The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season
Overview -
Telltale’s 'The Walking Dead' video game series is based on the graphic novel of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman. That graphic novel has also been adapted into a popular TV show, but the video game and show are more or less separate. In all versions of 'The Walking Dead', a zombie plague has decimated humanity, leaving scattered pockets of survivors who must defend against the zombies and each other. To add insult upon injury, any human who dies with an intact brain reanimates shortly thereafter, regardless of the manner of death. The video game is an episodic adventure story first released in 2012, and has now been ported to the Xbox One. All five episodes of season one are included, as well as the short sequel '400 Days'.
Video Review
Each Telltale game looks similar, and season one of 'The Walking Dead' hasn’t received any notable graphical upgrades during its port to the Xbox One. Textures can be a bit muddy, especially at range. Animations in particular are subject to the occasional bug - a character will be facing the wrong way, their mouth will be moving when they’re not actually speaking, or they have weird facial expressions (the eyes are especially creepy). Some clipping issues also crop up, like seeing through objects. But, thank providence, most of the stutters and shakes from the 360 release have been smoothed out. The framerate remains steady, even during the first-person shooting minigames.
Audio Review
The voice acting is above average, and individual performances range from subdued to amazing. I am not a fan of Clementine’s voice actress, who doesn’t exactly have a wide emotional range, but Lee, Kenny, Katja, and most others are spot on. The quality of sound effects can vary widely, and syncing isn’t always perfect. The music adds to the survival horror motif and has a menacing, sometimes violent sound.
Final Thoughts
Season one of 'The Walking Dead' was the first in Telltale’s modern era of storytelling, which includes 'The Wolf Among Us', 'Tales from the Borderlands', and 'Game of Thrones.' It is a little rough around the edges, but has established them as a leader in inexpensive, highly entertaining adventure games. The Xbox One version is a vanilla port and has no added features, but should be experienced by anyone who has yet to play 'The Walking Dead' or who would like another go at Lee’s story.