My review and thoughts on TWD - Spoilers and negativity inside!
I want to warn everyone before you read my review. This will contain spoilers. I need to mention parts of the story to prove my points. If you haven't played watched someone else play please leave now because I am going to write my review in a way that I assume you know the story.
Another thing to clear up. This review will have some negativity in it. Before you attack me let me assure you that I believe The Walking Dead is a really good game. However I think the game was overrated and it did not deserve the praise it got. Again, this does not mean I am trashing the game. I'm just having an objective view on it. I also believe that although people will disagree with me, that my argument and points are valid.
So please don't cause a flame war because if one does happen it's your fault. I'm going to write this is the nicest way possible. I'm not here to hate. This is just a concern that I have to get off my chest.
Let's start with the positives. Of coarse the story. I admit, one of the best stories in games. It's obviously the main selling point. The reason people claim it as the best game of the year. An emotional gripping plot, interesting dialog, characters you connect with, and yo can even make choices to change your experience. Although I never actually cried when I played the game it did have an emotion impact on me and I felt if this wasn't just a video game I would actually cry.
Let's talk about the choices. There are many times that you have to make critical decisions in TWD. The cool thing is these are not always presented through "Click here to do this". Most of the time your decisions are done though dialog options. Not all of these are critical. Some dialog adds back story if you want to have an option conservation with the character. Some times what you will say will build relationships and/or will be remembered later on. Other times it's a critical plot changing event. In other words, be careful what you say.
However I do have some problems with the choices. Mainly that you don't have that much control and that your choices don't have that big of an impact. Let's be honest here. No matter what you do or say almost every plot point is unavoidable. You still go to the same places, do the same scenarios and tasks, the same people die and worst of all everyone gets the same ending.
The most your choices change are the dialog. Yes what you say and do makes people like or hate you but does it have any real significant change on the plot? Not really. There's only a few times where it had a change. Like when you chose Doug or Carly. Obviously it will be different. You have a completely different person during these scenes. One is a weak guy but he's super smart and in some ways annoying. The other is a strong independent girl who is cute and nice but also knows your secret. But even then I felt those scenes when I played a second time were just a mirror of my original experience but only playing out slightly differently.
How about when people chose to either join you on your final mission or abandon you at the end of episode 4? First off It wasn't executed well. It makes no sense for Omid and Christa to share a friends to the end attitude after we met two days ago. It would have been nice to have more characters that have been with us for a longer amount of time to have a greater effect. Like Lilly or Carly (If we had the fucking option to take them with us!)
It also doesn't make sense to have them only come with you if you reveal the bite. I thought the point of this was to have all your decisions add up and they would make the decisions. You can freaking push Omid of a bridge and talk shit to them but they will still be your friends and trust you? Same thing with Kenny. No matter how you treat him you can still make him come with you buy choosing the right dialog options. Ben? He doesn't even have an opinion. He just does what you tell him to.
This doesn't have a "Your choices have consequences" feel to it. Especially considering Ben still did nothing useful! I thought the point of bringing him along was that he was eventually going to pull himself together and save the day. Waste of time. Heck he even got Kenny and himself killed.
So now what happens next in episode 5? Well the exact same scenarios with different dialog. Heck some of the people say the same thing as others would but in different words. No different outcome. But then after that scene you go back to the mansion and meet up with everyone and it's the same again. More so then before. Kenny doesn't even mention that you told if to go fuck himself (If that's what you chose). Suddenly you two pals again and he isn't even mad at you. And then all the same people die which yet again unavoidable. I'm not trying to say every death should be avoidable. I know why these deaths are important. Obviously the people die because that's the part of the story that is emotional. But when everyone dies and you can't do anything about it for anyone it makes you think what's the point of choices if they have no significant impact.
Let's talk graphics and tech. Not that big of a deal but needs to be mentioned. Obviously the games visuals are outdated. But to counter this it has a unique comic book feel to it so it is still nice to look at. There is also a significant amount of detail for the facial animations and of coarse THE GORE! That half severed leg still creeps me out.
The big fault is the technology however. The areas are small and limited, you have little control over both your characters movements and camera angles, and there are many bugs, glitches, and frame rate issues. Two words to describe the game in this regard: "Low budget". I know it's from Telltale but keep in mind that the game is mostly cinematics with no huge action scenes or control intensive gameplay. Honestly, that's kind of pathetic.
Now on to the main problem with TWD which caused me to make this review. You could probably see this coming but yes, it's the gameplay. Let's sum it up. Walking around, clicking on objects, quick time events, talking to people, and puzzles. Sorry but none of that stands out as great, compelling, or fun gameplay. Talking to people goes more with the story, walking around to get from point A to B is boring, point and click or quick time events are just a way to advance cinematics, and the puzzles are repetitive and super easy.
That's my problem with TWD. Huge on story and little to no gameplay. I know the point of the game is for story and not gameplay but personally I really don't care. That's not an excuse. Games need both great gameplay and story. I mean look at 2011. Uncharted, Skyrim, and Skyward Sword. Amazing games that all had great gameplay, visuals, (Despite Skyward Sword not being in HD) and stories. Some of them were actual emotion like TWD and they were up for GOTY. So why does TWD only have to focus on one aspect to be the best game of the year this year?
