Reviews»iPad»The Walking Dead:…
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Kareem Ali 5

The Walking Dead: Ep 1

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  • The good

    Great story, action and controls are very responsive. Perfect for all Walking Dead fans.

  • The bad

    Answering questions about Lee's backstory to other characters as to why felt slightly random

  • The ugly

  • The Walking Dead: Episode 1 – A New Day is a third person adventure game based on the popular comic books and tv show and is the first episode of a series centering around characters in Georgia. It takes place after the initial onset of the zombie apocalypse and you assume the role of Lee Everett, a professor, and you start off as a recently convicted murderer sitting in the backseat of a patrol car. Apparently you killed your wife and her lover and although this episode doesn’t show what happened it was a big story in the area so your name is known in parts of the state. The officer transporting you is pretty chatty but considering where you’re going you shouldn’t be in a rush. (You’re given the option to either answer the questions of the officer transporting you or ignore them.) As you’re being transported you notice there’s an unusual amount of patrol cars racing on the highway in the other direction. Spoiler alert: it’s because of zombies. And instead of paying attention to the road the officer is busy telling you a story about another man he was transporting and as a result hits a zombie crossing the highway causing the patrol car to careen off the road. You wake up to a view of a gruesome scene that unfolded while you were knocked out and that’s the officer’s body ripped up in the distance and his shotgun lying a few feet away from him (can’t talk zombies to death). And your leg is hurt from the accident as well. You have your freedom but now you have to fight for your survival

    Am I at the right address?

    Am I at the right address?

    Gameplay

    I played on the iPad and I’m thankful that this game doesn’t have a virtual joystick. That means the entire touchscreen is available for you to use to control Lee. There’s no where to go in the patrol car, of course, so you can only look around in the beginning and select a couple of items to engage in conversation at first. You can free look around by touching and dragging your finger in the direction you want to look and the game lets you know when you can do so when you see four arrows in the top right corner. If there’s an item or person you can interact with it’s highlighted with a white circle and you can just tap on it. It’s simple yet it was crucial this game got it right especially with quick reactions being necessary in alot of situations and it did. The controls are very responsive. When you engage in conversation you have to select one of four responses and alot of times there’s a timer and when it expires the game selects a default response for you. And characters remember the answers you select and it has an impact on future interactions although in the case of the officer it won’t matter much. So aside from the officer it’s important to pay attention to the dialog options and choose wisely.

    After escaping from the wrecked patrol car you’re able to start walking around freely albeit with a limp but this is very responsive as well. You walk around by touching and dragging in the direction you want to go. If you’ve ever played a game on a tablet or smartphone and you’ve been subjected to the virtual joystick I cannot stress how enjoyable it is to be able to use the entire screen. After getting acquianted with the controls it becomes very intuitive and that enhances the gameplay. You can pick up items by touching them and the items in your inventory are displayed on the left of the screen. This little tutorial doesn’t last long because…well because of zombies. And if you’re a fan of the Walking Dead (or don’t dislike zombies) you’ll love how this starts off. And yes it is as gruesome as the comic books and tv show. But that’s not the only characteristic this game has in common with the books and show. It’s a story of survival, relationships and has damn good action. The voice acting is superb and gives life to all the characters you come across. The tone of the game is what you would expect from the Walking Dead and the graphics are perfect to maintain that tone.

    The game does a great job of capturing the dynamics of the relationships in a world plagued by a zombie apocalypse with no one having any real answers as to what’s going on. There’s compassion, neighborly help, loyalty but also tension, mistrust and vindictiveness. The characters are mostly new in this episode but you do come across a few familiar faces (at Herschel’s farm and also interactions with Glenn later). The first friendly character you come across is Clementine, a young girl whose parents are missing (and most likely dead) and whose baby sitter ultimately became a zombie. Naturally you take her under your care so wherever you go she goes too. 

     

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    Not always safe to move around at night

     

    It actually helps with how you’re viewed by other characters with you being a convicted murderer and all. However you conceal your full identity from the group you eventually end up with except for a select few who recognize you and know your story. Obviously this can cause serious problems down the line in terms of trust. You wouldn’t want to put your life in the hands of someone you cannot trust especially when life is hanging by a thread. You watch your group dwindle down and fight for survival but you also see certain lines drawn based on loyalty and for now family connections.

    And this game is tailored by how you play. So all your dialog choices, your action choices can either cause a character to be more favorable towards you or unfavorable towards you. It’s not a gimmick either. These choices really affect the story and there are actions called tough decisions where you choose who lives or dies (well actually you choose who you want to save but it sounds more dramatic the other way). And the story is as gripping as the tv show and very close to the comics and worthy of having the Walking Dead namesake.

     

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    No Glenn, we’re not trying to find you a girlfriend

     

    Summary

    This was the perfect starting point for a videogame based on the Walking Dead. It’s just a flat out great game. The controls are perfectly tuned so you can navigate your environments smoothly and responsive enough to handle the quick actions you have to make when fighting for your life. I never died due to the controls not responding. I never felt frustration from unresponsive controls and was taken out of the game as a result. And the action sequences kept me on edge. The story was gripping and the characters fleshed out very well for just one episode. So I expect more to be revealed about them down the line. I actually cared about Clementine’s well-being and caught myself reacting to her being in danger as if my survival depended on it. You’ll actually feel a certain way towards all the characters good or bad and the voice acting is excellent. The graphics are perfect for the tone of the game and looked as good on the iPad as any tv or console game. And the ending of this episode leaves you with nothing but high expectations and anticipation for the next one. You also receive stats on your choices and you can compare them to others who’ve played this game and either feel good about yourself or a horrible person for choosing what you did. Kidding of course but the stats are real and the replayability factor is high. There is no excuse for not giving this game a try if you’re a Walking Dead fan and at $5 an episode or discount for purchasing all five it’s more than worth it. I recommend this game for those who are familiar with the series as well as those who aren’t and are looking for a great game. This is a must buy

     

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    What’s next for your crew of survivors?

     

    Kareem Ali

     

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  • Gameplay ( 9.5 )
    Graphics ( 9.5 )
    Sound Quality ( 9.5 )
  • Total score 9.5

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