The Walking Dead Season Two Review (Spoilers)
sabaidilae nyinditonhab ToriJ khong vidiookem khidhen. Last year in August I reviewed Telltale's The Walking Dead and it was one of the best games I've ever played. So I thought it was only natural that due to all the strong female characters the sequel introduced, that I would dive right in to Season Two.
The game kicks off right where the last one left off, with Clementine finding Omid and Christa and the three taking off to survive on their own. This time around we play as Clementine, the deuteragonist of the last game. I know what you're thinking, “How is playing as a little girl gonna work?” Well, the game has a simple out for that. Time skipping to where she's a teenager. So, naturally Omid and Christa are going to be with us for the ride right? Right?
Yeah, the guy who was a main character in the last game, dies before the opening title screen. But surely we'll still have Christa right? Nope. You get separated and Clementine runs into a new group of survivors. So despite all the buildup to finding Omid and Christa they do jack all with them. Does the game want to focus on a new group of survivors with Clementine at the helm? Nope! Because by episode two Kenny who “Got lucky” shows up back from the dead and overshadows all of the original characters that were introduced in this game. I'm having a hard time understanding what direction you're wanting to take this in, guys.
Now, don't get me wrong I do like Kenny. I can understand why other people wouldn't, but overall I like the guy. Hell, I know guys like Kenny in real life, but it feels like the only reason he's back is because he was so popular in the first game. He just shows that the characters they have this time around, with the exception of a few, just aren't as interesting as the cast from Season 1, which makes you wonder why they bothered with killing off Omid and getting rid of Christa in the first place.
The Walking Dead Season 2 plays largely the same as the first game, or any Telltale game you play for that matter. The added difference this time around is that there are action scenes where you need to keep a finger close to the directional buttons. Unlike Beyond which continued whether or not you screwed up, mess up here and you can actually trigger a game over and even watch Clementine get eaten. Wow, guys... Just wow. They throw you in the line of fire as soon as the first episode and if you're not ready you'll just die, die, and die some more. You can't hit the button too late, you can't hit it too early, and if you don't press down on it enough you're dead.
Your decisions are... still neatly veiled to where you think they matter but really they don't. Although to the game's credit, depending on whether you help Nick or Pete at the end of episode one you get a completely different opening scene in the next episode. That was kind of a nice change of pace. But then there were things that just made me go “Why? Why did you even bother?” The best example to explain what I'm talking about is in episode four where you have the option to save Sarah from being eaten by walkers. Does it lead to anything? No. She just dies by walkers later in the same episode. At least Ben actually made it to the NEXT episode if you decide to save him and got to stand up to Kenny providing some kind of closure for his character before they killed him off. Here they may have not even bothered to give you the option to save her the first time.
The reason I chose this game for March was because of its strong female cast, so let's take a look. We of course have Clementine who goes from an innocent kid to a hardened survivor who you could make a realist or an optimistic depending on how you play her. A lot of people didn't like this about Season 2, but I'm not sure what they were expecting. If a child had to grow up in this world, that is exactly what would happen. If they wanted to stay alive. It's just an unfortunate fact of how the world is, and if it was their own gun that shot one of their best friends, and the closest thing to family they had left followed by losing a baby, I think they'd be a bit more hardened than before themselves. From a story perspective it makes sense and sets the tone for the season.
Another character that stands out comes from the bonus Episode “400 Days” from the first season, Bonnie. A recovered drug addict who you find with Carver's group, the primary antagonist for the game. She gives off a rather fragile vibe about her, but she's actually pretty damn tough on the inside, and I think being able to get clean from drugs is a testament to that. I think a lot of people would have more reason to get high off their rocker if the world ended. I have to wonder if she got popular after 400 Days, or the developers liked her, because she's the only one from that episode to have any relevancy to the story. The rest of the cast were just reduced to cameos.
