Hit and miss
I couldn't help but be disappointed by the latest Walking Dead episode. There were just enough problems with it to keep me from fully enjoying it as I was playing. if I had to score it, I'd probably give it around a 6/10.
Strangely, for an episode that took so long to hit the store, this felt somewhat rushed. If you don't think that fits, you might prefer my friend's description, "It feels like they tried to get too ambitious with the episode and cut a lot of content out." I don't want to spend too long harping on everything, so I'll just highlight some of my main points:
Seriously short conversations
This one is really starting to get to me. Not only are there few moments in Season 2 where you can walk around and talk to the other characters, but also few actual prompts to choose from. It felt like in every conversation in this episode except for when you first meet Walter, you might get three prompts at best. This sort of ruined scenes like reminiscing with Kenny or confronting Matthew on the bridge. I felt like the conversations were just getting started when we would be whisked off to some other plot point. As an analogy, it felt like the cutscenes in Mass Effect vs. Mass Effect 3. In the former, you might get a dialogue prompt every few seconds; in the latter, you were lucky if you got one or two total in a 5 minute conversation. The problem with the latter style is I don't really feel like an active participant, and that's how The Walking Dead is starting to feel.Lack of character development
This is another big one for me. It is perhaps Season 2's biggest flaw. I feel like we're not spending enough time with any of the characters to get to know them. I just do not care when a character dies in this season. I want to, but most of these characters are so nameless and faceless to me that they might as well just be redshirts in a Star Trek episode. I could barely even remember any of the characters' names from Episode 1 when this episode started, and by the end, I still didn't know one of them by name (the black guy who dies, Rebecca's boyfriend). They just don't seem to take any time to make you care about this new group you're in, and this seriously lessens my interest in continuing the season. It also makes things like the 5 day time jump during the hike from the cabin stand out like a sore thumb. Instead of time-jumping, why not take that time to expound more on the characters? Overall, it feels like they're letting character development slide to focus on plot, but the plot is just not enough by itself to motivate me.Short episode
An hour and a half and done. Considering how long we waited for this episode, this was a very disappointing length.Choices don't really matter
I'm not talking so much about choices not affecting the overall plot, because that, strangely enough, doesn't bother me. It's more like sometimes it just seems no matter what you say, the plot is railroaded to go in a certain direction. As an example, no matter what you say on the bridge, Matthew will get shot by Nick. Yes, I realize that Matthew dying is important to the plot, but why not handle it a different way? For example, if you pick a choice that tells Nick not to shoot him, you can make the conversation last a little longer. Suddenly, a walker appears behind Matthew and Nick goes to shoot it, but hits Matthew instead. If Clem instead picked a more hostile conversation option, Nick would just shoot him outright like he currently does. This way, the same general outcome occurs, but you get a slightly different scene based on your dialogue choice. It's little touches like this that would help the game not feel so railroaded all of the time.PC immunity
I realize this is really a big nitpick, but it does tend to lessen my enjoyment. Because I know Clem is the main character, it takes a lot of tension out of the game's choices. I know no matter what I do (unless I fail a QTE), Clem is going to survive. This, coupled with all of the above issues, makes most of the scenes in the game that are supposed to be tense or dramatic have little to no impact on me. It probably doesn't help that I find Clem harder to empathize with than Lee, but there are times where I pick a choice not because it's what I would do, but because I'm getting bored and I hope it makes things harder on Clem/the group in an attempt to make me care more.
Well, that pretty much covers it. I have other, smaller issues, but I'm more interested in seeing what everyone else has to say. Feel free to disagree vehemently; I'm not expecting very many of you to share my opinions on this episode.
Comments
I had a very high opinion of the episode until I read this and realized my joy-mazement was based purely on a select few plot points. Sadly you have me rethinking the entire episode.
Again, it's not that I thought the episode was bad, just merely average. Sort of like the first episode. It's almost like episodes 1 and 2 should have been one episode. My friend also mentioned that it felt like both episodes were spent setting up the plot. If anything, there certainly wasn't too much content for them to have not been combined. I think I would have been satisfied in that case, since the length and lack of development issues would probably have been fixed if they were both just one episode.
What? Alvin dies? He didnt in my game, great I guess that means he gets a scripted death later
or did you confuse carver gunbutting him for a headshor?
This episode was definately longer than the previous
1- You're right
2- Probably because they're going to die either way and need them gone right away to introduce better characters? Alvin and Nick's deaths look so meaningless that their overall purpose on the season doesn't seem to be important at all. Maybe they'll die super early in episode 3 if you kept them alive. Looks like they'll be introducing A LOT of new characters and also getting rid of them pretty fast (Matthew, Walter, Johnny) and we're still yet to see the 400 days guys.
3- Took me 1 hour and 50 minutes. IGN said it took them 2 hours and 30 mins. Complete BS.
4- This only bothers me with choices like the pinky swear doing nothing or when you tell carlos that sarah needs to grow up then tells you to stay away from her but then the next episode he's ok with you being around her.
5- nothing wrong with immortal Clem in my opinion.
