The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved for Help Review!
Overview:
Systems: PS3, XBOX 360Pros:
New details are added to the plot, along with nice story progression.Cons:
Still lacks action, not a lot of replayability.The story continues as a new enemy arises and friends become highly dangerous in the Walking Dead episode 2: Starved for Help. In a world lost to the infected, which is more dangerous: the living dead or the living? Is it possible to survive in a world gone mad?
The fascinating tale continues as the Walking Dead episode 2 introduces new characters and a whole new dilemma for the group of survivors. While reading this review, it’s important to realize that details of this game can change depending on the choices made. It can be minor details in dialogue or how the story progresses. It’s the major thing that makes this game totally worth playing.
Story:
The caravans of survivors have managed to fortify the motel and stay alive in the process. A battle for power between Kenny and Lilly still continues, with each wanting to run the group in a different way. Lee and the newest addition to the group Mark are hunting in the nearby woods hunting. They come across two high school kids and their teacher whose leg is stuck in a bear trap. One of the students is attacked and killed in the process while Lee amputates the teacher’s leg to free him and takes him back to the motel. After more disputes between Kenny and Lilly, Lee has to decide who gets food and who doesn’t in the group, since there are very little items left. The teacher dies of blood loss and reanimates as a walker but is put down before he harms anyone. The group becomes aware of the fact that it’s not the bites that bring the dead back; everyone is infected already. At this point, two brothers named Danny and Andy St. John approach the group wanting to trade food for gas. The brothers invite the group to stay at their farm. Only some of the group goes to check it out and as Lee and Mark check out the perimeter, they are attacked by bandits. The brother’s mom, Brenda whisks Mark off to treat his wounds while Lee and Danny find a camp of what looks to be a bandit camp. They are then attacked by a mad woman who threatens to kill them and almost exposes a literally killer secret before she is silenced.
Gameplay:
The gameplay of the game is still the same: point and click. There’s still those small areas in which you can walk around in and interact with the other people in your group but still, that’s it. There’s no real action besides the interactions in the dialogue. The game still depends on what speech choices are made and continue to affect the entire game, depending on whom you’ve sided with and who you’ve decided to save from the previous episode. The events are still timed and there’s really no change in what the entirety of the gameplay is.
Graphics:
It still feels like you are playing an interactive comic book. Everyone still looks very cartoonish, including the zombies. They really don’t have any facial characteristics of being human anymore, like they’ve been rotting which looks really scary. You’ll notice that the characters have heavier clothes on to indicate time passing but other than that, the characters look the same as they did in the previous episode.
Sound:
Nothing is really different with the sound as well. There’s still somber music for the somber moments and the intense music when under pressure. Mostly, the game is filled with environmental sounds since the group is usually outside. When there is actual music, it just improves the game that much more. What really defines the game in terms of sound is the dialogue. Sure, there’s some silly banter between moments that warrant a chuckle but it’s serious for the majority of the game. There’s yelling, cursing, and arguing that make the game as serious as can be.
Verdict:
After the first episode won me over, I expected that the second episode would do the same thing and it did. This has been my favorite episode thus far because of how the story turned out. Once again, if you’re the kind of person that relies on a game that has heavy action, this might not be your cup of tea. The replayability isn’t incredibly high because you’ll want to choose one side and then replay it and choose the other side. After that, there’s not much that isn’t touched upon. If you’re into a game that has a really good story with some different outcomes and can spend $5.00 (or 400 MSP) on a new episode each month, this is a game you won’t be disappointed with.
