The Walking Dead Season Two: Complete Season

8 Overall Score
Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Performance: 6/10

Cringe-worthy (in a good way) moments | Episodes 3 & 4 | Voice acting

Much less actual gaming then season 1 | Performance issues cause stuttering | Season Finale letdown

Game Info

GAME NAME: The Walking Dead Season Two

DEVELOPER(S): Telltale Games

PUBLISHER(S): Telltale Games

PLATFORM(S): PlayStation Vita

RELEASE DATE(S): August 26, 2014

(Spoilers for Season One & Season Two of The Walking Dead game from Telltale will be below.  Proceed at your own risk.  You’ve been warned.)

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Putting together thoughts on season two of The Walking Dead game is a tricky proposition.  Do I compare it with the great season 1?  Or judge it on it’s own merits?  Do I let a disappointing finale sway how I felt about the rest of the season?  All good questions.

Season Two provided plenty of good moments and cringe worth decisions.  There were lighter moments to remind you that these are people and some action sequences to keep you engaged.  It definitely is not your typical adventure type game.  Some might even struggle to call it a game at all.  Sure, you can die if you don’t perform some of the quick-time events when prompted correctly.  But those moments don’t come too often.  Most of the input you provide is in the form of dialog or game-changing decisions.  Around two or three times an episode you’ll be given the chance to actually move Clementine around, but the things you can interact with are limited to maybe a couple of conversations and maybe a couple of items to look at, and the one thing you need to progress.  No real puzzle solving occurs save for maybe one or two spots in the whole season.

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Whether or not that is an issue for you to play the game comes down to personal preference.  Those who prefer more story with their games and like “interactive movie” type games won’t really mind that much.  But others could get bored quickly.  I remember having a lot more to do and things to figure out in season one.  The story is quite good, as evidenced by the high review scores I have given individual episodes.  Just know what you are getting into.

Another issue I had with the season as a whole was the order of the episodes.  I thought they had crafted a fantastic villain in Carver, and was surprised when he got killed at the end of episode three.  Sure it brought the surprise factor, but as I wrote in my episode five review, it would have been more satisfying had he tormented the group longer and met his end at the end of the season.  The last episode left a sour taste in my mouth because it felt so uneventful.  That’s not to say things didn’t happen, but it didn’t feel the same as the previous episodes.  The season had a nice progression, with each episode getting better and better, but the peek was reached at 3 & 4, while 5 fell off the edge.

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THE RECOMMENDATION

I enjoyed the time I spent with The Walking Dead Season Two.  I don’t think it was as good as Season One, but that was a special game that brought the goods.  Things do get emotional and you’ll still squirm in your seat when faced with the damned if you do/damned if you don’t choices.  And the tech to shape the game based on your dialog responses and choices is still very impressive.  That said, the season as a whole could have been constructed a little better.  I would still recommend playing through the season, especially if you liked the first, but don’t expect to do as much while you play.

You can check the reviews I wrote for each individual episode here:

The Walking Dead Season Two: Ep 1- All That Remains

The Walking Dead Season Two: Ep 2 – A House Divided

The Walking Dead Season Two: Ep 3 – In Harm’s Way

The Walking Dead Season Two: Ep 4 – Amid the Ruins

The Walking Dead Season Two: Season Finale – No Going Back

 

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Author: Shaun Zimmerman View all posts by
Still waiting for the Commodore 128... Find me on Twitter @Zimm108