Review: The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved for Help (PC)

As the time between the first episode and the second episode of The Walking Dead dragged on, hopes that the end result would be worth the wait were unreasonably high for this reviewer. And even though the story of Episode 2 plays out predictably, especially if you have any familiarity with the graphic novels or The Donner Party, it's still a good experience and worth the wait.

"Good" being an entirely subjective word here.

Without getting into the specifics of the main story points of the episodes, it's grim. Grim in the way that is the hallmark of The Walking Dead, but the way the story is told, the lines delivered, and the setting so utterly nailed, makes it the kind of macabre scene that the player wants to look away from but can't help but watch how it plays out.

The opening vignette presents an interesting choice when trying to save a high school band teacher from a modified bear trap (i.e. there's no release mechanism).Choosing to free the man, Lee can either chop away at the man's leg or or attempt to sever the chain securing the trap to a nearby tree. Zombies are closing in fast so there's a bit of a time constraint. The way the scene unfolds, ramps up, and resolves in a minute or two sets the tone for the kind of tension and creepiness of the remainder of the episode. It's a far cry from Episode 1's meandering dialogue in a police car, which mirrors the first episode of the television show, but it sure doesn't grab the player the same way hacking off a man's leg does.

Adventure game tropes are accounted for and in this case make logical sense; real world logic, not cartoon logic. Like sabotaging a power generator to draw someone's attention away from what they're doing so Lee has enough time to access an area otherwise inaccessible. There's still much dialogue between characters and more than enough "gray" choices, where the decision isn't always straightforward or easy, and that plays to The Walking Dead's strengths.

Alienware M18x

Hopefully the time between this episode and the third one is relatively short; maybe just long enough for me to emotionally recover until the next terrible thing happens.

- Aaron Simmer

The Good:
- Still terrifies me enough that I had to play the whole thing in one sitting; if I paused, I probably wouldn't come back to it

The Bad:
- Saw the end results a mile away

Score: 9.0 / 10