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This thread has been linked to the game 'The Walking Dead DLC: 400 Days'.
Telltales award winning The Walking Dead is back! But it's not Season 2 of the episodic game series, but rather a single episode that straddles both seasons. Granted, that's not a bad thing in itself, because one of the cool things about zombie fiction is that there are always plenty of stories to be told. Max Brooks' World War Z proved that - the book that is, not the 'Brad Pitt Saves The World' movie.
Indeed, 400 Days follows the stories of five different characters, showing what happens to them during the year or so following a zombie outbreak. Like The Walking Dead Season 1, 400 days is a point and click style game, with the action sequences being few and far between. Instead, the game's hook comes from the characters themselves. Season 1 followed convict Lee Everett as he attempted to find refuge from the living dead, hooking up with other survivors along the way. He even became attached to a young girl called Clementine, who became a sort of surrogate daughter.
Unfortunately, the characters to be found in 400 Days are nowhere near as interesting, possibly because they're not really given the chance to be. Take Vincent, the first character you play as - though you can play the characters in any order if you want to - who is, wait for it, an escaped convict. He's apparently going to prison for shooting someone, in the name of helping his brother. As Vincent, you get to make one fairly gruesome choice on the prison bus where you start the game, then get off and.. that's it. You don't find out anything else about Vince, though Telltale have apparently hinted that some of these characters may appear in Season 2.
Likewise the other characters - only Bonnie's story is really interesting because of what transpires during her segment. You don't spend enough time with the characters to become invested in them or really care what happens to them. One of the characters from Season 1 does crop up, explaining what happened to Vernon's group - if you don't know who they are, play Season 1 first. Other than that, it's not particularly engaging.
Granted, the graphics and voice acting are decent enough but it was always the storyline that sold The Walking Dead Season 1, and this doesn't cut it. Especially since this costs £3.99, and already requires you to own at least Episode 1 of Season 1. This should really have been released as free content, at least to people who bought the Season Pass. It would also have served as an incentive to buy Season 2. But as is, it's just not engaging enough to be worth a purchase.
Score: 4 out of 10
Pros:
It's more The Walking Dead
Cons:
You only meet the characters briefly.
It's £3.99 for what amounts to a very small amount of story.
Indeed, 400 Days follows the stories of five different characters, showing what happens to them during the year or so following a zombie outbreak. Like The Walking Dead Season 1, 400 days is a point and click style game, with the action sequences being few and far between. Instead, the game's hook comes from the characters themselves. Season 1 followed convict Lee Everett as he attempted to find refuge from the living dead, hooking up with other survivors along the way. He even became attached to a young girl called Clementine, who became a sort of surrogate daughter.
Unfortunately, the characters to be found in 400 Days are nowhere near as interesting, possibly because they're not really given the chance to be. Take Vincent, the first character you play as - though you can play the characters in any order if you want to - who is, wait for it, an escaped convict. He's apparently going to prison for shooting someone, in the name of helping his brother. As Vincent, you get to make one fairly gruesome choice on the prison bus where you start the game, then get off and.. that's it. You don't find out anything else about Vince, though Telltale have apparently hinted that some of these characters may appear in Season 2.
Likewise the other characters - only Bonnie's story is really interesting because of what transpires during her segment. You don't spend enough time with the characters to become invested in them or really care what happens to them. One of the characters from Season 1 does crop up, explaining what happened to Vernon's group - if you don't know who they are, play Season 1 first. Other than that, it's not particularly engaging.
Granted, the graphics and voice acting are decent enough but it was always the storyline that sold The Walking Dead Season 1, and this doesn't cut it. Especially since this costs £3.99, and already requires you to own at least Episode 1 of Season 1. This should really have been released as free content, at least to people who bought the Season Pass. It would also have served as an incentive to buy Season 2. But as is, it's just not engaging enough to be worth a purchase.
Score: 4 out of 10
Pros:
It's more The Walking Dead
Cons:
You only meet the characters briefly.
It's £3.99 for what amounts to a very small amount of story.
4 out of 10 is a pretty harsh score for what is as interesting game. It is very short but manages to introduce a lot of characters and provoke some reaction in that time.
The lack of Clementine is keenly felt as you no longer have your moral guardian and that is a strange feeling. You are now on your own. The game still manages to maintain that sense of doing the right thing but this time it's much harder to ignore your darker instincts, and should you give in, you'll feel it and question yourself.
What's also very clever is the big choices this time aren't so obvious. You'll be waiting for the big ethical choice, only to find you've already unknowingly made it. It's a brilliant move but it can cause confusion when you end up doing something you wanted to avoid.
Vince
Wyatt
Russell
Shel
Bonnie
Overall I really quite enjoyed the game but it left a lot of questions about what happens next. Woodbury possibly? Who will you control or will it be all 5 people? There's definitely a possibility that we might not see Clementine again.
