The Official "A House Divided" Review Thread
Evening, ladies and gentlemen.
I thought it would be neat if we had a thread for gathering and writing reviews. So, when you're done with AHD, come back here and write a detailed review for the hell of it. I intend to write when I've played AHD twice.
EDIT: Okay, I feel I'm knowledgeable enough to write a review.
The Walking Dead: A House Divided makes me feel so very conflicted. There's so much wrong with it and yet so much wonderful about it. I'll deal with the positives first.
Firstly, the episode boast multiple different tones (happiness, seriousness, grief, etc.) and it feels very well done. Nothing about it hindered the experience in the slightest. In a lesser game, I would have described the shifts as "schizophrenic".
Secondly, there were many wonderful small touches that call back to Season 1. I'll not got into spoiler territory, but they involve Clementine committing identity fraud, recalling a lesson Lee taught her as well as verbal reminiscing between Clem and an old friend.
Thirdly, there are several moments of incredible tension. There's a certain scene set on a bridge that was stuffed full of surprises. The last section of the episode was absolutely heart-pounding and horrifying, but due to my choices I still achieved the best possible outcome. The choices presented to you are unique and seem like they will have more of an impact, although I only felt conflicted about two of them. The other three I was completely confident in.
Now, the flaws.
Firstly, it feels aggressively railroady. There are no walking around sections that allow for open-ended character interaction or development. Also, literally nothing gets resolved apart from the ITYWD person. They just introduce new stuff, and I got no satisfaction.
Secondly, it feels rather contrived. The one time all the cabin group is gone is the one time the villain shows up. Really? Also, the next time his group show up is just in time to shoot walkers attacking Clem and her group. Just in time.......
The flaws are very disappointing, but there is still a lot to like. Maybe Telltale can learn from their mistakes before ep 3 is released.
Overall 7/10.
Comments
10/10 would bang
kenny confirmed for s2
Very... In-depth.
I watched a youtube walkthrough.
Kenny is the I thought you were dead person, I'm so glad.
Watch the spoilers.
Better then episode 1.
I watched a live stream on youtube.
Kenny coming back was the icing on the cake.
Luke just vanished so be pretty interesting to see what happens.
The last scene with the hostages made me feel like i was watching a movie, so well done.
Probably in my top 3 favorite scenes ever in The Walking Dead series.
Watch the spoilers.
Pretty sure they actually thread should be a spoiler.
If the OP doesn't have a spoiler in it, then there's no point in spoiler tagging the entire thread.
Well this is a review, I'm a little confused why we can't spoil stuff, if you don't want to be spoiled why in the fucking world would you go on a REVIEW?
Because not all reviews contain spoilers. A lot of professional ones don't, for example.
9.5/10 - A great, great, great episode! You will not regret playing it!! Only thing is that it was less than 2 hours long, but the entire episode made up for it
OP was starting a review thread, so there is going to be spoilers on here.
Spoiling the the actual thread would've been idea.
the episode itself was good, but the ending pissed me off. it's not so much how it ended, but that it made me realize this isn't like season 1. season 1 was a 5 part game, each episode had a start, a problem, and an end. season 2 is coming off more as a movie that got chopped into 5 bits, which is why there's no resolution to be found. it's all "next time, on the walking dead, we'll pick up exactly where you left off." which just makes the episodes feel incomplete...
now then, back to it once more for my doug file.
Oh my God. It was the best episode to date in my opinion. I. LOVED. It. 10/10
But I can't believe it was Kenny... At least we know who Sarita is now. And that Becca is NOT confirmed for episode 2.
9.5/10
But that bitch bonnie,tho :(Clem and Bonnie are bonding in the teaser,im interrested to see how it goes,and im guessing that we will see who else went with Tavia.
i'm more curious about those that didn't go. doesn't look like these guys take rejection well, and my doug file had everybody but bonnie pretty much give tavia the finger. and not in the good way.
I agree.
Best episode they have ever made 10/10 for me.
8/10. Lots of tension and it seems like there's a lot of room for your choices having real consequences. I really would have liked some more urgent dialogue options toward the end, seems like Clem forgot WTF was going on around her.
I give 9.5/10.
For me one of the best episodes so far (if not THE best ep.). I am still speechless and glowing from excitement. S2E1 was boring as hell, short and rushed and lacking atmosphere but what annoyed me most was the lack of suspense and trivial options. A house divided on the other hand was pure suspense from the very beginning until the screen turned black. It was full of severe choices and never have I found them this difficult as in that episode. What attracts me most is not the fact that you meet an old friend - it's the person not being that character we used to know. I applaud you, Telltale for not gloryfying that character. The playthrough took almost 2 hours, though felt like twice as long. It was definately worth the wait, but please Telltale: don't make us wait that long again.
....wow.
I'm astonished. I have to admit I wasn't sold on Season 2 based on Episode 1.
Well...I'm sold.
10/10
More thoughts later, but for now its just good to have that Walking Dead feeling back.
Hey again! How many people died or to be "determined" just a #
And you removed that picture that was apparently photoshopped.
I believed you for one second though.
Hi, here is my walktrough, played for 45 minutes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHSnIRkMXK0&feature=youtu.be
What? No, I wasn't lying. I never lie.
The thread is "a house divided review"... that IS the spoiler alert.
It was a f**** masterpiece. Hands down. 10/10 best episode ever. I freaking love telltale so much right now.
The first episode of Season 2 was all about establishing what kind of character Clementine would choose to be, and less about the narrative itself. While their were hints about what was to come, it wasn't exactly clear where this story would lead (which, in truth, is what a good thriller depends on).
