reaper239

[COLOR=#add8e6]and all i ask for in return is a little food. this one is going to be a little short because today i'm reviewing The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved for Help.

[IMG]http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/reviews/wdvg.jpg[/IMG]

clearly, since this is episode two, the gameplay is the same, so i don't really need to spend any time on that... except that i do. this episode is much more action intensive than episode 1. i love that they're doing the episodic release, because it really allows them to tighten the controls. the action sequences are much more involved than ep1. in ep 1, the action consisted largely of the d-pad and the reticle. now, however, the action ranges from the expected d-pad/reticle commands, to engaging the target with the left stick, moving backwards out of danger, running to an objective before it's too late, and beating the piss out of a dude with the old left right combo. stick the dismount.

[IMG]http://evictorynews.com/blog/folder/4203.jpg[/IMG]

then there's the story. holy crap. wow. it's hard to talk about the story because i don't want to spoil it, and the story is so rich that it's hard to just scratch the surface. the writing for this ep is phenomenal. the same writing you loved in the show, shows up here. the same deep character development, the twisting, ever changing alliances, the hard decisions, it's all there. you really get a sense of how your decisions in the past effect your future. here's an example: in episode one, i went to help shawn instead of duck, in episode two, i expressed concern for duck and kaatja to kenny, and he held that against me. a decision from episode one effeted my relationship with this character, and will continue to effect my relationship with him as long as we are together.

[IMG]http://dumbwire.com/game/wp-content/uploads/mvbthumbs/img_75098_the-walking-dead-ep-2-starved-for-help-with-ep-3-sneak-peak-78.jpg[/IMG]

the story is genuinely shocking too. i got the sense there was something off right away, but i didn't realize how truly FUBAR things were in the story until well into halfway through. and there's a point where you figure out what's really going on, but it isn't until you actually confront the situation that it really impacts you. it spoke to me on several levels, one about the lengths people will go to to ensure their own survival, then the emotional toll of dealing with people that have fallen to that point, and finally that the cost of safe guarding your humanity is often higher than most are truly willing to pay. i felt it was a deep and impactful story. there were moments of me sitting in my apartment, legs tucked tight to my abdomen, perring fearfully over my controller, not because the game was terrifying, but because the atmosphere was oppressive and nerve wracking and i was actually dreading what i would find around every corner. there weren't even really any twitch scares, i just dreadedadvancing through the story because i knew what i would find, and i didn't want to deal with that.

sometimes i looked like this
[IMG]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3199/2713239166_b06fd67570.jpg[/IMG]

so, i ran on a little longer than i intended (sue me (not really (that would make me sad (a sad panda)))) but i just got going and couldn't stop. if you tried the demo and didn't like it, don't bother getting this chapter as you still won't like the gameplay. if you want the story, i'm sure someone has uploaded it onto youtube by now (i would at least suggest that as the story is still amazing). i loved that game and now that episode 2 came out, i will be constantly checking the store for episode 3. be forewarned, this episode is also considerably more gorey than the last one as well, but if you like the walking dead, this should really be a non issue (you're into freaking zombies! gore? really?). i give this game 10 [/COLOR][URL="http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/27/2871098/mes-report-eugene-had-no-drugs.html"][COLOR=#00ff00]face-eating-zombies-who-weren't-actually-on-bath-salts-after-all[/COLOR][/URL][COLOR=#add8e6] out of 10[/COLOR]

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