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Games : Highly Recommended
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Release Date: December 17th, 2013 Movie Release Year: 2013

The Walking Dead Season 2: All That Remains

Overview -

Second to only 'The Last of Us', 'The Walking Dead: Season 1' was definitely one of the more emotional games that I played last year. Telltale's ability to weave such an impactful narrative was impressive and got me really hooked on this new style of episodic games. On the other hand, '400 Days' seemed like a wasted opportunity that didn't really build up any emotional empathy for those new characters. However, I do recommend that you play both games before entering into The Walking Dead: Season 2, if only to understand the motivations and journey of the main character, Clementine. (By the way, this will be a spoiler-free review.)

Telltale has provided the ability to import a save from both previous games into Season 2. While the choices you make in the first two games will have an impact on Season 2, the extent of that impact is fairly small in 'All That Remains.' If you are jumping into Season 2 without a previous save file, choices from those previous games will be automatically generated at random. It seems somewhat similar to the save import system in the 'Mass Effect' series, basically impacting the lives of characters in each successive episode.

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
VIDEO
AUDIO
Tech Specs & Release Details
Release Date:
December 17th, 2013

Video Review

Ranking:

Visually, 'All That Remains' looks just as good as any previous episode of 'The Walking Dead.' I do believe that there have been some slight improvements to facial expressions, a helpful tool when attempting to read the feelings of other characters and choose a response that will help Clementine. Of course, you will notice some slowing of the framerate and occasional stuttering issues, but it's nothing that significantly detracts from the overall experience.

Audio Review

Ranking:

Once again, the voice work in 'The Walking Dead' series is really what drives the narrative and let's the player build empathy for specific characters. Melissa Hutchison's work as Clementine is stellar. Incidentally, she's also the voice of Beauty in Telltale's 'The Wolf Among Us' as well as Trixie Trotter in Telltale's 'Back to the Future.' The rest of the voice cast is admirable and works well with the vast array of emotional states. The music is also on par with the previous season and the sound effects seem to be unchanged. Both help sell the overall uneasiness and suspense of each scenario.

In many respects, Telltale has traded the empty promise of hope during season 1 for pure, unadulterated fear in season 2. And I'm not sure that's a good thing. There's at least one scene in the game that's extremely difficult to handle and will make the majority of players squeamish to say the least. While Clementine clearly isn't the helpless girl of season 1, you still can't help fearing for her life around every corner. That fear builds continually throughout episode 1 and really doesn't let up. Sadly, there's no substantial payoff at the end of the episode, thus we are left wondering where Clementine 's journey will take her next.

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