Now you may say TWD doesn't need this things. That's not true. Every game needs gameplay. That's what makes the games the most. It's an annoying trend that I have been seeing. People want video games to become more serious so they are now focusing on stories more and trying to make games art. That's fine. I like that. But some people are focusing only on story and forgetting what makes games what they are. The gameplay. I get the game has a amazing emotional story and that it's unique and fresh in some regards. But that's not enough for video games. TWD feels more like an interactive movie then a game.
I don't mean to say you aren't entitled to your own opinion. I respect your opinion. Who am I to tell you what to play or what to like? If you like TWD then go ahead and play it. If you want to play a game with no gameplay but a huge effort on story for a fresh change then this is your game. But that's just a personal preference and has no bearing on the games actual quality. Most people get the words subjective and objective confused. Subjective is a statement based on personal opinions and feelings. "I like The Walking Dead because it's unique and it has an amazing story and I don't need anything else with it". That's your subjective biased opinion. Objective is a statement based on the weighing of facts. "The Walking Dead is the best game ever" or "It's a 9/10". Problem is as I have proved TWD is not THAT good. So that wasn't an objective statement. It was a biased opinion said as a fact. And when you actually judge the game properly you can see that it isn't true.
Sorry but some times you have to put away you personal feelings and opinions to judge the content of the game. For example, I enjoyed Sonic (2006). Shocker right? But would I ever say that it's a good game? Of coarse not! It's terrible! I didn't like batman AC or AA. But I admit those are exceptional games.
Now don't tell me I haven't played it. I have. And also don't tell me I'm a CoD fanboy that only likes shooters and hates originality. That's not the case. I want fun gameplay to go with this story. Weather it's a shooter, stealth, platformer, action adventure, or survival horror. In fact survival horror would be perfect for this game. I was disappointed after episode 1. I was amazed when I got to the drug store and I could pick up energy bars and pass them around. Made me think of how open the choices could be. You can search for supplies and give them to people so they can keep their strength up and build relationships. You can keep some to yourself because you need to eat too. what if some people or even yourself get weaker or feel side effect by not eating or even starve to death? What if you need to manage your bullets and take and many as you can when you get the chance to look for supplies?
I soon realized that wasn't the case. Once again the game is told in a linear and canon way. At this point I don't think it adds any relationship point with anyone other than Kenny. It's just something to do witch has no significant impact. Same thing with episode 3. No matter how many supplies you gather or weather you kill the girl or not none of what you get comes into play later on. It's annoying.
Now you may tell me that this is the point of an adventure/point and click game. That also isn't an excuse. I generally don't compare other genres but this is an exception. Why? Because the adventure genre is outdated. It's missing one of the core features of games. The gameplay. Gameplay is a general part of games. The point of genres is to have different style of gameplay. Someone needs to revolutionize the adventure genre so that it can be fun just like other genres.
Hell even shooters have evolved more than adventure games. they only just start to be the same 5 years ago. I get that adventure games are a traditional part of games and some of the earliest but that's just it. They're old. The genre needs to get with the times. would a game with just text and no pictures be considered a game in today's age? Of coarse not. But games like this did exist a long time ago when video games were just developing. And for their time it was revolutionary. Same with adventure games. It was good in the 90s but then action games took over the marketplace and they never responded to this change in gaming culture.
That's pretty much it. Now why did I make this thread? Some may think I made this review to criticize people who love this game. That's not the case. The reason I wrote this is because I want Telltale to make a better game for season 2. You may think the game doesn't need gameplay but imagine this. Imagine if season 2 and the same emotional story but it also had great fun gameplay. Imagine if you had more variety of choices to make. Imagine if the levels were designed bigger like other games. Imagine if you had more control of your character instead of feeling like you are on rails in a way. Imagine if it had survival horror elements and you can search for and manage supplies which will not only change the gameplay but also the maybe the story and could actually cause real consequences that could ruin you. How awesome would the game be then? This shows that TWD is not perfect and there is much room for improvement.
I want season 2's story to be more open and non linear opposed to scripted, linear, and branched.
I want fun gameplay that stays true to the style of the genre (Requires some massive brainstorming for you designers).
I want more work into level desing. I'm not asking for open world here. Just something bigger and more explorator.
I want survival horror elements that make a fun challenge.
I want more choices. Basically most of the time if someone dies it should be your fault.
These are the main problems with TWD that prevent it from being a masterpiece in reality regardless of what people say. Please show this to Telltale and if someone from Telltale is reading this please try your best to make these changes. I'm sorry if I am offending you but this game just isn't as good as everyone is saying. It's still a very good game however and I hope you think hard about how to make adventure games fun to revolutionize the genre.
Please don't hate me for this. I already got enough crap for simply saying TWD isn't perfect which as I just proved in my honest review. If you still don't agree with me can you at the very least understand where I am coming from and acknowledge that I make a fair, reasonable, and logical argument. It pisses me off because I am always ganged up by fanboys who hate on he just because I'm not kissing the game's ass and ignore that I made good points. They never listen to reason. Can we please keep this friendly at least?
Anyways that's my review. If you want a score I believe a 7.5 is fair. I hope people don't take this the wrong way. It's a good game but overrated.
