"Walkers are trouble. People are worse."

Game Review 018

the Walking Dead:

Michonne

a Telltale Miniseries

Telltale Games

[February 23rd, 2016]

Level of Execution =

over 75% with the execution of a cult-favourite character and her tragic backstory

I got the gaming PC back from my younger brother and has been going through the my list of games that I've been dying to play and this is actually one of the earliest ones that I couldn't finish due to time constraint. Well, not anymore!
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a case for the excellent origin story of a fan-favourite character:

Full disclosure: Telltale Games' now signature game mechanics is a unique entity of its own for better or for worse, with the detractors just seeing their games as interactive story books that barely qualify as games while the fans loving their storytelling approach with meaningful choices to make. Granted that their initial promise of the choices to really matter isn't fully kept as the repercussions do not reverberate as much as promised but I understand the limitation of the format they are using and always embraced each of their design decisions. With that being said, I am always fully onboard with each story they are telling from the first the Walking Dead entry that started it all and I know it's not for everyone but keep in mind that I this is my own personal taste in games and you are entitled to feel the total opposite. You do you, and I'll do me. Just be ready for a lot of Telltale Games reviews in the future!
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Okay, let's get back to the game itself! I was surprised by how well the Walking Dead universe was being adapted into a 'classic point-and-click game' by Telltale and then came the news of them making a mini series for the fan-favourite character Michonne, with the execution certainly lives up to expectation, and the some. Learning after the fact that it was written by the same people on the show certainly proven in hindsight how well-written the storyline is, playing perfectly with her psyche that was still fresh from her first experience with the zombie outbreak that was still haunting her and affected how she approached this new world and the survivors in it. Familial values is the true backbone of this particular series as she was forced to face her past demons with the help of new friends under the threats of new adversaries, letting us delve into her shaken mindset and act accordingly to how we want the events to unfold before us. It is a satisfying journey for me as a fan of the AMC series and the original graphic novels, putting us directly in her strong physically yet vulnerable mentally boots.

They are still using the same engine albeit improved upon that despite the wonderfully stylised cell-shaded comic-inspired visuals would not be appealing to the aforementioned detractors especially considering how popular the company's works are now and how inferior they look to other double or triple-A games. I know they are working with a limited budget despite their positive receptions since they are still a small production comparatively and it is cost effective to keep it as it is. If it's not broken, why would they fix it? I certainly hope their continued success would allow them to make the jump sooner rather than later. Looking at their most recent works in the Walking Dead Season Three, they certainly is heading that way fast!

I want to highlight how Michonne's hand-to-hand prowess translates seamlessly into this gaming world as the action sequences are much more kinetic and active compared to other Telltale products (Guardians of the Galaxy came close but I would touch on them on a separate entry in the future), giving us adrenaline and blood-fueled experience every time she unsheathed her machete. Aside from her physical journey, it was her psychological state that made this series one of a kind as her trauma made her hallucinate mostly sometimes at unfortunate times and that was the highlight for me since you can only see it here, in her personal journey to better herself into the state that she was when she was being reintroduced into the live action adaptation. Sure, they are all button prompts in quick time events but that's part and parcel of Telltale experience and if you're not used to it by now, maybe more narrative-driven games would suit you better, Life is Strange for example (another series I would cover soon).

It is a successful experiment in the end for Telltale and I hope they would make another mini series on another cult-favourite character down the line.

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+ Positive +

Her physical prowess shines when it needs the most while her psychological journey makes this a highly personal experience for us to go with her.
? Main contention ?

The storyline is short and sweet in line with the three episodes-length series and that comes with its own pros and cons.
- Negative -
the engine and the decision-making. Same old, same old, huh?

(Telltale Games - Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wolf Among Us, the Walking Dead | Genre - Action, Adventure, Narrative, Horror, Point and Click, Zombie)

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