After finishing Episode 2: A House Divided, I can safely say that the latest installment in The Walking Dead series is extremely satisfying to play through, with heart-racing moments of suspenseful action, as well as softer, emotionally-charged moments that reward both long-time players of the series as well as newcomers. We're also introduced to our antagonist this season, the intimidating and enigmatic William Carver. He's...not a nice person.
While the first episode was good, this episode is fantastic...and it's looking like there's more to come. Cheers, Telltale!
the thing way amazing but i was wondering if anyone knows the song at the end of it i really loved it please
I would contend that, while the first episode of Season 1 managed to end with firm resolution, the following episodes, even the finale, all contained cliffhangers for events to come.
Granted, perhaps not as abruptly as the first episode this season.
Holy hell, what an episode. 10/10. Tense practically all the way through. Couldn't keep the smile off my face when Kenny appeared. Disappointed in Bonnie.
Yeah, I see what you're saying.
Ep 1 they went to the motel. Ep 2 was all about the St Johns, Ep 3 was about Duck mainly. Ep 4 was about getting a boat and finding Clem's parents and 5 was finding Clem.
Overall, I thought the episode was fantastic. My only complaint is that I feel like that missed an oppurtunity in one of the earlier scenes. There's a brief moment with Sarah, and I wish the girls could've just, ya know, sat down to talk for like ten minutes. Get to know each other and establish a real friendship.
There's still time for that of course, but still.
Hope the episodes get a bit longer. Episode three probably will be, seeing as it's the middle chapter.
Okay I thought that was at least on par with episode 3 or 5 (ie. Fucking amazing)
1) I'm glad that they made Rebecca a more relatable character
2) OMG FUCK CARVER RIGHT IN THE ARSE. HE FUCKING KILLED WALTER WHO WAS THE FUCKING NICEST MAN IN THE WORLD
3) Nick is so fucking stupid. He killed that guy who was really nice. I was semi-hoping to see some bear traps or a torture chamber in the hut so I could let it slide. But no, just a genuinely nice guy who Nick accidentally murdered.
4) I wish I'd hugged Kenny
5) Once again, FUCK CARVER!
I want to review 2nd ep, I really want, but I can't.
Before I started to play "A House Divided" I was really angry for you. Not because of that It has been 10 weeks since 1st ep. I can wait even 6 months for next. It is because what you have said and done:
Each ep. would be out in 6-8 weeks and...
8 weeks after 1st you said something BIG was coming in few day's time.
That Something BIG was a screenshot + stayed tuned that week for more details.
4 days later we got 2 screenshot from you and info that "A House Divided" was coming early March and there would be a trailer of it.
5 days later we got info that pre-release trailer was coming the next day.
Finally we got trailer in which you said "coming soon" and info " as soon as NEXT WEEK",
then two days before release date you gave us info it was coming 4 march.
Assuming- u gave us info(1) about info(2) about info(3) about info(4) about info(5) about info(6) about info(7) about info of release dates
It worked much better during 1st season- when we just got info about release date 2 days before or if need be a tweet week before.
Thats why I can't review 2nd ep. Because of glasses made by your marketing.
That is the only part of review when you should be objective, not subjective. The part before you turn on a game.
If there is no willingness the dish won't taste.
I don't wanna to hurt 2nd ep. because of impact of your marketing thing. It's great game and I don't want underrate it.
Maybe it is that you have too much projects to do and your marketing guys works only to ensure you as BIG PROFIT as it's possible...
Hope magic of TWD by TTG will be back and I will be able to say: " Told ya, that TTG game will be GOTY" once again. It won't be easy. I'm waiting for a game from my country- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and one other big game- MGS V: The Phantom Pain by Hideo this year but you can beat them- just do games like you did and don't mess marketing up anymore.
EDIT: Can't u really come up with different story than in tv series? 1st season was much better than tvs TWD so why are you going with that Governor thing?
Best episode so far, Carver one hell of an antagonist, loved that Kenny is back, there were so many memorable moments, i didnt expect bonnie to be in carver's group, Carlos and Sarah still alive and nick is dead so 10/10
I made a review of episode 202 but nobody looked at it
ole well I guess.
My review for episode 202:
*Story: Takes place after the events of episode 1. This time Clem is put in tougher decisions and forced to choose who she trusts. Depending on who you chose Nick/Pete they will still live or survive based on your choices. The story gets intense when Clem meets a man named William Carver. He appears to be looking for his group and you as Clem can lie or be honest to him. The group is frightened to learn that Carver is after them. Luke agrees to have the group move to the mountains where it could be safe. Lots of intense stuff happens in this episode which I will not spoil. All I have to say is the story is very intense and worth replaying. You can use the rewind to change your choices.
*Characters: A wonderful cast of characters in this episode. The characters bring intense action and emotion to the players. You never lose interest with the characters except Bonnie from 400 days -_-'' lol. It was a complete WTF moment when Bonnie showed up. I was like I thought Bonnie was with Tavia and the others. I didn't expect Bonnie to work with Carver. This brings up the theory, Is Tavia's group associated with Carver's group? I mean like did Tavia lie to the 400 days characters and works with Carver? After seeing what Bonnie did you can assume that she really did mean to kill Dee in 400 days and probably killed Lelond. That's why she was so eager to go back with Tavia to hide her guilt. People will be happy to know that the person Clem thought was dead is... You will find out when you play.
*Writing: The writing is outstanding
*Gameplay: Gameplay is good but still dealing with lag for the System versions...
The Verdict:
All in all this is one of the best episodes for season 2 they made so far. I hope the next episode continues the horror and intense vibe like this episode. You will want to replay this episode again and has a awesome cast of characters and writing. You never get bored of the characters or story which is good. This episode makes you excited for the next episode. Thanks TT games and Robert Kirkman...
9/10
where did you sleep last night . A lot of versions out there the most famous is by Nirvana.