Hope you weren't offended about the negativity and we can have a civil debate.
Another thing to clear up. This review will have some negativity in it. Before you attack me let me assure you that I believe The Walking Dead is a really good game. However I think the game was overrated and it did not deserve the praise it got. Again, this does not mean I am trashing the game. I'm just having an objective view on it. I also believe that although people will disagree with me, that my argument and points are valid.
So please don't cause a flame war because if one does happen it's your fault. I'm going to write this is the nicest way possible. I'm not here to hate. This is just a concern that I have to get off my chest.
Let's start with the positives. Of coarse the story. I admit, one of the best stories in games. It's obviously the main selling point. The reason people claim it as the best game of the year. An emotional gripping plot, interesting dialog, characters you connect with, and yo can even make choices to change your experience. Although I never actually cried when I played the game it did have an emotion impact on me and I felt if this wasn't just a video game I would actually cry.
Let's talk about the choices. There are many times that you have to make critical decisions in TWD. The cool thing is these are not always presented through "Click here to do this". Most of the time your decisions are done though dialog options. Not all of these are critical. Some dialog adds back story if you want to have an option conservation with the character. Some times what you will say will build relationships and/or will be remembered later on. Other times it's a critical plot changing event. In other words, be careful what you say.
However I do have some problems with the choices. Mainly that you don't have that much control and that your choices don't have that big of an impact. Let's be honest here. No matter what you do or say almost every plot point is unavoidable. You still go to the same places, do the same scenarios and tasks, the same people die and worst of all everyone gets the same ending.
The most your choices change are the dialog. Yes what you say and do makes people like or hate you but does it have any real significant change on the plot? Not really. There's only a few times where it had a change. Like when you chose Doug or Carly. Obviously it will be different. You have a completely different person during these scenes. One is a weak guy but he's super smart and in some ways annoying. The other is a strong independent girl who is cute and nice but also knows your secret. But even then I felt those scenes when I played a second time were just a mirror of my original experience but only playing out slightly differently.
How about when people chose to either join you on your final mission or abandon you at the end of episode 4? First off It wasn't executed well. It makes no sense for Omid and Christa to share a friends to the end attitude after we met two days ago. It would have been nice to have more characters that have been with us for a longer amount of time to have a greater effect. Like Lilly or Carly (If we had the fucking option to take them with us!)
It also doesn't make sense to have them only come with you if you reveal the bite. I thought the point of this was to have all your decisions add up and they would make the decisions. You can freaking push Omid of a bridge and talk shit to them but they will still be your friends and trust you? Same thing with Kenny. No matter how you treat him you can still make him come with you buy choosing the right dialog options. Ben? He doesn't even have an opinion. He just does what you tell him to.
This doesn't have a "Your choices have consequences" feel to it. Especially considering Ben still did nothing useful! I thought the point of bringing him along was that he was eventually going to pull himself together and save the day. Waste of time. Heck he even got Kenny and himself killed.
So now what happens next in episode 5? Well the exact same scenarios with different dialog. Heck some of the people say the same thing as others would but in different words. No different outcome. But then after that scene you go back to the mansion and meet up with everyone and it's the same again. More so then before. Kenny doesn't even mention that you told if to go fuck himself (If that's what you chose). Suddenly you two pals again and he isn't even mad at you. And then all the same people die which yet again unavoidable. I'm not trying to say every death should be avoidable. I know why these deaths are important. Obviously the people die because that's the part of the story that is emotional. But when everyone dies and you can't do anything about it for anyone it makes you think what's the point of choices if they have no significant impact.
Let's talk graphics and tech. Not that big of a deal but needs to be mentioned. Obviously the games visuals are outdated. But to counter this it has a unique comic book feel to it so it is still nice to look at. There is also a significant amount of detail for the facial animations and of coarse THE GORE! That half severed leg still creeps me out.
The big fault is the technology however. The areas are small and limited, you have little control over both your characters movements and camera angles, and there are many bugs, glitches, and frame rate issues. Two words to describe the game in this regard: "Low budget". I know it's from Telltale but keep in mind that the game is mostly cinematics with no huge action scenes or control intensive gameplay. Honestly, that's kind of pathetic.
Now on to the main problem with TWD which caused me to make this review. You could probably see this coming but yes, it's the gameplay. Let's sum it up. Walking around, clicking on objects, quick time events, talking to people, and puzzles. Sorry but none of that stands out as great, compelling, or fun gameplay. Talking to people goes more with the story, walking around to get from point A to B is boring, point and click or quick time events are just a way to advance cinematics, and the puzzles are repetitive and super easy.
That's my problem with TWD. Huge on story and little to no gameplay. I know the point of the game is for story and not gameplay but personally I really don't care. That's not an excuse. Games need both great gameplay and story. I mean look at 2011. Uncharted, Skyrim, and Skyward Sword. Amazing games that all had great gameplay, visuals, (Despite Skyward Sword not being in HD) and stories. Some of them were actual emotion like TWD and they were up for GOTY. So why does TWD only have to focus on one aspect to be the best game of the year this year?
