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The Walking Dead: Episode 03 - Long Road Ahead
While the previous episode of The Walking Dead was good, it was also somewhat on the predictable side. Episode three also has a few twists that most players will see coming but it will be remembered for the surprises that comes out of nowhere. Since this is the halfway point for the series, Telltale could easily have made a filler episode and gotten away with it but thankfully they did not.
Episode three is without a doubt the chapter with the most controversy thus far in the series. Right from the start you have to make some cold-blooded choices and live with the consequences. I was actually a bit surprised by some of my own decisions as I started thinking more about what would be in the best interest of the group instead of what would be the "noble" thing to do. Any game that can get me to second guess my choices and almost tempt me into replaying it to see if I could have done things differently is a winner in my books. Unfortunately, this is also the first episode where it felt like some of my choices did not have as much impact as I would have liked. It would seem that no matter what I did some things would only play out in a certain way which kind of shatters the illusion. This does detract from the experience a bit but can be forgiven in the grand scheme of things. The theme for this episode is definitely trust and almost everyone has a secret to hide. Lee can finally come clean about his troubled past but it remains to be seen whether or not this is a good idea. The focus is less on bandits, zombies or outsiders causing trouble and more the internal strife that is tearing the survivors apart. Lee and his group must deal with a traitor in their midst and conflicts that have been brewing for the past two episodes have far reaching consequences. Clementine is also given some time to develop as a character with Lee having to acknowledge that she has to learn how to protect herself. I can't spoil anything but suffice to say that this is by far the bleakest episode so far. Gameplay wise everything is still pretty much the same. At times it can feel like you are spending more time watching the story unfold instead of actually playing but when the plot is this gripping I can hardly complain. There is also still a distinct lack of major puzzles but this has never really been the focus of the series. There is a zombie shooting section to test your reflexes which might catch some players of guard and of course the usual assortment of quick time events. My only real gripe is the auto save system that records your progress at seemingly random intervals. This is not a problem if you complete the whole three hour episode in one sitting but it is kind of annoying to reload a save game and having to redo sections because the game did not save when you thought it did. I have pretty much said all there is to say about the visuals and audio in the reviews for the previous two episodes and this one continues the excellence. The voice acting is solidly delivered and the facial expression of the characters manages to truly capture the horror that is taking place around them. I did find that using a mouse worked much better for the shooting section but a gamepad is still recommended for the rest of the game as it makes walking around much easier. With another cliff-hanger ending, this series is shaping up to be one of the best adventure titles in recent years and definitely worthy of carrying The Walking Dead label. Judging by the upcoming events shown at the conclusion of this episode there is still plenty of drama to come.
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System Requirements
TAGS: The Walking Dead, Episode 3, Lee, Kenny, Clementine, Bandits, Train, Chuck
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