The Walking Dead - A Telltale Video Game Series
I think it's safe to say AMC's 'The Walking Dead' is a hit. Even the haters that screamed it's a zombie show with no zombies were dealt a giant serving of "Shut the fuck up" with this season's finale. Unfortunately, when something is successful, other forms of media begin sniffing around, hoping to capitalize on it, and we start to hear about The Walking Dead: The Video Game.
To be fair, video games based off a movie really aren't anything new. It's just that most of them suck, and this is based off a TV show. And to be even more fair, the Walking Dead was a successful comic that was capitalized on by TV. But who cares about details - It's a video game about zombies! You can't get enough of those!!!
Telltale Games is tackling this one, and you may recognize them from some of their previous fantastic graphic adventure series, such as Back to the Future and Sam & Max. They're known for engaging, stylized game play, and I'm pleased to see they didn't take a realistic graphic approach to TWD game. If I had to guess, I would say it's attempting to capture the feel of the comic book, not the TV series, which makes sense since Telltale has stated that the game follows the comic timeline & character cast, not the tv series - that should make some of the comic purists happy. The art is inspired by the work of Charlie Adlard, the artist for the comic books.
You'll be playing a character named 'Lee Everett', who is heading to prison right around the time Rick is in a coma. Unlike many zombie games, this will not be a fast paced, ammo flying, zombie massacre - you will be required to make calculated decisions in your play. The decisions that the player makes will drive a tailored game-play experience, and your decisions can have repercussions, not only in the episode that you’re playing, but also in future episodes of the game. Decisions will range from relatively innocuous (should I grab this item or leave it?) to world-changing (I can only save one person here, who will it be?). Furthermore, you’ll come under pressure to make decisions quickly; You won’t be able to stand around deciding which option to choose during a conversation. The undead won’t stand by and politely let you figure out your next move.
Like other Telltale Games, this will be an 'episodic' game (ie released in episodes, one at a time) & skilled players will probably be able to get through an episode in about 2 hours. No price has been released at this time, but based on previous episode games, I'm expecting $2-5 per episode, or $25-35 dollars for the entire collection with extras after the entire series has been released. Telltale Games have had mixed reviews in the past, however they do seem to average on the positive for fans of old school graphic adventure games & those that like something a bit more involved than a massive shoot 'em up now and then.
The first Walking Dead game episode will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network, PC and Mac in April 2012. While there's currently no information available on actual gameplay, you can check out the first official trailer and get a feel of the style.
For more or future information, you can check out their website or their Facebook Page.