Now you may say TWD doesn't need this things. That's not true. Every game needs gameplay. That's what makes the games the most. It's an annoying trend that I have been seeing. People want video games to become more serious so they are now focusing on stories more and trying to make games art. That's fine. I like that. But some people are focusing only on story and forgetting what makes games what they are. The gameplay. I get the game has a amazing emotional story and that it's unique and fresh in some regards. But that's not enough for video games. TWD feels more like an interactive movie then a game.
I don't mean to say you aren't entitled to your own opinion. I respect your opinion. Who am I to tell you what to play or what to like? If you like TWD then go ahead and play it. If you want to play a game with no gameplay but a huge effort on story for a fresh change then this is your game. But that's just a personal preference and has no bearing on the games actual quality. Most people get the words subjective and objective confused. Subjective is a statement based on personal opinions and feelings. "I like The Walking Dead because it's unique and it has an amazing story and I don't need anything else with it". That's your subjective biased opinion. Objective is a statement based on the weighing of facts. "The Walking Dead is the best game ever" or "It's a 9/10". Problem is as I have proved TWD is not THAT good. So that wasn't an objective statement. It was a biased opinion said as a fact. And when you actually judge the game properly you can see that it isn't true.
Sorry but some times you have to put away you personal feelings and opinions to judge the content of the game. For example, I enjoyed Sonic (2006). Shocker right? But would I ever say that it's a good game? Of coarse not! It's terrible! I didn't like batman AC or AA. But I admit those are exceptional games.
Now don't tell me I haven't played it. I have. And also don't tell me I'm a CoD fanboy that only likes shooters and hates originality. That's not the case. I want fun gameplay to go with this story. Weather it's a shooter, stealth, platformer, action adventure, or survival horror. In fact survival horror would be perfect for this game. I was disappointed after episode 1. I was amazed when I got to the drug store and I could pick up energy bars and pass them around. Made me think of how open the choices could be. You can search for supplies and give them to people so they can keep their strength up and build relationships. You can keep some to yourself because you need to eat too. what if some people or even yourself get weaker or feel side effect by not eating or even starve to death? What if you need to manage your bullets and take and many as you can when you get the chance to look for supplies?
I soon realized that wasn't the case. Once again the game is told in a linear and canon way. At this point I don't think it adds any relationship point with anyone other than Kenny. It's just something to do witch has no significant impact. Same thing with episode 3. No matter how many supplies you gather or weather you kill the girl or not none of what you get comes into play later on. It's annoying.
Now you may tell me that this is the point of an adventure/point and click game. That also isn't an excuse. I generally don't compare other genres but this is an exception. Why? Because the adventure genre is outdated. It's missing one of the core features of games. The gameplay. Gameplay is a general part of games. The point of genres is to have different style of gameplay. Someone needs to revolutionize the adventure genre so that it can be fun just like other genres.
Hell even shooters have evolved more than adventure games. they only just start to be the same 5 years ago. I get that adventure games are a traditional part of games and some of the earliest but that's just it. They're old. The genre needs to get with the times. would a game with just text and no pictures be considered a game in today's age? Of coarse not. But games like this did exist a long time ago when video games were just developing. And for their time it was revolutionary. Same with adventure games. It was good in the 90s but then action games took over the marketplace and they never responded to this change in gaming culture.
That's pretty much it. Now why did I make this thread? Some may think I made this review to criticize people who love this game. That's not the case. The reason I wrote this is because I want Telltale to make a better game for season 2. You may think the game doesn't need gameplay but imagine this. Imagine if season 2 and the same emotional story but it also had great fun gameplay. Imagine if you had more variety of choices to make. Imagine if the levels were designed bigger like other games. Imagine if you had more control of your character instead of feeling like you are on rails in a way. Imagine if it had survival horror elements and you can search for and manage supplies which will not only change the gameplay but also the maybe the story and could actually cause real consequences that could ruin you. How awesome would the game be then? This shows that TWD is not perfect and there is much room for improvement.
I want season 2's story to be more open and non linear opposed to scripted, linear, and branched.
I want fun gameplay that stays true to the style of the genre (Requires some massive brainstorming for you designers).
I want more work into level desing. I'm not asking for open world here. Just something bigger and more explorator.
I want survival horror elements that make a fun challenge.
I want more choices. Basically most of the time if someone dies it should be your fault.
These are the main problems with TWD that prevent it from being a masterpiece in reality regardless of what people say. Please show this to Telltale and if someone from Telltale is reading this please try your best to make these changes. I'm sorry if I am offending you but this game just isn't as good as everyone is saying. It's still a very good game however and I hope you think hard about how to make adventure games fun to revolutionize the genre.
Please don't hate me for this. I already got enough crap for simply saying TWD isn't perfect which as I just proved in my honest review. If you still don't agree with me can you at the very least understand where I am coming from and acknowledge that I make a fair, reasonable, and logical argument. It pisses me off because I am always ganged up by fanboys who hate on he just because I'm not kissing the game's ass and ignore that I made good points. They never listen to reason. Can we please keep this friendly at least?
Anyways that's my review. If you want a score I believe a 7.5 is fair. I hope people don't take this the wrong way. It's a good game but overrated.