7/10
very short but an excellent taster.
The lack of Clementine is keenly felt as you no longer have your moral guardian and that is a strange feeling. You are now on your own. The game still manages to maintain that sense of doing the right thing but this time it's much harder to ignore your darker instincts, and should you give in, you'll feel it and question yourself.
What's also very clever is the big choices this time aren't so obvious. You'll be waiting for the big ethical choice, only to find you've already unknowingly made it. It's a brilliant move but it can cause confusion when you end up doing something you wanted to avoid.
Vince
Wyatt
Russell
Shel
Bonnie
Overall I really quite enjoyed the game but it left a lot of questions about what happens next. Woodbury possibly? Who will you control or will it be all 5 people? There's definitely a possibility that we might not see Clementine again.
7/10
very short but an excellent taster.
Telltales award winning The Walking Dead is back! But it's not Season 2 of the episodic game series, but rather a single episode that straddles both seasons. Granted, that's not a bad thing in itself, because one of the cool things about zombie fiction is that there are always plenty of stories to be told. Max Brooks' World War Z proved that - the book that is, not the 'Brad Pitt Saves The World' movie.
Indeed, 400 Days follows the stories of five different characters, showing what happens to them during the year or so following a zombie outbreak. Like The Walking Dead Season 1, 400 days is a point and click style game, with the action sequences being few and far between. Instead, the game's hook comes from the characters themselves. Season 1 followed convict Lee Everett as he attempted to find refuge from the living dead, hooking up with other survivors along the way. He even became attached to a young girl called Clementine, who became a sort of surrogate daughter.
Unfortunately, the characters to be found in 400 Days are nowhere near as interesting, possibly because they're not really given the chance to be. Take Vincent, the first character you play as - though you can play the characters in any order if you want to - who is, wait for it, an escaped convict. He's apparently going to prison for shooting someone, in the name of helping his brother. As Vincent, you get to make one fairly gruesome choice on the prison bus where you start the game, then get off and.. that's it. You don't find out anything else about Vince, though Telltale have apparently hinted that some of these characters may appear in Season 2.
Likewise the other characters - only Bonnie's story is really interesting because of what transpires during her segment. You don't spend enough time with the characters to become invested in them or really care what happens to them. One of the characters from Season 1 does crop up, explaining what happened to Vernon's group - if you don't know who they are, play Season 1 first. Other than that, it's not particularly engaging.
Granted, the graphics and voice acting are decent enough but it was always the storyline that sold The Walking Dead Season 1, and this doesn't cut it. Especially since this costs £3.99, and already requires you to own at least Episode 1 of Season 1. This should really have been released as free content, at least to people who bought the Season Pass. It would also have served as an incentive to buy Season 2. But as is, it's just not engaging enough to be worth a purchase.
Score: 4 out of 10
Pros:
It's more The Walking Dead
Cons:
You only meet the characters briefly.
It's £3.99 for what amounts to a very small amount of story.
Indeed, 400 Days follows the stories of five different characters, showing what happens to them during the year or so following a zombie outbreak. Like The Walking Dead Season 1, 400 days is a point and click style game, with the action sequences being few and far between. Instead, the game's hook comes from the characters themselves. Season 1 followed convict Lee Everett as he attempted to find refuge from the living dead, hooking up with other survivors along the way. He even became attached to a young girl called Clementine, who became a sort of surrogate daughter.
Unfortunately, the characters to be found in 400 Days are nowhere near as interesting, possibly because they're not really given the chance to be. Take Vincent, the first character you play as - though you can play the characters in any order if you want to - who is, wait for it, an escaped convict. He's apparently going to prison for shooting someone, in the name of helping his brother. As Vincent, you get to make one fairly gruesome choice on the prison bus where you start the game, then get off and.. that's it. You don't find out anything else about Vince, though Telltale have apparently hinted that some of these characters may appear in Season 2.
Likewise the other characters - only Bonnie's story is really interesting because of what transpires during her segment. You don't spend enough time with the characters to become invested in them or really care what happens to them. One of the characters from Season 1 does crop up, explaining what happened to Vernon's group - if you don't know who they are, play Season 1 first. Other than that, it's not particularly engaging.
Granted, the graphics and voice acting are decent enough but it was always the storyline that sold The Walking Dead Season 1, and this doesn't cut it. Especially since this costs £3.99, and already requires you to own at least Episode 1 of Season 1. This should really have been released as free content, at least to people who bought the Season Pass. It would also have served as an incentive to buy Season 2. But as is, it's just not engaging enough to be worth a purchase.
Score: 4 out of 10
Pros:
It's more The Walking Dead
Cons:
You only meet the characters briefly.
It's £3.99 for what amounts to a very small amount of story.