Telltale’s The Walking Dead Episode 1, “A New Day”, sets the stage for an adventure that is tailored to the choices you make. You’ll need to wait until the next four installments before you can see if your decisions pay off.
It’s an Adventure Game, which is essentially a cel-shaded interactive cartoon. You point and click through it, solving puzzles, and talking to the characters in order to find out their stories, some of which will be helpful when deciding on who survives or dies.
Adventure games are not my favorite.
It’s true that I’ve enjoyed the genre in the past; “Day of the Tentacle,” Sam & Max,” and “Full Throttle,” however, I’m not in the same place as I was in the old days. I’m more inclined to RPGs or other types of action.
A good story is something I enjoy. One certainly appears to be developing here.
The game is well-made and you will feel like you are trapped in an issue of the comic book (or television show, for that matter). While it features some familiar faces you will play as Lee Everett who is a murderer on the run from local police just as things get really bad.
Kirkman’s “Walkers” are the unliving.
You’re no longer alone, as you become the surrogate dad for a precocious, lost little girl named Clementine. You’ll be hopping from place to place with other survivors and taking on leadership roles that sometimes force you to make decisions of life or death. You’ll wish you weren’t here.
The storyline of Lee, the man who has a history, is quite engrossing. You will be eager to buy the next episode to find out how the events unfold. It’s intriguing stuff, and it comes with a decision-making system that forces you to pay attention.
Telltale did a great job immersing the player in Kirkman’s world.
It’s an easy trip that takes only 2 or 3 hours.
You can also earn 100 achievement points by simply playing the game through.
The game (and all the chapters in the episodes)
Bottom Line: This is an easy choice for fans of Adventure Gaming and/or “The Walking Dead” (inadvertent Zombie pun).