Then there's Jane. A woman who has been through hell and back and believes the best way to survive is on your own. And given how well being in large groups have done me, I can't blame her in all honesty. I mean, have you seen the show? You get more crap from the drama of the people you're surviving with or from another group of survivors wanting to take your trout than anything else. I'm just waiting for the walkers to eat everyone now. Except Daryl. Daryl can stay.
Now I see a lot of people criticizing Jane because she's a lot like Molly from Season 1, and while I can see where they're coming from, I disagree. Molly was more laid back. She was always cracking wise and kicking ass. Jane is a bit more reserved. Yeah, she had the occasional funny moment and everything but her character was a lot more serious and a product of the times. Afraid of getting close to anyone because it may lead to losing them. Something I guess can be said about Molly too, but frankly it can be said about anyone who survived in this world long enough.
We see her bonding with Clementine (honestly who wouldn't at this point?) and she even takes her under her wing to help her improve her chances of staying alive. I appreciate the help, Jane, but I think we got this. Clem just survived ten episodes of The Walking Dead. A lot of people can't say that. While I appreciate Jane's role as the survivalist, they really make her character stupid by the end of it, but more on that later.
I don't have too much to say about Sarita or Sarah. I like Sarita, and it was sad to see her die, but she felt like a substitute for Kat. Actually, I think it's fair to say that's exactly what she was intended as and it made Kenny fly off the handle when he lost her because it was like losing Kat all over again. With Sarah, it was nice to see Clementine interacting with someone closer to her age again especially after Duck's death, but it never evolved to that same level of relationship, depending of course on how you play. I like that they tried to touch on the subject of someone with mental illness (if that what they intended as it's never fully explained) but sadly that didn't get across, and there's no payoff. When she dies it's like “Okay, she's dead now. Next.” But not every death was like that. There was one death that left us jumping for joy.
William Carver. Or just Bill or Carver depending on your preference. I can't remember the last time I wanted a villain to die so badly. I was just counting the hours down to his demise, and boy was it ever worth the wait. Though I dare say it came a little too soon. Because after his death in episode three there wasn't much of a central antagonist anymore. The most we got were some Russians and Kenny going off the deep end. At least they knew to keep the Stranger around until the finale last season.
Carver is the leader of the group stationed at Howe's Hardware that made its first appearance in the bonus episode 400 Days and where that group of survivors can be found as guards. He's a deeply intelligent, charismatic, and cunning individual who turns out to be completely battrout insane by episode three. The game does a good job of making you want to kill this asshole, and if I knew I could take the gun from his office I would have so I could at least have the satisfaction of shooting the son of a bitch. At the same time his reasoning for doing some of the things he does, can be understood. It all goes back down to that basic instinct, survival.
Carver takes it to the extreme and that's what makes him dangerous. But at the same time, where are you going to go? He has the food, he has medicine, he has shelter, and weapons. I don't blame anyone in that group for at least trying to make it work. The Cabin group took a risk leaving and I don't blame anyone for their choices. It was a tough situation and people at the end of the day did what they thought was right. And that what makes these games so good. Now let's cover the bad parts of the game. I think you have a good idea what's coming.
Meet Arvo. Arvo is a Russian you meet in episode four and have the option to steal medicine from. Like all things Telltale it doesn't make a difference if you choose to steal from him or not, the same thing happens regardless. And how anyone in that group were able to survive being shot at at such a close range is anyone's guess. The bulltrout continues when you're forced to kill his sister after she turns into a walker. Does Arvo know this? No. Do you get the chance to explain it to him? No. Because then there wouldn't be any conflict, apparently. Come on, guys. If you really wanted to keep the conflict there this was all you had to do:
Arvo: Why you kill my sister?
Clementine: She turned into a walker.
Arvo: No, no, no, no, no!
Clementine: It's the truth!
