Review: The Walking Dead: Episode 2 - Starved For Help

Remember how I really, really liked the first part of The Walking Dead video game? Well, the second episode in the five-part series, Starved for Help, improves upon the first part of the game in almost every way.

Technical issues that were - and still are - present in the first part of the game seem to have disappeared. During episode one, cutscenes frequently caused the game to stutter, despite the fact that actual gameplay segments should have been more taxing on my PC. Some of the graphics are still a little shoddy, but it's hard to improve upon when the game uses a relatively simplistic, comic book-like art style.

Like the first part of the game, episode two doesn't rely heavily on the zombies and action to create tension. If you're looking for something along the lines of Left 4 Dead, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Instead, the game focuses on the lives of those left behind after the zombie apocalypse. The zombies exist to create this world where handfuls of people struggle to survive, and have to make big moral decisions at the drop of a hat. The world makes heroes and monsters out of people, and that's clearer than ever in Starved For Help.




Near the beginning of the episode, Lee has four pieces of food to give out as rations, and several more mouths to feed. The first couple of decisions were easy, but the rest were much harder than anticipated. I walked Lee around, talking to different characters, and trying to get a feel for who was going to hold it against me if I didn't feed them that day. Lee didn't get to eat. That one scene sums up The Walking Dead series so far pretty succinctly - you have to make tough decisions, and wear the fallout. In the first part of the game, the decisions were about who lives and who dies, but in the second part, they're much more complex.

In episode two, Lee and his crew meet different groups of other survivors, just like in episode one. The difference now is that three months have passed since the end of episode one, and as time goes by, only the toughest of the tough get by. As such, it's more difficult than ever to figure out who to trust. Throughout almost the whole episode I wavered, unsure of who the good guys were, or whether there were even any good guys left at all, and it gave me a real sense of the dilemma that my character was facing.

This dilemma takes the story to a whole new level of intensity. There are plenty of moments that will shock you (I counted the number of times I gasped our loud or laughed in surprise - it was four) and those who are familiar with the show or the comics will recall feeling similarly at various times. It may not follow the same selection of characters as the comics and TV show, but it sure manages to capture the feel.

The Walking Dead: The Game is already a slam dunk for Telltale Games - the first episode has sold over one million copies worldwide. If the develoepr keeps up the momentum and intensity of episode two, we'll be glued to our screens when the final episode is launched in a few months' time.