The Walking
Dead. This has been a part of my life since 2010 when an ex-colleague of mine
(a guy who is pretty intense in his views on the impending Zombie Apocalypse)
introduced me to the graphic comic series – The Walking Dead along with a book
that ranks as my favourite: World War Z.
Now as a
slight side note, be glad that this is not a movie blog, because by-gum I’d be
ranting about the abomination that Brad Pitt is throwing at us in his film adaptation
of the book…basically for those who haven’t indulged – the film will be fuck
all like the book. The book is clever, socially and politically – it’s genius.
Anyway this
isn’t about WWZ, this is about TWD.
To clarify
though, when I write “TWD” I mean the TellTale Games version, where you play as
Lee Everett and when I write “TWDSI” I mean the new game where you play as
Daryl Dixon before the TV show’s timeline started.
Now I’ve
played TWD, when it was released in episodes and recently again. And I’ve also
played TWDSI, a short while ago. And this comparison is going to look at a few
key aspects on which is better, which is worse and why.
Firstly
let’s get this basic one out of the way nice an early.
Graphics
Now TWD
uses cel shading, whereas TWDSI uses a traditional graphics. Both are
advantageous in their own ways if I’m honest, but this is mainly based on their
backgrounds. TWD is based off the comics – so it has nothing to do with what
you watch on the TV. TWDSI is based on the TV show, so things from the comics
are just a background source of loose information.
The
graphics in TWD fit perfectly with the graphics in the comics, from the cameo
of Glenn and Herschel to the way the Zombies move. I was never really a fan of
cel shading, I always thought it made games look too cartoony – but in this
case it works so well.
TWDSI has
pretty decent graphics, nothing ground breaking, but nothing horrendous either.
It’s pretty middle of the road but you can recognise that Daryl is Daryl and
Merle is Merle. It’s about the right standard of graphic that you’d expect from
a game based off a TV show – if not a bit better than that.
Overall
however TWD wins out because you could almost seamlessly read the comics, and
then switch over to the game without it looking like a different universe –
apart from their being colour, but in games like this you need colour. TWDSI
has an OK stab at it, but it comes a bit short of what you’d expect from an FPS
in 2013. And there is something off about it which I can only explain as it
being very, very, very samey. Very bland and very yesterday (non-shattering
glass when shot is 1 big no-no for FPS games these days at least). In the end,
it’s pretty easy…
TWD Wins.
Controls
This is one
that I hold closer to my gaming heart than graphics. If the controls are right,
the graphics don’t need to be, and the controls can make or break a game.
TWDSI
unfortunately falls flat on it’s face on this one. The controls felt clunky
when I first picked them up, they felt a bit like I needed an extra finger on
each hand to get from A-B. However, I’ve thought that about other games before
and gotten used to it – I felt that way about Gears of War at first but then it
clicked.
That clunky
feel to the controls should get better as you progress through TWDSI, but it
doesn’t, if anything in a paradox of itself, the more you play, the clunkier
and rougher the controls seem to get. If the controls had been right for TWDSI,
then the slightly off graphics could be forgiven and we could have been looking
at a game that would be a bit more worth talking about. But it isn’t.
TWD…also
has quite clunky controls. The difference is, is that it isn’t a FPS which is
more action based and so much more judged on it’s controls. TWD is more of an
old school adventure game like Monkey
Island, but 21st
Century-ised.
The clunky
feel of the controls in TWD are a bit of a pain, and do get on my tits from
time to time (especially when you die as a result of the clunkiness) but
because you’re not reliant on them, it doesn’t matter as much. All it needs is
to be a smidge bit smoother and it’s there. The controls to TWDSI are in a
word…appalling.
In all the
controls to both games could be better, but because you’re more reliant on them
in TWDSI and you don’t notice it as much in TWD…
TWD Wins.
Player Character
Daryl Dixon
vs Lee Everett.
