Was making the playable character a strike out or home run by TTG?
Those who followed my previous posts know I was very critical that TTG decided to make the playable character for TWDS2 Clementine.
I became very enjoyed with the melee style that a adult brought to the table for fighting and felt that I liked to decide what the group did and did not do. Realistically no group would have a 9 year old be their leader in a situation as TWDS2. My other worry was that TTG would downplay the violence and OHSh!t moments because clementine has a dedicated fanbase who winces at the thought of her getting scratched.
I am currently downloading ep1 on PSN. I'm trying to keep a open mind going in.
What are your thoughts after playing episode 1 of season 2? Did TTG hit a home run by making clementine the PC or did they strike out?
Comments
Well firstly I disagree that Lee was ever the leader. And therefore i secondly disagree withyour outlook focussing on the action not the conversations.
TTG chose the edgy route. Oh and the violence? Dude not to spoil but this first episode has more violence and cringe then all of season 1 combined...
Ha! If you fear they toned it down you'll be pleasantly surprised. Again, as Telltale has stated in the interviews they have done, playing Clem is a different experience socially, not just physically, and it shows. It's a shame that we don't get enough (IMO) interactions with these characters, but it works. Really, it does.
As for my general feeling while playing Clementine, I never had a problem to begin with, but I really enjoyed it. I was in her mindset by the time of the third scene.
Take my words as you wish.
Had my worries about Clem as being the PC. But honestly, this is a great episode. If you are worried about violence getting toned down consider this.
Remember cutting of lee's arm? There is a moment that is more cringe inducing than that. This is a dark episode in a lot of ways.
lee was the leader
no lee, clem would be dead
Trust me this episode shocked me... they havent toned down shit..
100% knocked out of the park, without a doubt. Though I never doubted it in the first place. Telltale knows what they're doing when it comes to a good story.
100% knocked out of the park, without a doubt. Though I never doubted it in the first place. Telltale knows what they're doing when it comes to a good story.
the tone of this season starts alot more bleaker then the all of season 1. there is a great feeling of isolation from when clem falls into the river to when she first meets pete and like that i just did not feel in season 1. i never really had an issue playing as clem she contrast lee perfectly we go from leee who is more a typcial hero character to clem a girl who has gone though some chracter devolpment and is alot more darker imo then the little girl we saw in season 1. heck sarah is preety much what clem would have been had lee not did those things to her in episode 3.
Play the episode, then explain what has been "Toned down" Not a thing has.
Sorry I did not get a chance to update the thread. I wanted to make sure that I played the game a few times before I wrote my thoughts.
So I started episode 1 of season 2 trying to keep a open mind and I was shocked to see TTG make the dick move of adding a time jump. I really hope that TTG gets the memo in the writing office but that time jump was horseshit and bush league. I have played a lot of telltalegames products and I do not remember any having a time jump.
One thing is for sure TTG did not tone down the episode. The death scenes were good and I was happy with the darkness that TTG is exploring. As for playing as clementine I still have mixed feelings about it. This is a girl who has been a typical girl her entire life, she was not a hunter or a outdoors type and never noticed any combat training classes for her yet she can almost bite a grown mans thumb off. Her survival and investigation skills seem to be very very high considering she could not even find her lost chalk back in the motor lodge in season 1.
I can't seem to play season 2 episode 1 without adding Lee as the playable character and that's not what I expected from the past reformat es of TTG writing.
All in all my feeling are mixed so far. It's not a home run or a strike out yet.
Clem was the only possible playable character, it couldn't be Lilly, Molly or the Governor!
I would have liked TTG to give Lees brother a more vague disappearance in season 1. It would have been better to find lees parents dead and the brothers bloody jacket at the drug store.
That would have setup the plot that Lees brother would be camping in the forest with a group of survivors and found clementine for season 2.
Think of the oh my god moment if lees brother was leading the group and trying to make his way to where the police car was taking Lee from season 1 episode 1 when the group came across clementine outside of savanna. Clementine could tell the brother and the group what happened to Lee. Lees brother would have a obligation to continue protecting this young girl as Lee did.
I personally think this direction would have been a twist and a perfect playable character for season 2.
Umm, pretty much anyone can bite a grown man's thumb off, I would think. Clementine seems physically developed enough that she could cause major damage with her jaw and (due to her young age) new, sharp permanent teeth. As for survival and investigation, I think that was the point of the timeskip. She was with Christa, of all people, for sixteen months, and we all know where she stands on survival. Christa would obviously have taught her things she needed (although her being taught how to tend a fire seemed dubious) and it makes sense for her to be the way she is. As for the timeskip, I agree that it could have been handled better, but I see it's point too. Clementine would be too young without the timeskip for us to make pragmatic decisions without it seeming out of place. At least now, we are left to fill in the gaps of those months with our imagination, and what with Christa's baby dying, it's not too much of a stretch to think of how she could have become sassy (if that is how the player makes her seem). Lazy writing on their part, perhaps.
I knew straight away the playable character had to be Clem. I said all along there was a reason Clem was remembering everything Lee taught her.. so it was the only way forward really especially to keep it tied in to season 1. I looked forward to playing as Clem and I have to say, I'm not disappointed. I will admit, it is a little strange having so many new characters to get to know, but obviously that had to happen. It would have been nice if we could talk to them a bit more than we get to, but considering the situation, It's understandable why we don't and I'm sure we will get chance to know them better next episode.
I was a little skeptical at first about Clementine being the PC, but I'm happy with the results after finishing the first episode.
I think TTG have pretty much hit the mark for how they've made Clem the protagonist for Season 2. I won't lie that I was somewhat skeptical about it even before she was announced as the protagonist in S2 but my doubts have been settled. They've done Clem's aspect of S2 pretty well so far.
Considering what we see in the first episode of season 2, Telltale has no trouble showing her suffering grievous harm or brutal deaths so there's no down-grading in terms of violence (personally, I think it shouldn't just be there just to be there. That's how bad shock value is born). Whether or not she swears, I believe, is depending on how you handle that in season 1.
As for Clementine's combat style: Yeah, she's a lot more about maneveuring and precise striking but a variety like that is not nesscarily bad and a welcomed change from my own initial worry that it'll become a great deal more about stealth and hiding from threats. Hell, if you play it a certain way, she nearly takes off a guy's finger! That's should give a good idea about both the violence and Clementine's fighting itself!
All of season 1 combined? Don't make it seem bigger than it really was. That dog kill, stitching your arm is not much worse than you having to cut Lee's arm off or that teachers leg, the cannibals on the farm (St John's) and a ton of other things. No, Episode 1 was far from worse than that whole crazy season.