The Walking Dead: Episode 3 - Long Road Ahead

Editor's Notes

Introduction

After debuting to critical acclaim, Telltale Games’ third episode of its point-and-click video game series based on Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead has now surpassed its midway point with the release of The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead. Greatly anticipated by fans of the print series, its television spin-off and video games in general, it has a lot to live up to. That’s because, in the minds of many, its two episodic predecessors were no less than great, setting the bar quite high for the three remaining episodes.

Those who’ve invested themselves into the game’s first two offerings will most-likely have already made their mind up regarding whether or not they’ll purchase Episode 3; however, for those who’ve yet to do so, this review will offer an in-depth look at the pros and cons of the two and a half to three hour-long experience.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

The conclusion of The Walking Dead: Episode 2 – Starved For Help probably left a lot of gamers in awe of what they’d just played through. Well, that, in addition to a worried stomach after finding out what the survivors’ newly encountered farmer associates were actually up to. That reveal was something ripped right out of a horror movie, which was very fitting for something that tells the tale of a group of people who are attempting to escape from a zombie apocalypse.

This time around, we discover that the group has decided to hunker down in its assumed motel, and is trying its collaborative best to keep watch and make sure that supplies won’t dwindle. The latter of those two jobs is put on the shoulders of Lee and Kenny, who happen to be the two most mature members of the cast. With that duty comes the need to go into Macon, Georgia, to raid derelict and abandoned buildings like Lee’s family pharmacy, in order to get valuable supplies such as food and medicine.

Before things actually progress to the motel, players take control of Lee as he and Kenny perform yet another dutiful run to the destroyed southern town, which has become a haven for zombies. There, they’re forced to improvise after a necessary ladder breaks, but that’s nothing compared to what happens once when a young woman runs out of a background building with shambling corpses right on her tail. It’s obvious that she’s going to die, but Lee’s moral fibers result in the idea to shoot the poor woman in order to put her out of her misery. It’s a nice thought, but a dangerous one, because the sound of the gunshot will alert the enemy, and that’s something that Kenny doesn’t want to happen.

It’s moral choices like the one detailed above that really make this licensed downloadable title the memorable experience that it is, in addition to something that you’ll want to play through more than once. That’s because each decision comes with a consequence. Encountered characters and fellow survivors will alter their perception of you based on the touch of a button, regardless of whether that input relates to the use of a weapon or a conversational response, which makes the game’s cast feel real even though it’s only made up of digital designs with human voices. Thankfully, it sure doesn’t seem that way to those who’ve sat down and immersed themselves within the game and its dynamic, ever-changing formula, which changes itself based on player input.

Although the young woman who appears out of nowhere in the above-mentioned scenario is just a stranger, she’s still a human being, which tugs on your inner heart strings. However, saving her will mean that your trip to the pharmacy will come with an intensely short time limit, wherein you must grab and go at a high speed, and won’t have much time to pick and choose. If you falter under pressure and don’t pick up a lot of supplies during that short time, then you can expect to hear about it, and it could have a negative impact upon your overall experience.

Following his morality-filled trip to Macon, Lee finds that his peers are breaking down a bit. Boredom has set in, as has paranoia, with one survivor thinking that another is stealing from the supply stash. Navigating the relationship minefield that exists within the motel and its large parking lot is tough, as is getting everyone to agree on whether or not migrating towards the coast in the refurbished RV would be a good idea. However, occurrences force that decision to be made, and the group sets out in search of a boat, with the idea being that getting away from land and out on a large body of water will offer safety.

For fear of spoiling anything, I won’t talk about the following events in any detail. That’s because a lot of interesting things happen from the time that the group sets out from the motel until the end of Long Road Ahead, and it’d be a crime to ruin those occurrences for anyone who has yet to play through this episode. However, it is still my duty to analyze the experience as a whole.

Generally speaking, The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead is more of the same, but that’s a good thing. You’re still searching for items within different environments, with the need to combine weapons, supplies or discovered items with the environment in order to progress. On top of that, you’ll be doing a lot of talking while trying to push the narrative forward in the way that best suits your personality. After all, this game has always been a character study, and its third part delves even further into that territory than its predecessors did.

What starts out as a bit of a rollercoaster ride significantly slows down later on, due to more involved puzzles, as well as circumstantial events. At that time, Episode 3 becomes more of a dramatic character study than a tension-fuelled experience, meaning that those who prefer the game’s more action-packed moments may find that its entertainment factor dips a bit. However, for those who applaud a good study in human relationships, incredible developments and unexpected occurrences pave the way for lots to talk about.

I love both aspects of the game equally, but I did find a couple of pacing issues during the noted chapters, but that wasn’t enough to significantly affect my perception of the full, five-dollar download. Part of that was due to the fact that I knew how important it was for Telltale to slow things down in order to progress its rich narrative in shocking ways, though I wish they would've streamlined the puzzles a bit more in order to reduce the slight lull that occurs.

On top of the above-mentioned pacing issue, rather basic gunplay mechanics affect the impact of certain scenes. Instead of using a more advanced and intuitive system, the development team decided to focus on the left joystick for aiming and a face button for shooting. It works, but presents a rather awkward combination that takes time to to get used to.

The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead is another high-quality release from a very skilled development team. It’s gripping, has some great action scenes and also delivers some very emotional character studies. However, the episode’s pacing isn’t perfect, its gunplay is rudimentary and things slow down to a crawl at one point. Still, even though those issues exist, this third part of five should not be missed.