Just have him not believe her. It's still a stretch I'll admit, but it's a lot better than what they gave us. Now, I'm sure some people want me to comment on the whole Bonnie and Mike betrayal late into episode five, and after some thinking it started to make sense to me. The stuff they have at the house were technically Arvo's, so he should have some say what they did with it, and I don't believe Bonnie and Mike wanted to screw over Clem, Jane, and Alvin Jr., they just wanted to get the hell away from Kenny because Kenny was impossible to deal with, and I can't blame anyone for having Clem call Kenny and Jane because again, they're still smurfing them over. It's a smurfed up situation and I can understand both sides of it. The real bulltrout is when Arvo shoots Clementine with a rifle and she shrugs it off like an action movie hero.
To provide some context here, in episode one we see Clem practically torturing herself to close an open wound from a dog bite and being in a lot of pain from it. She almost died from that incident alone. Here we have a bullet from a rifle hitting her shoulder and she just shrugs it off? I don't care if the bullet did go all the way through, that would hurt. Her shoulder would be in pain. But no. Nothing. We just go on our merry way like nothing ever happened so we can make our final big decision.
Near the end of the game you have to choose to shoot Kenny or let him kill Jane. Oh, if you thought Luke was going to be an important character later down the line because of all the buildup I'm afraid they put him on ice.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Too soon?
This whole situation is just... unnecessary. Long story short, Jane makes Kenny believes Arvo Jr. is dead so she can show Clementine how dangerous he can be, and she at least admits later on it was a stupid plan. And she's right, it was stupid. Of course he's going to lose his mind if he think the baby is dead. It's a baby! Anyone would lose their smurfing mind! It's not just yourself you're putting in danger. You're putting Clementine in danger! Heaven forbid she got hurt or even killed during this fight because you know Clementine didn't have any problem getting between you two. Clementine said it best:
Clementine: My friend is dead, you put Alvin Jr. in danger, just to prove a point?!
And...
Clementine: You're smurfing crazy!
But that's your decision. Kill one friend or let another one die. Hell, you can even let Jane die and shoot Kenny in cold blood. That's dark, game. At the risk of bringing down the wrath of an entire fanbase on my head, I'm afraid my decision came solely based on an old joke.
Kenny: You made the right choice, Clem.
Okay, just as long as you tell your fanbase that.
This was by no stretch of the imagination an easy choice, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. Believe me, I let Jane have it when I found out the baby was alive, in case that wasn't obvious enough. In the end I chose to go off on my own. Kenny was dead, and I certainly didn't trust Jane anymore. Jane was the one who wanted Clementine to have her own life free from others, and that's exactly what I gave her. What are we gonna do? Where are we gonna go? How are we going to take care of a baby? I have no idea. At least I don't have to worry about anymore crazy people holding me down. Not until Season 3, anyway.
My game ended with Clementine covering herself and Alvin Jr. in walkers guts to get past a herd. I really hope he doesn't wake up and cry or anything because that would be bad. You have five different endings to choose from depending on your choices. One where you can return to Howe's Hardware with Jane and either let new people in or send them away. And the other is where you take off with Kenny to Wellington and either part ways or stand by him. Each one is good and I have to admit Clementine choosing to stand by Kenny's side with Alvin Jr. is pretty heartwarming to watch. As much as I'd like to play as Clementine again, I'm perfectly content with her story ending here. Unless there's a way they can make each ending matter going into Season 3, but given their track record that seems unlikely. I'd love to be wrong.
So, is TWD Season 2 as good as the first one? I have to say no. Is it still a fun game to play? Yes. It has a lot of good ideas, and a lot of wasted opportunities, but as far as that first playthrough goes, as always it's fun and addicting as hell to play. I couldn't stop playing it and the only thing that ruined my experience was a glitch that caused my ENTIRE save data to be erased. Which happened to me again while playing it for this review so once again when Season 3 comes out I'll have to play it over from the beginning just to have my decisions carry over. Assuming it just doesn't do it a third time! But despite all of that, if you like The Walking Dead, Telltale, or point and click games, give it a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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