The Walking Dead, Episode 1: A New Day

(Telltale Games for Xbox 360)
By Mike Delano

Most zombie games are action-based, naturally, since not only is shooting/bludgeoning/marauding through hordes of the undead great fun, but action gameplay is the most likely to stay fresh throughout the 10 hours or so of a standard game. Freed from the constraints of a standard game, though, developers can try different approaches, and Telltale Games makes the most of this opportunity in its episodic imagining of the hit comic book. The first of five episodes, A New Day is just a few hours long, so the old school point-and-click adventure game approach doesn’t become tedious. This approach lets the story take center stage, and it works beautifully since there’s a fantastic one to be told here. The story of convicted felon Lee Everett and how he starts a new life while confronting the ghosts of his past hits some surprisingly emotional notes just in this first episode, so it will be exciting to see where he ends up at the end of his arc. The voice acting for Lee and everyone he meets on his journey is top-notch, and the calm, adult tone of the overall presentation sits in such contrast to the myriad boneheaded game narratives out there today that The Walking Dead is a must-play for any gamer looking for an intelligent, intense break from the norm.
(www.telltalegames.com)