Only thing I agree with is that I do wish you could stop and talk with some of these characters for once. Just walk around and talk like you could every so often in season 1. We still barely know anything about the Alvin and his girlfriend.
I don't agree on most of your points. I do agree with the first point. I want more conversations like the ones you had in season one where you picked a subject and it was in a puzzle scene.
However, I don't agree with any of the other things you said. Firstly, you can't have much character development in one episode, specially with characters we barely know. Secondly, I think Rebecca's screen time changed many people's opinion on her (including my own) and I sense a lot of changes in both Kenny and Nick. Third, Rebecca's boyfriend is called Alvin and you hear that a few times in both episodes (you must have missed that). Also, it's a five day time skip composed of mainly of walking. Who cares?
Morever, you end the episode with two character with a determinant status. How the hell do your choices not matter? And the Matthew scene can be explained by Nick's state and lausy aim (remember episode 1?). Finally, I don't give a damn about the time. I wasn't counting but it felt like two hours. Also, the constant movement and scenario chance in the game made it feel longer in my case. I kept expecting it to end at certain points and it never did.
And I don't get your last point. What do you expect? That if you don't calm down Walt, Clem gets killed and Telltale goes "haha, season's over for you, but we're still keeping the money for the next three episodes!"
I totally agree with you on the lack of character development. I truly want to get to know everyone in Luke's group since it would give me a sense of how safe Clem would be with them, considering that Carver is talking crap about them ... o.o but I'm just assuming that Carver is just playing with Clem's mind. Hopefully telltale would give us more time to get to know each character >.<
Since I'm most interested in responding to your last point, I guess I'm just looking for some game over choices. People might hate them, but I think they can keep things somewhat interesting. Games tend to lack tension for me unless there's a very real possibility of character death. Saying the wrong thing to a character holding a gun on you and getting shot seems like it could be a healthy consequence. You could leave it at that if you really wanted to, but I'm sure most players would be eager to load up the save file and try again.
I sort of have this problem with some pen and paper RPGs. Some people just get so attached to their characters that GMs are unwilling to let them die. But if there is no threat of death, then where is the sense of adventure? A well-placed game over choice here and there could certainly spice the series up while still allowing some capacity for player choice to alter the outcomes present in the game. Sort of like how you can romance Morinth in Mass Effect 2 if you want to, but you will die if you do.
I don't know about you but it took me 2 hrs and 10 mins completing the episode
Wait a sec you cant have much character development in one episode you say?...so there wouldnt be character development in any episode by that logic...
Took me an hour and a half, and I explored every corner. Took my mom even less. Did you have the game paused or something?
You know exactly what he means
He means that you can't automatically figure it out
This makes some1 play more episodes to further the development
The fact that hes confusing intent and purpose is enough for me to label it all as silly apologist talk.
More full fledged conversations during downtime are what I really hope for.
One idea would have been to not skip all five days of travel. Let people converse peacefully, let Clem get to know the group more in general. Cause I need to just take a moment, and let these character's relationships sink in more before the tragedy strikes.
What are you talking about
Agree with character development, disagree with everything else. I'd go into more detail, but I'm kind of tired, and I write horribly while tired.
No I didn't
I have to agree with your last point, how knowing Clem is the PC she won't die.
When it gave me the option to save Alvin, I was like" Why wouldn't I? Not like I'm going to die anyways..."
That is always going to be the problem with the protagonist, so I don't see much merit in this argument. We knew Lee would live through the season. Well, you have Ep5, but that is the finale.
Of course, I never said the episode was bad because of this decision alone, I was just explaining my train of thought.
I personally found this episode quite enjoyable, though not as much as everyone else has praised it.
I mean how much do you expect people to change in one episode which spans 6 days? You think Nick was gonna suddenly stand up and say "OK, people, I'm a grown up now" or that Carver was gonna break in tears when he realized the kind of monster he was? It's ONE EPISODE. You get character development throughout a season or even several seasons. Some time you don't even realize until you look back at the very first episodes or seasons. You can see some character development in one episode but it won't be much. You know why? BECAUSE IT'S ONE EPISODE!
Well, we like different things
. I'd be fucking pest if that happened, specially halfway through the season. Even if you could die at the very last minute of episode 5 due to past choices, I'd be angry. Because I'm expecting to see more of Clem and if I wanted to do that, I'd have to rewind and undo my past choices, which I'm not a fan of.
Well, that comment was fucking useless. But you know what? I checked your profile and realized all your comments are fucking useless. You go around, treating people like shit and hating on anyone who likes anything you don't. Calling them "apologists" and acting as if liking episode 2 would be the gaming equivalent of denying the fucking holocaust.
But, hey. I know why you are like that. You're not a troll. You are just so smart and independent thinking! You are one of the few people who has their eyes open, who wasn't blinded by Telltale's past success. And nobody seems to realize! You MUST spread your wisdom to rest of us! So keep bravely charging agains the apologists because, without you, us silly apologists would control the forum and the game. We NEED you.
Well no matter what telltale does , people are going to get pissed. Like when they released "No Time Left" people hated the writing(for some reason), short length and Lee's death