The Walking Dead: Season Two

The Walking Dead season 1 was something special. A true masterpiece in storytelling and character development. It was a true 10/10, and the finale made me feel a sadness I've never before felt in a video game. So how does season two stack up in comparison?

In season one we played as Lee, doing our best to protect precious little Clementine. In the second season we play Clementine herself. The difference is that we are met with an older, more mature and independent Clementine. This season really cements her as a true protagonist, and a damn good one at that.

One of the biggest drawbacks in my opinion when it comes to the second season is that the majority of characters we meet feel like completely dead weight, unable to perform even the simplest of tasks. It seems ridiculous that a bunch of adults put all the responsibility on an 11 year old girl, but game has to game I guess. Not all characters fall into this catagory though. In fact, the second season hosts a multitude of amazing characters, that you will either end up loving or hating depending on how you play. In my opinion season two gives us THE most complex character in the entire universe, and I'm not talking about Clementine. It also has arguably the greatest villain in the entire Walking Dead universe.

The early part revolves around getting to know new characters, and being introduced to old ones as well. The later half of the game focuses on a sort of rivalry between different characters, and you as the player has to choose which side you are on. The ending (depending on how you play it) is again very emotional, and though it's hard to replicate the impact of the first seasons ending, in my opinion it got pretty close. I won't tell you which ending I got, but I will say that it involved a hard to swallow good bye that was absolutely excellent.

Season one introduced us to a young girl, that we would die to protect. Season two gave us a development in Clementine that is hard to accomplish. She is still a young little girl, but a fierce survivor that beyond all else tries to navigate the moral dilemmas she is faced with. It's hard to create a character that the player really connects with, but TellTale has gone beyond that with Clementine. I felt a responsibility and admiration I've never felt for a character in a video game ever. In my book Clementine is the greatest video game heroine of all time, and season two is pretty damn close to the masterpiece that was season one.

Awesome game and i love every episode but can we handle the long release dates and episodes getting shorter? i mean season 2 was meant to be every month and it ending up being like 2-3 months after the 1st episode, I've got a feeling episode 3 won't be here till at least june, I'm sorry but whats happening to the length of each episode as well this is by far the shortest and doesn't seem half as long as season 1 episodes, does anyone know why they are so short when we get games like final fantasy and the beautiful ni no kuni which i recently finished after several hundred hours of play, i understand the play is different and making choices that give you other outcomes must affect the game but i really was surprised by how short this episode was, although i love the game, waiting 3 months for 20mins gameplay is not my idea of fun, I will stick with this season but I'm afraid next time i will be waiting till the whole game is made and released and buy it then

The Walking Dead Season 2 is a perfect example on how to make a game sequel. It captures the charm and appeal of the first game, while expanding the universe of the game, to create it's own unique story, having a completely different identity to the first season. The stakes seem to increase, and the ending has a lot more choice, which greatly improves the playing experience.

In terms of improvement to the first season, and an element which makes the 2nd season completely unique, is the choice Clementine has in terms of her loyalty to Kenny. In the first game, Lee is completely loyal to the group, and there was never a clear divide, so as a result Lee never took sides, whereas in the 2nd season there's a clear split between Kenny and the result of the group. Therefore, Clementine's loyalty is greatly tested. This makes for really interesting gameplay, as the player has to consistently choose between the 2 sides. As a result the player has more autonomy over the events of the story, something that is greatly improved from the first season. The theme of loyalty towards Kenny becomes a contentious issue, one that has the potential for a great deal of analysis.

This game's just as well made as it's predecessor. It leaves an emotional impact and the characters are well crafted and memorable. As a result the Walking Dead Season Two is a masterpiece, and one of the greatest video games on the market.

The graphics, voice acting, character development, and sound are spot on. This is expected given the success of the first and increased budget.

The failing of this game is pacing and writing. Falling down or jump scares are cheap plot devices sprinkled throughout your gaming experience. Instead of just telling a good story you're forced into nonsense "action" sequences that are so clunky and poorly made it would make even Ubisoft cringe.

This is all in stark contrast to the first game. Which had clear cut game mechanics that were easy to understand and well explained when they weren't. You can really tell the devs dropped the ball on this one for the sake of cash grabbing.

Edit: Had to come back and really hammer home the poor mechanics. From one QuickTime cut scene to another the problem persists. They can't make the mechanics clear or change them so dramatically that you have to replay the same scene over and over.

Poorly made game. Devs should be ashamed of themselves for yet another abortion of a once great franchise.

Damn. So brutal. If you thought the first game was visceral, maddening, and just straight up flippin perfect, then you NEED to do yourself a favor and get in this hype train. All I can say; perfection. In this game, you now are in control of Clementine and must survive amongst the harsh new reality of clashing survivor groups and the endless zombie horde. This game doubles down on the carnage, with beloved (or not so beloved) characters getting either ripped apart or shot, a starving dog that doesn't want to share, countless zombie hordes, and of course, making hard moral decisions that pits you against certain characters. This game has many surprises, with one being the return of a character from the first game that I just didn't expect at all. It was so cool seeing his character develop into this broken man who keeps losing people, and this is where the hardest decisions come in. This may be slightly *spoiler* so to people that haven't played yet, probably stop reading. In my playthrough, I tried looking at both sides of the group. Knowing how much stuff Kenny went through, I didn't really egg him on too much, although there were times I said enough (which is around the end where he is basically bullying the Russian prisoner), but sadly, in hopes of saving his gf by chopping her arm off cuz she got bit, i just made things worse and she ended up dying, which Kenny blamed on me. Although he hated me for a while, he got over it and apologized, which I appreciated.. this is why I tried being on his side... I really tried. But in the end, he and Jane take it too far, and despite me thinking I did the good thing, I come to find out Jane was an antagonist who took it just as far as Kenny. I also loved the new cast of characters, like Paul, Luke, and the returning maddening characters from 400 days such as Bonnie and Jane.

Anyways, enough. This game is amazing. Any walking dead fan or story game fan will adore it. Highly recommended. Cannot wait to see where Clementine ends up in The New Frontier!