Firstly,
I’m going to have to ignore the comics and the TV Show in order to make things
fair. Since Lee only exists in the game, but Daryl is based off a character in
the TV Show, I can’t let my opinion of him on the tele influence my opinion on
the VG version on him…but it’s something that’s gonna happen anyway. Whether
you like it or not, comparisons are always drawn. Right, Daryl in the TV Show
is awesome, he’s easily mine and a lot of other peoples favourite characters
and has really taken the zombie apocalypse by storm. Which is why seeing him
like this in TWDSI…is such a fucking downer.
I would
seriously not consider the 2 to be the same character. Daryl is simply a top
guy, and is without a doubt one of the most well rounded characters in TV Show.
Daryl in the game is as 1 dimensional a main character in a video game as you
can get. He’s just awful, he’s soggy, he’s…he’s emotionless, or if he isn’t
then Norman Reedus is too busy knocking one out to be bothered putting emotion
into his performance because it’s taking up his time being an awesome guy in
RL…
Lee on the
other hand, is well rounded, well crafted and well received. If he was in the
TV Show, he would be Rick’s 2IC not Daryl, he shows emotion, he’s generally an
all round dude.
In
honesty…it’s rather simple…
TWD Wins.
Based on…
TWD is
based on the comics.
TWDSI is
based on the TV show.
Therefore…
TWD Wins.
The Game’s Story
This is
going to make things seem rather one sided here…but I will be strictly honest.
TWD’s story
is a very organic experience, it’s about survival, internal conflict, dangers
apart from zombies, friendship and survival. It’s about the protection of a
little girl who you become responsible for, it’s about keeping her safe.
TWDSI
story, is about some guys driving along the road, stopping for petrol, and
sneaking around zombies…if there is more to it, I was too busy beating my head
against a wall to notice it. TWDSI’s story is not a story worth mentioning in
any way. I’m all about the storyline, I even like the single player storylines
in the more recent CoD games. But TWDSI…naughty. Very naughty.
I don’t
want to provide you with any spoilers, but when a game has the capacity to make
you cry because that’s what it intended…then you know it’s a bit good. That’s
what you get with TWD. Therefore…
TWD Wins.
Overall
It was
never really a contest was it now? The TWD is consistent, compelling and an all
round amazing experience.
TWDSI…isn’t.
It’s a game of old, a poor game if it had been released 10-15 years ago.
Bullet-proof windows, invisible “end of map” lines, there’s only like half a
dozen skins for the zombies and the piss poor “group-hug” effect of being
caught by a zombie.
Let me
explain. If you were in a zombie apocalypse, and you were cornered by a group
of zombies, they’d do what they do in the movies and what you’d expect them to
do – rip you limb from limb without any hesitation.
In TWDSI,
they are so fucking polite to each other it’s unreal.
The scene: You’re
cornered by 5 zombies, ahh shit.
Possible
Solution: You try to melee them away to no avail…double shit.
Outcome: One grabs you!!!! NO THIS MUST BE THE END OF IT ALL!!!! You struggle,
he lunges and you move your cursor over his head and WHAM! You drive your blade
into his skull. Then zombie number 2 steps into his place to try and eat you
while the other’s patiently warble around you waiting for you to either kill
the next zombie in the queue or die, only then will they dive in for some nosh.
It’s piss
poor. I’m sorry, but it’s one of the worst games I’ve ever played. So in the
end, the ultimate battle between The Walking Dead’s 2 games (so far) is that
TellTale Games hit the nail on the head, and Terminal Reality should maybe
concentrate on building sheds or something.
In this
battle, there really was only 1 winner…
The Walking
Dead Episodes 1-5 Win by such a clear majority, it would be easy to think that
I compared a computer game to a paperclip.
Toolbox 24
NOTE: Mum…I must
apologise, you bought me TWDSI for my birthday, and from the outset I thought
it looked a decent enough game. I wasn’t to know, you weren’t to know and you
know how much I love The Walking Dead and how much I love games, so it would
seem a logical combination that the game would fit me nicely. Alas, it wasn’t
to be. However you must know that the boys are enjoying playing it, and
enjoying being Daryl!
