Thursday, April 3, 2014

Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided Review


William: When you first met them, how much did they trust you?
Clementine: What's your point?
William: If people don't trust you, then how can you trust them?


Well, I going to try something different.  Instead of giving you the game information you can google, I will give my opinion and critique about the game and no cursing. Telltale Games just release another chapter to the Walking Dead series, and it is as powerful as its predecessors. Your choices made in Season 1 and the "400 Days" DLC will affect the decisions in Season 2. Although "400 Days" is not a direct part of the story thread joining Seasons 1 and 2, the player's actions in "400 Days" will affect some elements of Season 2.


Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided features Clementine as the main character again.  This time around Clementine is a seasoned survivor.  She's only 11, but she's top tier in terms of kicking butt and being street smart with her decision making.  While playing the game, I felt more confident in Clementine surviving the situation than her older companions.


I love how Telltale games progressed Clementine's character in this chapter.  She's no long innocent and naive about her surroundings.  In the Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided, Clementine is shown as a child that is a product of an apocalypse environment.  She's angry, cunning, impatient with weakness, and accepting of tough choices she must make to survive.  I am amazed how well this girl can adapt, lie and take advantage of her surroundings in order to stay alive.  I feel like it's a game of chess with wit as your pieces to play.


The only noteworthy side-note to this fiasco is that you are reunited with Kenny who in my opinion is not the same.  Kenny comes off as bi-polar with half his mind in the past and the other half of his mind being reluctant to accept the present.  I couldn't help but to fell sorry for Kenny since his family is dead along with most of his friends.  He's just surviving and even I would find it hard to cope with the circumstances.


In the Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided, you are introduced to a different dynamic that I found interesting.  The axiom of choice is which side do you pick?  Will you stay with a new group you can't trust or go with your familiar friend who is a broken shell of his former self.  To the untrained eye the choice seems obvious, but an interest twist is thrown in the plot that compounds the conflict of interest.


Eventually you learn that Pete's group is on the run from William Carver, the leader of a cult like community similar to the Governor.  The baby that Rebecca is having belongs to Carver not Alvin, so Carver is relentlessly hunting the group down to reunite his "family".  I must admit I had a Stockholm syndrome moment because it seems kind of like a logical sequence of events and rationale to me.


Following an intense zombie shootout, the group is rescued and captured by Carver's group.  The game ends with the death of some minor characters, but a new era is ushered in by this event.  From the looks of the preview, we see that it's going to be an oppressive environment that wit alone won't save Clementine from hardship.


Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided's story-line kept me engaged and willing to see it through to the end. The game was short and could be beaten in an hour if you rush.  It's worth a play through to see how your choices will develop the story, so I give Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided an 7.5/10.

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