Hope you weren't offended about the negativity and we can have a civil debate.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I'm Sanjichaz by the way, so let me bring up some stuff up for the people that will look this thread up in the near future:
On that video you claimed that everyone who liked TWD and voted for it at the VGAs is not a real gamer. You brought up ET, one of the worst games in existence and compared it to the Walking Dead, you flamed people who tried to be polite and civil. You backed up all of your arguments with half assed facts and while saying you were not bashing the game, you tried to prove to us that its overrated and that its not amazing, but simply "good". Instead of bashing the game, you bashed the fans. I can see that your post here is a lot more civil and intelligent, but I seriously think that right now the past has come back to bite you. I think you owe some people an apology before even thinking of starting a conversation. I will also provide a link to that video later on, because I'm writing this on my phone and I'm too lazy to copy and paste the link.
P.S I said it the first time, and I will say it again, you can't simply say that a game is only good and cannot be amazing for other people who played it. You want gameplay in a game, I understand. But most people on this forum want story and everyone is entitled to his own opinion. And I guess I'm one of the forementioned fanboys ganging up on you...
No I never compared the game to E.T don't make up that nonsense. I used that game as an example to show that just because you have an opinion doesn't mean the game is good. That game is atrocious and if you say it's good then you pretty much wrong.
Polite and civil? Ha. Here's a quote from a few comments of my on other videos. "The Walking Dead isn't perfect" "The Walking Dead is overrated". Here's what the comments say now. "This comment has too many negative votes"
Don't tell me that the fans argued calmly with me. I'm not even going to bother quoting the rude replies I got for simply speaking the truth. Naturally, I got pissed. I had a good argument and people were to suborn to listen. So of coarse I would respond in an angry tone.
Plus my facts were not half assed. What I said in those videos Is pretty much what I said in this review. Only difference is I could go into more detail because there was no character limit. Games need gameplay along with the story and that's just a fact of games. That's the same thing I have been saying all along.
If anything it's the fans with the shaking arguments. They have yet to counter my claims about how the gameplay brings it down a lot and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong. All they do is keep telling me about how awesome the story is. Well that's nice and I agree with you but my point still stands.
Also I never said you weren't entailed to opinion. I said over and over and over again that you have every right to enjoy the Walking Dead if you want to play a good interactive story.
But if you think games don't need gameplay to be good then I'm sorry but you really aren't a true gamer. You're forgetting that gameplay is what makes the games. It has nothing to do wheather you like these games or not. It has to do with weather you are speaking an opinion or fact. Games need gameplay. That's a fact. You deny that then you deny your a gamer. You can still like it but how can you objectivly say this game is better or as good as that let's say Red Dead Redemption? Or Uncharted from last year?
Again, the games quality is not based on ones personal opinion. I'm speaking the truth and sometimes the truth hurts but it needs to be said. The game just isn't THAT good.
One can only imagine how long it would take Telltale to design a game that had choices that dramatically impacted the game as a whole. E.g. your decision between Shawn and Duck determines if you go to Macon or stay at the barn. It would probably take like four months in between episodes rather than just one. Eh, it would be quite rude of the duo if they treated you badly while you were dying, desperately looking for your pseudo-daughter. Those two characters are extremely sincere and nice anyways and it would be OOC of them to act like a dick towards you during your final hours. Regardless, the "rude" choices you can give Christa and Omid aren't too horrible. I don't even think pushing him off the bridge is a bad thing, Lee possibly saved his life there.
- Despite how you treated Christa and Omid it is still quite obvious that they both deeply care about Clementine. They wouldn't go with you if you didn't show the bite because they figured Lee would be able to save her (because he's motherfucking Lee Everett) and Christa needs to focus on Omid because of his leg. If you did show the bite they go with you because they fear Lee may die before he even gets to Clementine.
- No, your choices do affect Kenny's decision. He'll give you the "buddy" speech if you backed him for the majority of the game, however if he doesn't give you the speech your only hope to bring him with you is to say "Clementine is like family to me" and even then that will only work if you helped Duck and Katjaa when they needed him the most (the Shawn decision, fighting back against Larry's accusations concerning Duck, feeding / watering Duck while he was dying, et cetera).
- Similarly it is the same with Ben. If you leave the decision to him he'll only go with you if you choice to be nice to him previously. However if you chose the "Clementine" option he'll go with you regardless, although it just seems more fitting for him via his own decisions.
I agree, Ben died with so little respect from me. Although I believe that's just a flaw with the character rather then the game. They could have easily made Ben go out heroically, but it's Ben we're talking about here. I personally haven't faced any substantial bugs with my game. That's what a point-and-click adventure is... Honestly I think it worked. Despite the lack of gameplay, which shouldn't come off as a surprise because it's a point-and-click game, it's still a lot better, in my opinion, then a game like Assassin's Creed or Skyward Sword. I loved Skyrim as much as the next guy but that's just another big RPG I've seen a billion times before. It didn't leave an impact on me like the TWD game because of the complete lack of emotions. I'd rather have a game that leaves an impact on me rather then a game I've seen a billion times over again. Those repetitive games shouldn't win GOTY, in my opinion, despite how amazing their gameplay is. And, in my opinion, those games didn't have strong plots at all... Quite weak in fact.That's what The Walking Dead is anyways. It's not about killing zombies, it's not about solving puzzles, it's about the people. I have never felt this way towards a cast of characters in a video game. The brilliant voice actors and writing really brought them to life.
