The Wolf Among Us: Smoke and Mirrors
Overview -
In October of 2013, Telltale Games introduced its first post 'The Walking Dead' series with 'Faith,' the first episode of 'The Wolf Among Us,' which is based off of the world built within the DC Comics/Vertigo 'Fables' line of comics. Despite activity involving numerous other projects, it took nearly four months for the second episode, 'The Wolf Among Us: Smoke & Mirrors,' to be released. With the wait finally over, it's time to jump back into the world of 'Fables' with Telltale's latest.
Video Review
The first episode's excellent art style and presentation are maintained, right down to some of the blending issues. A few stale locations like the Trip Trap bar were worrisome, but the latter chapters, which feature new locales and the series' best, nighttime, make up for the few weak spots.
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Audio Review
Again, the game's soundtrack cooks up the right mood, especially with fewer "wandering around" segments. Unfortunately, I also noticed a new issue that I must have missed in the first episode. Anyone who has played 'The Walking Dead' may recognize multiple voice actors, and those signature voices can be problematic. This is hardly a problem unique to Telltale Games, but it's also like to get worse over the course of episodes unless an a priority is put on finding new talent.
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The first episode was something of a dicey proposition, promising, but also forced to expend a lot of time on exposition with mysteries featuring characters we'd only just met. The long interval, combined with a weak follow-up, could have really quelled interest in the whole series. Instead, my anticipation has skyrocketed. This second episode, 'Smoke & Mirrors,' features a much improved tempo and flow, ratcheting up the story while dialing back less compelling elements. Dare we ask Telltale not to make this next wait so long while maintaining such a refined quality?
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