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.

Walking Dead Video Game Season 2: "All That Remains" Review

It's been a while since Telltale Games launched an episode of the Walking Dead, but The Walking Dead Season 2: Episode 1 All That Remains has finally been released. I warn you that this review is full of spoilers and Mature Rated content, so no one underage read this.

At the end of season one, Clementine said good-by to the infected Lee and left him to his fate to turn into a zombie or put a mercy bullet in his head, depending on your choice. If you hadn't pissed off or burnt bridges with the survivors in your group, then you had a choice of who you hope would care for Clementine after you died. I choose to give her to Omid and Christa.

You start the game with Omid and the fully pregnant Christa. It seems like you are a happy group and surviving despite all that happened.

When you enter a rest room, Clementine is robbed by a female raider. Omid tries to comes to Clementine's rescue, but being the classic goof that he is, Omid fatally shot. Leaving Clementine and Christa to survive alone.

The game flashes forward 16 months later, and Christa and Clementine are someone near North Carolina, Christa no longer has the baby.  Clementine is looking thin and Christa seems to be at her wits end. Christa encourages Clementine to learn the skills needed to be self reliant.

This is where the game gets mature and taps into your moral compass. When Christa leaves to find wood, Clementine has to tend to the fire. Soon you hear noises of a struggle. When Clementine 's stumbles across Clementine surrounded by a group of male raiders. You have the option to help or leave Christa to her fate of getting raped and killed. Being the nice guy that I am, I distracted the men to let Christa escape. After putting yourself in danger to help Christa, the player gets in a battle between raiders and a horde of walkers. I won't spoil it, but the combat QTE is cleaner and livelier.

Clementine gets separated from Christa, and she meets a dog. The dog bites her really deep, and Clementine is injured. When Clementine is about to pass out in a forest, she is rescued by a new group of survivors. They take her in, but they don't trust her because of the bite on her arm.

Clementine is kid survivor, but she is no heartless Carl from the comic/tv show. Clementine isn't exactly a blank slate—at this point she has seriously seen some things—but do I want to make her jaded and cold, bitter about what she's been through? It's clear that Telltale put a lot of thought into how Clementine should work as a protagonist. She can, for example, play on the sympathy of adults, whimpering that she's just a helpless kid. Clem's faux innocence is a fun and welcome change from season one's Lee, who couldn't turn on the puppy dog eyes and manipulate someone by saying "I can tell you're nice." Well, I won't spoil the major story line any more.  You'll have to play the game to get the rest.

In conclusion, it's evident that Clementine will be an adjustment to control due to her limitations as a kid and not having an established support system to rely on, like in the previous game. Walking Dead Season 2: "All That Remains" is going to be a process of learning how to survive, who to trust, who to manipulate, who is your best option and who will be a burden.  It's a cold world full of assholes, and you must find your marks to play and know your enemies avoid in order to prevent becoming one of the walking dead.  Episode one is short an only 90 minutes, but it is worth a play through.  Compared to the previous episodes, it lacks a little in story and gameplay so I give it an 8.0/10