I Understand what makes the game special. I understand the point. I understand it's because of that people enjoy it. But I said it before and I'll say it again. This is a video game. I can easily get a similar experience with a well written movie. Only difference is TWD is interactive. Plus the point and click genre is more outdated then shooters.
Anyways thanks for the constructive debate.
But how is Skyrim, Skyward Sword, and Uncharted repetitive? How do they have weak plots? How is TWD better than them? Maybe you prefer TWD over those games but how the game objectively better than them. That doesn't make sense.
All three of those games have great stories especially Uncharted and Zelda. Hell those two games are pretty much equal to the quality of TWD. How could you say they have weak plots? How can you say they're repetitive?
That is wrong. A game consists of story, graphics and gameplay. A lot of people play games for the good graphics(CodBlops2) and while I think that a game can't consist of graphics only I would never say that these people aren't true gamers.and I never said that I don't want gameplay in a game. It's just that TWD has a simplistic gameplay.
That is the only problem I have with your post. And the person above me explained how the choices affect the player more than the game itself, and that's what makes it so emotional.
Now that's something quite unique, which I've only seen in Mass Effect. And speaking of that, perhaps the uproar over the Mass Effect 3 ending was caused by the abrupt and inconclusive end to characters that the players have loved for many years.
The plot in TWD was good, but it is the character that makes it the game. People didn't get emotional because we visited Herschel's farm or took the train to Savannah. No, it was when we learned about the other characters and saw their eventual demise, that's is what got me hooked.
Let's not forget that the games more or less centers around protecting a little girl, and not around an objective to defeat something or retrieve something.
And that is why I like this game. Extending the gameplay or adding technical featurs in season 2 is just a bonus in my eyes, if they now manage to maintain the same level of story as in season 1.
Yes, i noticed the choices. They don't exactly make as much impact as you imagine them to do. Just a few minor changes for a couple minutes, and then everybody forgets about "the big decision" you just made. But, some of the decisions are just insane. Like the whole bear trap situation, where you have to cut the guy's leg off, even if it didn't impact the story too much, it was still gruesome and was something that really got your heart beat up.
The game had an amazing atmosphere, ever since episode 2 ended, it always kept me on toes and i kept freaking out. Yes, a lot of the decisions are mostly meaningless but they are executed in such a manner, that they always make me nervous and if the game gives me an infinite amount of time to think about what i want to choose, i just sit there not sure what to do. And that, is quite good enough for me to forget about the fact that the choices don't change the story that much.
And the gameplay. I thought the quick time events were quite satisfying enough. The game gives you a break to chat with the others, solve a puzzle then it throws you into a walker scene, and as i pulled off every action the game wanted me to do in the QTEs, i felt like i was really doing that.
But, as you respect my opinion, i respect yours. Not every single person can love the game to the fullest limit, and as long as they have a reason to dislike it that makes sense, then people shouldn't bother them.
If you don't enjoy this genre of gaming, that's all well and good. However, it is still a style of gaming and is not less of a game because of the way it works.
You got it all wrong. I never said people who enjoyed the game were not true gamers. I said you are not a true gamer if you think games in today's age can be considered amazing based only on story.
Like I said, enjoying a game is different from the game's quality. I said I enjoyed Sonic 06 yet I admit the game is terrible. I didn't like Batman AC yet I admit it is great. If I were to speak my personal opinions in a way of fact like if I said Batman AC sucks then I would be wrong.
I think you misread my review. I agree with you. It is a good game. My argument is that it isn't an amazing masterpiece. The story is a masterpiece yes but there's more to a game then story.
I'd say it does matter if it's outdated. It get's stale or repetitive. Especially if you're the kind of person who criticizes modern shooters for being generic. That goes double for point and click. Would Duke Nukem 3D be a good game if it was released today? Not at all. Look at DN3D. Now look at Half Life. Now look at Call of Duty (before they started to milk it). Now look at bioshock.
The point/style of the FPS genre has changed over the years. We went from arcade action (Duke Nukem/doom) to immersion (Half Life/Bioshock) to modern shooters (Halo/CoD). So please don't tell me TWD get's a free pass because "That's the point".
Plus like I said it's not the style of adventure games that needs to change. It's the general lack of gameplay.
First: you have some valid points there, no question, but i couldn't imagine this game with
"fun" gameplay, what do you mean by "it should have more gameplay?" like Dead Island? like Left4Dead? like Prototype? i really wouldn't like that because "fun" is not part of the emotions you are meant to feel in this game. however i agree it should give your choices more impact and also bring in some survival elements, if you remember the drugstore: you could find as many energy bars as you could hand out, everyone except for Doug wanted one, that's just as many as you can find, that was kinda lame. I enjoyed (or better say : liked the part where you had to feed 10 hungry people with 4 food items, enjoying is the wrong word i guess). but remember point&click is a genre, it's not outdated no it's just a calm genre like puzzle games or quiz games, honestly we don't need more shooters or action games out there, i like it for -exactly- what it was, it was a good story, with great and realistic chars, and the gameplay (point&click) got yourself much time to think about your choices whether wanted by ttg or not, i had enough time to feel like a dick after a tough decision, right before i had to make the next one.
