Resolution!

I have just beaten The Walking Dead video game. This is one of those games that is magnificently spoilable and, as such, I’m going to not talk about the game except in the broadest strokes. Without discussing spoilers, I’ll say that this is as close to “interactive movie” as I’ve seen in the marketplace. If you’re a huge fan of the show (or of the comic) and would like an immersive version of that universe then you should get this. (If you’re a fan of the Dead Risings or the Resident Evils or the other video games that are more about action, action, and more action… well, you might find yourself disappointed with this game. This is a video game that exists in the “bleak” zombie universe and not the much more fun “Zombieland” universe.)

The gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played a Bioware RPG. You see a handful of cutscenes, you are given a choice. Which of the three options of dialog will you take? There is a scene where you are given license to walk around and talk to everybody and ask them for their take of what is going on. Punctuated occasionally by an action sequence. (Now, I can’t say that I’d recommend this video game to people who don’t play video games… some of the action scenes were tough to the point where I had to repeat them two or three times to avoid a “game over”. I can see someone without familiarity with an XBox/PS3 controller not being able to get past one or two of them and that would be amazingly frustrating.)

The basics of the story are simple: You are Lee. An African-American Male in a police car being driven to prison when… well, let’s just say that the car ends up being upside down in a ditch. You’ve got to get out, get away, and get to civilization… where you find Clementine, an eight-year old girl who has survived this far into what turns out to be the Zombie Apocalypse.

From there, if you’re familiar with Zombie movies, you know what you can expect. You make some new friends, you make some new enemies, you find that some people can surprise you, you find that people are people are people. Oh, and there’s also the issue of how the choices you make change you.

The story the game told was a very good story indeed but, honestly, I have no inclination to ever play it again. (I’m *VERY* glad to have played it once, though.) If you’re familiar with both The Walking Dead (either through the show or the comic) and familiar with video games, you should pick this up… and play it once for yourself.