Yes I love this game, but here are some basic suggestions
Before everyone goes crazy and starts yelling: go away forever, delete the game, why are you here, etc., let me preface this by saying I loved season 1, and I was engrossed through all of S2E1. If I had to rate it I would give it a 9/10. From the moment Omid takes a bullet I was hooked (and almost cried).
Now, I do think the puzzle aspects of the game could use SERIOUS improvement.
As someone who has played a lot of story driven puzzle games (e.g., Kyrandia 1-3, Goblins 1-3, original Sam and Max, all the Monkey Islands, etc), there are various suggestions to be made that would improve the game. For instance, when approaching a boarded up deck, the option shouldn't automatically be there for you to use your hammer, this removes the puzzle aspect. Instead you should have to cycle through your item menu and figure it out. You should also be able to get ahead in the game without item X, and then have to backtrack for it as someone previously suggested (i.e., let me leave the shack without the hammer). These are pretty standard game mechanics, dating back to Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, etc. these are reasonable improvements, that were available in the 90s on DOS based games!
Maybe add in some item combination? For instance, instead of Clem just laying all the items out on the work deck to clean her arm, make us combine them in the right order and figure this out on our own.
I love the story, I love the writing, the narrative, I was perfectly fine with the action sequences, I just think the puzzle and item aspects are Pre Windows 3.1 and DOS based gaming, which is kinda pathetic in 2013.
Comments
I felt the same way about the "puzzle-aspect". I put that in quotes, because TWD doesn't have puzzles (the first season didn't really have puzzles either, although a little more than the last episode). It's a different genre, if you will. It's not classic adventure anymore. It's more interactive movie.
So I accept that premise, and than the game is great. However I hope for some puzzly games in the future again. Sam and Max, please?
In theory, playing as Clementine this Season should allow for more puzzle-y elements to be added to the game. Unlike Lee, Clem can't just brute force things and needs to rely a lot more on her wits to accomplish her objectives. I felt like they could have given her more to figure out in the shed or made it more challenging for her to get the needle or the bandages. She's a smart girl and if I'm going to be playing as her, I want to feel smart when I play. More complex puzzles are a great way to do that.
I also have to agree with the gamespot review. My initial judgement was just to stay put in the shack until morning. I figured that if I followed directions and didn't break in, they may trust me more and see I/Clem was not sick with a zombie bite. Moreover, if I got caught breaking in, I would ruin the chance of forming a bond with a new community. Finally, I thought breaking the board on the shed was beyond stupid, because then a walker could get in. And they did! So, I agree with gamespot, I felt far too forced in that situation to do what I really did not want to do.
I think the idea was that if she had stayed in the shed, the wound may have festered and it would be too late once morning comes. They should have made her state her reasoning a bit more explicitly, though, since I was also had the thought that it might be alright to just wait things out in the shed.
It's not even for "puzzle interest"'s sake, it's about logic and a little bit of less linearity.
I already know how Telltale games work, but here it really felt that all was scripted to hell and you couldn't fail anything except action scenes if you were too slow.
I didn't feel challenged at all. When I think back of season 1's first episode, I had to figure the situation in the street (TV remote and so on), how to deal with the zombies around the motel (a pillow ? what the fuck am I going to do with a pillow... oh wait...), etc...
Never before a Telltale game made me feel I was in a clickable movie more than in a game.
I figured everything in seconds.
The only part that made me have second thoughts about my actions was within the house, I didn't dare to eavesdrop too much or stay too long in the rooms, but that's all. The rest felt like "do the obvious thing with the obvious item already preselected for you - or lying right under your nose for you to pick, and we proceed with next cutscene".
I also missed the area's where you can walk around and talk to people. (about the situation)
I presume those are the reasons too, but my rational was, I'd rather wait 6-12 hours in a shed, then risking breaking and entering into a home, losing a possible group and allies, and/or dying from intrusion and self defense.
I think people who are still looking or a puzzle game are kind of missing the point of the series. It's not really about puzzles or difficulty, it's about being an active participant in the storytelling.
Those are not mutually exclusive contents. 1) The game could develop the puzzle aspect a little more without foregoing active experience and storytelling, and 2) harder puzzles could be a very foundation of the story telling and participation.
I think the game needs a good dose of realism, and simple puzzles help for that. Sure, I would love more complicated puzzles, but I think simple ones should stay as well.
I think both can work just fine.
The sort of classic adventure game mechanics you're calling for, though, while totally valid and can be found in all sorts of amazing games, tend to put the emphasis on puzzle solving. Something that's great about The Walking Dead is that it always goes along at a pretty brisk pace. In a lot of classic puzzle games, it's not unusual to find yourself caught on a particularly difficult puzzle that requires a lot of combining items in your inventory and retracing your steps to find items, etc etc.
The atmosphere of The Walking Dead doesn't really allow for that kind of time to stop and think and try things out in order to continue your progression through the narrative. In order to maintain a sense of urgency and momentum, I totally understand why, for instance, Telltale just has Clementine lay out everything she needs to start stitching her wound. What would be the point of having us click through several windows to pull out the stuff we need when it's fairly obvious that those are the things we need anyway?
I think the designers of the game know what they're doing when they take out a lot of the tedium of managing items and thrust us straight into making emotional choices instead.