I'm not a big fan of point and click neither but i appreciate the fact the game is as it is, it wouldn't have been that emotionally heavy if you had action gameplay in it. Also what twd is about, is avoiding Zombies, not killing shitloads of 'em, but also i'd like to stockpile supplies, scavenge for them and use them, saving ammo would've been a good thing either, so depending on how you played you might've won the "last stand" in ep5 and there maybe would have been no need to escape to the attic.
well that's my opinion, i hope you respect it the same way i respect yours.
and please answer my question "what do you mean by more gameplay?"
By more gameplay it is what it sounds. I want the game to be fun and enjoyable from more than a story perspective. Let's face it. You spend most of your time watching then actually playing and when you do get a chance to "play" the game it's boring and slow.
Keep in mind I'm not saying it needs any specific kind of gameplay. Not saying it needs to be a shooter or action game to be good or to have gameplay similar to other games. It just needs good and fun gameplay in general.
I also don't see the problem with having an emotional story and fun gameplay at the same time.
Point and clicks achieve that through working out puzzles and QTEs
Walking dead was a good all round game and was one of the best games of last year
It was a bit weaker than other point and clicks by Telltale but still had a good balance and gameplay is more than just the cliches
Walking dead has more gameplay than most point and clicks and is quite different for the genre
That is your opinion it isn't fact because I found it fun talking to people and solving puzzles and so did many others, so basically your main point on the way you think this isn't a great game is invalid because you are using your opinion.
Your fun isn't everybody's fun
(when lee falls or gets shot)
He wakes up in the police car.
"So that was a funny story wasn't it." The cop says. Lee looks around and tries to remember his dream. Zombies... hilarious.
He drives by a house and sees the treehouse. A little girl pokes her head out and smiles and waves to him. And that is when he heard the beeping. "Hi, Lee."
I'm just saying the story is very sad, and is meant to make you sad, having a fun gameplay, means enjoying to do what you do, I just think it would take a part of that sadness, maybe you're right maybe it would make the game better, we don't know, your opinion is it would, mine is: it would not, for the just mentioned reason. That slow paced gameplay kind of fits the emotions this game lets us feel. Also I understand why people complain about not being able to save certain persons, i did too at first, but on second thought that's a part of it, you can't prevent crazy people from doing crazy stuff if they snap (for example). That feeling of not being able to do anything is also a part of that sadness. Another good thing of the point&click gameplay is, you can interact better and with more stuff, and also the killing animations are different from eachother, killing somebody with an axe in dead island for example gets boring as hell, but in this game it's not, at least to me it's not. Zombies only appear some times, because even though they are an essential part of the world, the survivors sure try to keep 'em at distance or avoid them at all if possible, in a ZA no one would walk up on them just for fun, to have some action, also they are not what it is about, the realtionships and tensions inside the group are, so they focused on that, the "fun" gameplay would require more Zombies to be involved in the game, or it would be a waste to develop it, that's another problem. Still we don't know how it would've been with a "fun" gameplay...
Some times games are more than opinions. There's also has to be facts involved. Like I said. I enjoyed Sonic 06. But the game is terrible. That's a fact separate from my personal feelings.
Gameplay has many forms and decision making and point and clicks are the most classic and enjoyable gameplay I can think of
You're telling me clicking and watching cinematics is more enjoyable platforming or shooting or RPGs?
Sorry but this is the truth. You spend more time watching or interacting then actually playing.
Oh how I love people like you. Do you seriously not see the hypocrisy in that statement? "I had a good argument and people were to stubborn to listen." Well. I see. So, instantly because someone disagrees with you, they're stubborn and won't listen to you. Amazing. It seems that he have a real intellectual powerhouse over here. You call people who voted for TWD not real gamers, but I think that you don't know what a "real gamer" is. A real gamer isn't even real. All gamers have many differing opinions about what kind of games are good. Due to Video Games complete innovation as a medium, there are no "good" or "bad" games.
And, back to your "True Gamer" argument. The closest thing to a "true gamer" I can think of is someone who has been gaming for all their life. A person who likes the way old school games were. A person who likes for example, point and click adventure games. That is what TWD is. That was enough to satisfy gamers for years, and those were some of the original "best games" that people have.
What makes a game bad, exactly? Is it hard to control and complicated mechanics? Tell that to strategy fans. Is it graphics that look unappealing to the eye? Tell that to all the fans of Minecraft. Is it repetitive mechanics? Tell that to the fans of brawlers and beat 'em ups. Is it the complete LACK of mechanics that make a game bad? Well, apparently not, because whilst TWD had barely and gameplay it still won so many awards. It still affected gamers deep down inside. It still made people cry when they had never cried at a video game before. So, honestly sir. Fuck you, and fuck off. Leave all of the fans of TWD alone, and take your bullshit about true gamers with you.
Not everyone who likes games wants to be bothered with pressing lots of buttons repeatedly.
QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ
e
It wasn't THAT often.
And that's a lot easier than say, Heavy Rain where you have to press several different buttons to get through different mazes.
Oh how mature of you.
