comments

  • BralefBralef
    edited October 2012
    To be fair, Lee's leg is in pretty bad shape in the first episode.

    I'd also say Carley and Doug's deaths in Episode 3 were total cop-outs.
  • isavedDougisavedDoug
    edited October 2012
    zgamer wrote: »
    Just for fun, lets hear what we like/dislike about each episode. It helps judge each story individually than as a whole (both important and yet very different).

    EPISODE 1
    Strengths: Best intro sequence of the game (duh!), excellent pacing, great character intros, great finale
    Weaknesses: Lee's over-clumsiness, unintentional making Carley look dumb with the batteries

    EPISODE 2
    Strengths: Solid pacing, terrific character writing and dialogue, choices have impact immediately, great tension, funny lines
    Weaknesses: Telegraphed twist, Travis' stupidity

    EPISODE 3
    Strengths: Two or three of the most powerful moments of the game, fighting the bandits, strong dialogue, gets darker, "Duck thinks you are incredibly awesome"
    Weaknesses: Weak finale, new characters not given enough development, some pacing issues, zombies' presence reduced

    EPISODE 4
    Strengths: Great music, Molly, choices paying off, fantastic finale and cliffhanger, funny lines, fun action
    Weaknesses: Plot holes throughout most of the Crawford sequence and a few scattered points, Chuck being written off too quickly, the burial scene (a game this subtle suddenly become very ham fisted), pacing issues

    I'm glad to see someone isn't going off as to how Carley got killed was a weakness and a bad part to the story! :D
  • BralefBralef
    edited October 2012
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Doug/Carley dying was necessarily a bad thing as far as storytelling goes. I'm just saying the way they died was pretty stupid and seemed like a cop-out to me.
  • zgamerzgamer
    edited October 2012
    Bralef wrote: »
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Doug/Carley dying was necessarily a bad thing as far as storytelling goes. I'm just saying the way they died was pretty stupid and seemed like a cop-out to me.

    Eh, I was totally fine with it. I thought it made sense in context given how Carley's words set off Lilly to direct that anger to her and Doug stepped in front of the bullet because nothing was going to stop Lilly from shooting him. It was shocking either way, but I never thought them as badly executed or a cop-out.

    And yeah Lee's leg was bad, but he tripped A LOT in that episode. It felt overdone at some point.
  • ZacTBZacTB
    edited October 2012
    Bralef wrote: »
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Doug/Carley dying was necessarily a bad thing as far as storytelling goes. I'm just saying the way they died was pretty stupid and seemed like a cop-out to me.

    It was one of the highlights of the game so far for me. It was completely unexpected and shocking.
  • AlexisPiusAlexisPius
    edited October 2012
    I may be alone in thinking this, but I think that purely in terms of story, #4 was pretty much better than all of the other episodes put together. The others had huge convenient coincidences(*) and they didn't feel like they had a consistent tone or structure. It felt like #4 had a really great structure, with reoccurring motifs, and a lot of varied locations, and everything fitting neatly into place.

    I will admit, though, that #4 doesn't seem to be as good as some other chapters when it comes to making decisions that affect the plot, and in terms of characters. For those two, I might give the prize to #2.


    (*) Yes I know, in #4 there was a major convenient coincidence when they fount the boat. But that seemed to fit so well into the overall story that I didn't mind.
  • Rommel49Rommel49
    edited October 2012
    #4 had the issue of railroading, in my book - kinda telegraphed when somebody was going to bite the bullet. For example, the one invincible zombie at the start; and the invisible wall on the left side of the street at the end... alert, observant Lees somehow get the same fate as those that aren't, which doesn't quite pass the smell test in my book.
  • skepticalguy90skepticalguy90
    edited October 2012
    #4: I thought the gameplay was head and shoulders better than any of the other episodes. I also kind of like the switch in the shooting/combat aspects.
  • IndigoHawkIndigoHawk
    edited October 2012
    Episode 1 was a great intro to the characters, environment, and beginning of the zombies. One strange thing from it was Larry trying to murder Lee, and no one really caring about that later on. I agree the battery thing was a bit unbelievable and Lee was a bit too clumsy.

    Episode 2 was ok filler. It had some great stuff (rationing, group relationships) that wasn't related to St Johns. The St Johns were predictable start to finish. Yes, of course the barn holds the secret they are cannibals. One terrible scene had everyone sitting around the table eating meat. Nobody thought that was weird at all, seeing as how there was only one cow. What a twist.

    Episode 3 was mixed. Somehow a deal was made with bandits. (It's interesting how much important stuff happens off screen, like how Jolene got Clem's hat in Episode 2.) Doug/Carley's death was shocking, so some people liked it. The episode could have handled one person snapping (either Lilly or Katjaa) but to have them both snap back to back was manipulative writing. (Look how sad our midpoint is! Whee. Oh, and we made sure the player had no choice on the outcome, so they would be as sad and helpless as possible. At the last moment we decided to let them shoot a kid in the face or not, though.)

    Episode 3 had some good parts, including Lee facing the reality of the situation and deciding to teach Clem how to work as a team. Another (if you had Carley) is deciding whether to tell people about Lee's past and seeing how people respond. Finally, Duck as a sidekick is awesome.

    Episode 4 was good. I liked how it introduced and solved the mystery of Crawford while getting supplies. Episode 4 is somewhat filler, though, as the walkie talkie man was put on hold. This episode also had some bad attempts at emotional manipulation, such as the burial and Lee encouraging Clem to cry and run away. There are several great moments, but one of the best is Lee's bite at the end and recruiting people (or not) to go after Clem. Players get to see the results of their decisions and decide how they want to deal with saving Clem in light of Lee's death.
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