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Telltale's Walking Dead Season 2 (WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS)
Froge Offline
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RE: Telltale's Walking Dead Season 2 (WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS)

This game really excels at eliciting heavy and choking emotions. Telltale's writing crew is very talented. They really nailed the depth and complexity of human interactions with the story in both seasons. Also, the body count. I think this game has a higher number of significant character deaths than game of thrones and attack on titan combined.

My opinion of why the first season was better is that the emotions and themes present in the storyline appeal stronger to human nature. If we were ever in a situation like this, I'd think what would keep us going is having someone to protect rather than just fending for ourselves. Lee teaching Clementine how to survive, protecting her from zombies, and finding and saving her in episodes 4 & 5 elicit a feeling almost similar to love, or maybe hope. At least for me.

I also thought season 1 felt more adventurous. The diverse environments, such as the cannibal house and the school, gave the player fresh settings to explore and varied challenges to overcome. There was also a lot of subtlety, like how you weren't really sure if getting bitten meant you were going to die, or what the bell-ringing guy in Savannah was up to. On the other hand season 2 felt a bit drawn out, and I thought episode four was particularly boring because it was just about Rebecca giving birth and I honestly didn't care much for her at that point. The only really interesting environment was episode 3, but it didn't last long at all. Also, because this whole season was about Clementine and her survival, the emotions weren't as strong as those in the first season - characters who died or disappeared just didn't mean as much. Finally, much like AAMFP was to ATDD, Season 2 was really shorter gameplay wise by like three to four hours.

That said, after the bar that was set by the ending to Season 1 (still the last time that I've teared up for a game that I can remember), we expected a fantastic sequel and Telltale delivered. Season 2 had great storytelling, memorable characters, and intense moments. Maybe not as many 'choose-this-character-or-that' as I seriously can't remember anything other than Jane or Kenny. The subtlety was still there, but mainly in episode 2 (A House Divided) when you found Kenny up on the cottage and you knew something was going to go bad. Aside from the points that I've already mentioned, I thought that another reason why Season 2 might have dragged on is the fact that it really didn't introduce anything new to the formula. At least it didn't take away from the formula, like AAMFP did. But it really was a very intense and emotionally powerful slog through dozens of dead characters as Clementine tries her best to survive.

One thing that surprised me about this season was how varied the endings are compared to season 1's simplistic shoot Lee or spare Lee. I'm not sure how Telltale is going to wrap things up from here on out. I'm also shocked at how different the emotional texture is when you go with Kenny instead of Jane. The Kenny endings are bittersweet but satisfying, saturated with the powerful feeling of two people who really understand each other. The Jane endings, on the other hand, leave a bad taste in my mouth. Back at Carver's, choosing to let the family in makes me feel insecure, while telling them to leave makes me feel cruel. The bond between Clementine and Jane just isn't as strong, and understandably so, because Kenny and Clementine were together since the start of season 1. And the Alone ending is just depressing. Clementine is a strong girl, but I feel like she will soon approach her limit.

Overall I would give Season 1 a 9.5/10 and Season 2 an 8/10.

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08-30-2014, 07:23 AM
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RE: Telltale's Walking Dead Season 2 (WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS) - by Froge - 08-30-2014, 07:23 AM



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