The Walking Dead: The Penultimate Article

The Walking Dead:

While I've finished The Walking Dead series once, in a disjointed manner, I intend to play it again. Eventually I'll write an article reviewing the complete series, but that might be a year distant, so I wanted to include some thoughts about The Walking Dead universe, of which the video game series is just one part. Unlike many people, my first Walking Dead experience was the video game, and I followed it in reverse order to the show, and then to the original comic. I've, obviously, finished the video game series, watched seven season of the TV show, and read all the comics. I appreciate that Robert Kirkman's comic birthed the universe, providing the proper tone and framework, but the characterization in the comics was shallow compared the to the later media. The TV show and video game contain more well defined characters, a critical feature, since it seems that the purpose of the entire series is to empathize with the suffering of the survivors. Even between these two I've thought that Clementine holds a unique perspective. 

The Walking Dead: The Final Season is the end of Clementine's story. Telltale Games always intended the fourth season, composed of four episodes, to say goodbye to Clem. The Walking Dead: Season Three, officially called A New Frontier, ended with Clementine setting out in search of her adopted son AJ. His abduction had been told in flashbacks during Season Three. Telltale Games was already two episodes into Season Four when they abruptly announced the immediate closing of the entire studio. With episode three and four unfinished, Skybound Entertainment, the company founded by the creator of the Walking Dead comic, purchased the rights to the entire Walking Dead video game series. Skybound worked with the laid off Telltale staff to complete Clementine's story. The hand off was so successful that there is no discernible difference between episode two and three.
The Final Season begins four years after the conclusion of A New Frontier. Season Three barely reflects on Season Four, the only connection being flashbacks, which tell how AJ was taken from Clem. Perhaps that is why the recaps of Season One and Two are excellent, because they connect to The Final Season, while the review of Season Three is poor because is does not relate to the series as a whole. The first scene opens in media res as a teenage Clementine and a six year old Alvin Jr. drive along searching for supplies. It isn't long before danger forces them to seek shelter at a new location, which functions as a hub for the season. They discover allies at a school for troubled youth, a sprawling mansion which the adults have fled, but is home to children and teens. This setting is the best of the series, because Clem explores it and build a connection with the people living there. Her and AJ share a room, and The Final Season includes collectibles the player can discover to decorate it. From the crumbling complex, Clem and her new friends venture out to search for food, but encounter danger inside its walls, and out in the woods. The situation is reminiscent of Lost for its threatening environment and the Lord of the Flies because of the difficulties of civilization among children. All the areas, both inside and out are well designed, so the player never feels as if there are contrivances to keep them contained. The developer doesn't deploy forced enclosures or invisible walls to curtail the player.
Compared to previous games in the series, Season Four saw a significant visual upgrade. In the review of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, I criticized the sub-par appearance of characters and background alike. The fourth season looks like it was designed with a new engine, and while it still retains the distinctive style of the series, the visual effect is far superior to Seasons One, Two, and Three. The characters are humanized by the improvement, while fights with the zombies are intensified, enhanced by a realistic blood effect. Character's eyes and face are especially effective at conveying emotion. The You Are Dead screen, displayed when Clem dies, looked better too, particularly reminiscent of the comics. I saw this screen often, because I like to see what happens if I don't perform a quick-time event when interacting with people. This never generates a bad result. Most quick-time events only have three possible outcomes: succeed and receive a good result, fail and receive a different (but good) result, or fail and die (and death only sets the player back seconds). Quick-time events and puzzles rarely alter the story, unlike the choices which determine the flow of the plot. Unfortunately, the timer for the dialogue and difficult choices is difficult to see, compared to previous games. Another strange development allows some minor binary choices to cause Clem's death. Like deaths caused by failure in quick-time events these cause the player to replay the scene again.

The sound of The Final Season returns to basics, incorporating much of the music from previous Seasons. Fan favorite like In the Pines, which was the Season Two Episode 2 credits song, returns as the credits song for Season Four Episode 2, while Take Us Back, the Season 1 Finale Credit Song, repeats as the conclusion song for the The Final Season.

Both the visual and audio effects alone would improve the combat, but the developers added extra effort. For previous games, combat was a series of simple quick-time events. Click the Q or E button repeatedly, maybe press up, down, left, or right to react to an event. Combat is now like a simple action game. As walkers approach, the player controls Clem moving her into the proper position, like a slow dance, before striking. Clem can kill a zombie, or knock it down. While killing the zombies is preferable, when surrounded by a horde Clem needs to knock them down first, because the animation is quicker. The Final Season also includes a small number of interesting, and sometimes frustratingly difficult action puzzles. Late in the series, the player must move quickly from zombie to zombie, using them as cover to be avoid being shot. The new combat creates a more immersive and suspenseful system that requires a bit more effort, without making it too difficult.
While this article is about the history of The Walking Dead series, the visual effects, the setting, and combat, there are two subjects to address quickly. 
 
First, The Final Season displays Clementine's current objective during her adventures, which helps the player understand her mind, even if the objective sometimes changes because of circumstances. And the writers employed their wit, by using sly subtitles to each object Clementine focuses her attention on.

Another big different between Season Three and Four relates to the plot. The story of Three is a mad rush from beginning to end, with strange fits and starts, slow parts that don't make sense, and anger the whole ride long. Season Four follows the standard story procession, and is better for it. It starts slow, teases with a jolt of excitement, before returning to a peaceful location. From the safety of the school, danger starts to threaten from outside again. The tension rises to a peak near the end, and recedes perfectly for a calm conclusion. Unlike A New Frontier, the characters, twelve or so children and a few adults are well developed, and despite them residing at a home for troubled children, none are as psycho, paranoid, or trigger happy as those from Season Three. The Final Season focuses on character over combat, even as it improves the combat system and visual effects. The plot is tight and focused, and doesn't cause the player to wonder why Clem didn't do something else, or how they wandered into this mess.

Next week will be the end of The Walking Dead, until a second completion of the entire series next year. The following review will examine Clementine, Alvin Jr., and the resolution of the video game series and its relation to the conclusion of universe as a whole.

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