You seem to forget that there's a difference between objective and subjective. There is such thing as good game and bad games. Look at ET. Would you call that good? Look at RDR. would you call that bad?
TWD is good but not amazing and like I said I don't care if you enjoy it. But I have games that I enjoy but admit are terrible. I have games I hate but admit are exceptional. I'm not saying your not a true gamer for liking TWD. I am saying you are not a true gamer if you can't acknowledge how good the game actually is. A true gamer would understand gaming culture and would know the main thing that makes games the way they are. The gameplay. So no. Not everything is an opinion. There are facts about the game and I'm just speaking the truth.
Oh and "Leave TWD fans alone"? You make it sound like I'm attacking the fanbase. All I'm doing is speaking the truth about the game. I'm not insulting anybody.
Well I'm not saying it needs shooting. In fact my main suggestion was survival horror gameplay. But my point is I want fun gameplay in general. Not anything specific.
When did I hate on Ben? All I said was he never got a chance to prove himself which ruined the whole point of saving him. Maybe if him grabbing the gun could save Kenny or both of them then maybe there would have been a point in saving him.
"I want fun gameplay in general."
That's your opinion. TWD had a lot of fun gameplay IMO, because I like the heavy dialogue/character interaction options.
No! You cannot say that that's just a bad game! I don't like it, you don't like it, THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT FUCKING BAD. That is my point. You can't even comprehend other people's opinions. It's not a bad game, because someone out there got enjoyment out of it. And you aren't technically insulting anyone. Except calling all of the people not "true gamers". And calling someone immature. You know what, ignoring that you might not be outright insulting someone, but in all of your posts you imply that you are more mature, and smarter, and a better gamer over all.
Again, that affects the story. Not the gameplay.
I can't comprehend other people's opinions? Do you even read my posts? I said 100 times that I respect your opinions. I said 100 times that there's nothing wrong with liking this style of game. BUT my whole point is opinions are different from fact.
Saying "I like this game" is different from "This game is good" and "This is the best game ever" is different from saying "This is my favorite game". Get it? You like the game. Many people like the game. That's fine. I respect that. I'm not trying change your opinions. But from an objective judgement that's based on the facts of the game TWD is just good.
So don't say I don't respect your opinions because that's not true. And this isn't me thinking my opinions are fact. Because it isn't my opinion at all. It's an objective fact.
And yes there is such thing as bad games. ET is an atrocious game. That's a fact. RDR is a great game. That's a fact. And no ones biased opinions are going to change that. You're telling me ET isn't a bad game and it's just an opinion?
Haha. You're funny.
Also I never said I am more mature, or smarter then anyone (except that asshole who didn't even bother to take my thoughts seriously and made an unnecessary comment). Regardless there are some people who are immature and stupid in these arguments (Someone on YouTube called me a "fucken fuck fuckidy fuck fuck") however the people here have been respectful for the most part. I'm not trying to say I am better then anyone. Just that they hold their opinions to closely and that it clouds their judgement.
Now, just because you say that you respect other people's opinions does not mean that you actually do. You still aren't doing it. You're just saying "You're wrong." and then acting like that proves your point. Sir, fuck you. I'm done with this thread.
I said it a million times, gameplay isnt the only thing that makes a game. Its not more important than story or graphics FOR SOME PEOPLE. And we GET IT, you want more GAMEPLAY. TWD is about story, that doesnt make it overrated for us as individuals. People play Angry Birds because of fun gameplay. People like the story of Spec Ops the line and ignore the generic gameplay. Its a fact that people play different games for different reasons, and we are not obliged to look at the gameplay of a game ONLY. Its not that what makes us gamers.
End of story.
The gameplay in this game is picking and choosing the dialogue, to impact character interaction/friendships.
This sort of game makes me poo my pants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVIdHPG0wYI
good lord, who can play this?
I love this. So, so much.
I like RPGs and some shooters but the thrill of working out a puzzle is higher than from any other genre
So I would say yes
I do spend most of time playing RPGs like Morrowind and Oblivion and is probably my most played genre but they don't have comparable gameplay
It is, but more in the traditional sense then that, that the game industry made.
You're right. Gameplay isn't the only thing that makes a game. But the same thing can be said about story, visuals, and content. It's everything that makes the game great. I'd say the same thing about DNF. The gameplay was good because it was fun action and had variety of platforming. But I can't say it's a great game because the story is weak. Yes, just like TWD "that's the point" but that isn't an excuse.
While I never played L4D all I have to say is that it's made by Valve. :P
Yes the gameplay style isn't comparable. That isn't my concern. It's the quality of the style which the adventure genre hasn't evolved since the 90s.
How do you mix the Adventure genre with the RPG genre?
Sorry, but your's is OPINION. I prefer story to gameplay. People have different opinions.
For me, Story>Gameplay>Combat.
Love it's story.
Don't mind about gameplay.
QQQQQQQE is more than enough for a point and click.
You're pretty much saying in this whole thing your opinion and shoving it down our throats.
I can see that 1 star is justified. This is a game, and it is damn fun. Writers have fun creating stories ( I know this personally), and people love reading (lol reading) .When good story/writing is placed within a point & click game, it exemplifies the fun you have.