The Walking Dead: Episode 1 - A New Day
Overview -
Over the years, fans of horror fiction have been treated to numerous creators’ visions of what a zombie apocalypse would be like. Some have been done in memorable fashion, such as George A. Romero’s iconic Dead Trilogy, while others have been utterly forgettable. Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel series turned television spectacle, The Walking Dead, is thankfully a member of the former group. In fact, it has become so popular that Telltale Games was asked to create a five-part video game based on the writer’s flesh-eating creation. Now that its first episode, The Walking Dead: Episode 1 – A New Day, is available, it’s time to talk survival.
Video Review
Through the use of an artistically drawn art style, Telltale has paid homage to Robert Kirkman’s highly touted graphic novels. The result is a game that pops and has its own interesting visual style. Its employed colour palette is partially subdued, aiding the nightmarish tension that is set-up through well-drawn zombies and character-specific incidents.
Several locations were featured during this debut episode, including the aforementioned forest, as well as a residential neighbourhood, a farm and a pharmacy. Each one felt different in its own way, presenting different gameplay scenarios, in addition to varied amounts of colour. This mix of indoor and outdoor venues worked well, although the pharmacy location could have used more light. It was tough to see things at times, leading to lengthy searches for two different items. Needless to say, that became quite frustrating.
Audio Review
To say that The Walking Dead: Episode 1 presents a very interesting and involved character study would be an understatement. After all, building relationships and making decisions are two of its dominant design pillars. That focus created the need for voice actors who could create realistic personalities for each in-game character. Thankfully, the chosen cast seems up to that job. Although one or two of A New Day’s performances weren’t as good as the others, the acting was generally well above average. The audio engineering wasn’t stellar, however, as certain sets of lines were harder to hear than others.
Likening this release to an impressive television show or movie is quite easy. Telltale has done a great job of delivering production values that add personality and memorability to the in-game world and its challenging inhabitants. Subtly using audio to add effect and importance to specific events added a complementary and artistic touch to the whole experience. Since a mature audience is being targeted here, it was a great move to go with such a poignant yet subdued approach.
Fans of Robert Kirkman’s zombie fiction will certainly want to check out Telltale’s adaptation of The Walking Dead. This first episode provides a great indication of what we can expect from its five peers, and that bodes well for those of us who like to interact in digital worlds that are full of flesh-eating corpses. This is impressive stuff, although my hope is that some of the above-mentioned kinks will be ironed out before Episode 2 is released.
