The Walking Dead: Michonne
PlayStation3
I would not say I am an obsessive fan of The Walking Dead, but I am a pretty big fan. I've seen the show in its entirety twice. I've read the comic book series twice. I've played through the other Telltale versions of the game a couple times. So it was only natural when this game came out that I was going to play it sooner or later.
I'm a pretty big cheapskate, so I was in no rush to get this game right away. I figured I would wait until all the episodes came out, and then there would be a package deal for 5 bucks or so. Which is exactly what happened.
I have already reviewed the other Walking Dead titles from Telltale Games, so I am not going to beat a dead horse talking about its gameplay. It plays exactly the same as the other titles. It is mainly conversation based. Every once in a while there is an action scene where you've got to hit the appropriate button in time. Occasionally you can move around a little, but that's about it.
The game looks the same as its predecessors, it sounds the same. From what I could tell, the only difference between this game and past Walking Dead titles is that it seems like there is a lot less exploration here. Past Walking Dead games have been limited as far as walking around and checking stuff out, but in this game there is barely any of it at all. Don't expect to find yourself controlling Michonne much. Walking around, talking to people. Picking up items. Checking out the scenery. This game is much more conversation and quick time event based. There isn't much middle ground.
As far as the story of the game goes, the events of this title take place in the Walking Dead comic book universe. Anyone who has read the comics knows that there is a point shortly after the "All Out War" story arc where Michonne vanishes from the group for a while. This game explains where she was and what happened to her during her disappearance.
Haunted by visions of her dead children, Michonne heads out to sea with a group of scavengers looking for anything that can help the community back at Alexandria. While out at sea, she gets mixed up with a group of a "modern day pirates". They are looking to control everything at sea and keep all of the spoils they find to themselves. Michonne befriends a small family looking to escape from these bad guys, and a cat and mouse battle between the two sides begins.
The choices you make affect how the game turns out. I only played through the game once, so I don't really know if all of the choices make major impacts or not. I have a feeling the same basic thing happens, but with a few small variations. I will have to play it again at some point in the future and make different choices and see how differently things turn out.
Where past TWD games have shined, this one falters a bit. I didn't feel much of an emotional connection with the characters. Obviously Michonne was going to survive. The bad guys were probably going to die. The family Michonne befriends: could go either way. I won't spoil too much, but this is one area (who lives and dies) where the choices you make probably affect things. But again - I have only played it once so I don't really know.
But there isn't enough time to develop too much of a major bond with that family. Certainly nothing along the lines of the Clementine and Lee relationship. I shed no tears over anything that happened with them. However, one area where the game does connect with you on an emotional level is whenever Michonne starts seeing visions of her dead kids. You get the feeling that not only is Michonne battling the evil pirate bad guys, but her own past as well. But again, nothing this game threw at me that even came remotely close to making me cry.
And that is part of the reason I didn't enjoy this game as much as past TWD titles. That emotional connection for the most part wasn't there for me. It is too action based. And the game is really short too. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but it seemed like I cruised through all three episodes in record time. Yes this is only three episodes and not five like the other titles, but I seem to remember those episodes taking longer than an hour or forty five minutes to beat. This game just flew by.
The Walking Dead: Michonne is really fun, and I would recommend it to anyone even slightly interested in the Walking Dead universe. It was definitely worth the measly five dollars I paid for it. Just don't expect it to be an emotional, life changing experience like the other games. It's good, but there is not a whole lot here to stop and make you think.
Overall:
B
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