Pros: Comic-like story, appealing and gut-wrenching set of alternative adventures to choose from, energy and exploration increases with the episodes, wonderfully written characters and story line, unique blend of adventure, action and character interaction, great visuals, sorrowful yet satisfying ending.

Cons: Big choices don’t make the expected impact on game progress, puzzle solving should be the main deal in adventure games, easy job for experienced gamers, animations not up to the mark of current games, ultimately all the work lead to the same destiny, technical problems throughout the game.

Release Dates: Episode 1 – A New Day                         24th April, 2012

Episode 2 – Starved for Help                 27th June, 2012

Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead               28th August, 2012

Episode 4 – Around Every Corner           9th October, 2012

Episode 5 – No Time Left                       20th November, 2012

The first season of The Walking Dead: The Game left an ineradicable mark on the industry of adventure games. It is now topping the list among the top Adventure games of all time and is number 4 on my list of 10 top PC games 2012. More importantly, it has been the reason of revival of this genre which is seen fading these years. A TV Series and a comic have been written on The Walking Dead before. Except the basic plot of the imaginary world and some of the protagonists which have been taken from the comic, the rest of the game’s story has been developed by the Telltale Games. It is amongst the must play Games for college students as it involves puzzles, action, exploration with a lot of twist and turns.

The game revolves around a university professor ‘Lee Everett’ who has been convicted for murder, and a young girl named ‘Clementine’ who is rescued by Lee himself. The world has undergone a zombie apocalypse and the game is basically about the survival of Lee and Clementine. The thing which makes The Walking Dead: The game special is that you decide your adventure. It is a point-and-click adventure game. The “Modified telltale Tool” engine of the game ensures the turning of all the parallel events to the basic story of the game. The Walking Dead is played in the third person view and there is a lot of camera-views in the game that change with the scenario you are in.

Plot of the game: In Brief

Episode 1: A New Day Writer: Sean Vanaman

Lee saves young Clementine from The Walkers after the zombie apocalypse. Then, these two protect from themselves from The Walkers along with the rest of the survivors in Georgia.

Episode 2: Starved for Help Writer: Mark Darin

As the survivors are running low on resources after getting hold of a secure motel, they have an invitation from a family owning a farm. Later, Lee discovers the truth about the welcoming family, St. Johns.

Episode 3: Long Road Ahead Writer: Sean Vanaman

Lee and the group of survivors have to run away from the sudden attack of walkers and bandits. The long road journey without supplies awaits them. The hope of Clementine of finding the whereabouts of her parents is revived as they head onto a train to Savanna.

Episode 4: Around Every Corner Writer: Gary Whitta

Savanna, to their surprise was all flooded with walkers. The survivors, then plan to move to Crawford in a boat expecting food supplies. They run into further disappointment there which was even worse than Savanna. The protagonist lee finds himself helpless as he is left bitten and Clementine gets kidnapped.

Episode 5: No time Let Writer: Sean Vanaman

Lee gets separated from the group of survivors in search of Clementine held in some hotel by a stranger. Lee finds out that the stranger is actually holding Clementine because of him. The strange person holds lee responsible for his family’s death. But, Clementine is saved by Lee after overpowering the kidnapper. The safety of Clementine becomes Lee’s top priority.

The Ripple Effect phenomenon is utilized by the game where the nature of a single conversation may lead to the change of course of future events. The Walking Dead: The Game focuses more on the story and character development and less on puzzle solving and action. It is not like other zombie games you have seen. It is entirely different with a vast story line. At the start, you won’t stop playing the game. When I played the first episode of the first season, I was very anticipated to guide my way through. But, in due course, it was getting too troublesome for me to play the game. But, you know as a Distracted Student, I didn’t give up. It is the thing you do when you are watching slow paced movies like The Godfather and you keep holding on. And, I was amazed to see how the story built up in the final episodes of The Walking Dead and the connection made between the early episode. In my The Walking Dead review of the series, I believe the story of Fourth Episode specially is the best written according to me as it sets the story for the conclusion.

The main fun of The Walking Dead game lies in decision making. When the timer is on and you have to choose between certain conversations or paths. The thrill is really remarkable. The final episode of the season, “No time Left” sums everything up, all the decisions and the things done by you in the previous episodes, come up as you gear up for the Finale. The sad thing is the ending will be the same after all. But, the best part of The Walking Dead review too lies in that only. It is truly noteworthy how The Walking Dead: the game takes you to the same conclusion through entirely different paths. The Walking Dead incredibly uses your own emotions, player choices, and a well written story. The Walking Dead: The game is truly a juggernaut of all adventure games. Play it and see for yourself.