Mike Salbato
E3 2012 First Look: The Walking Dead Ep. 2
Feast your eyes on new screens, too.
06.06.12 - 6:03 PM

Yesterday, we sat down (on comfy couches!) with Telltale Games to get a first look at the second chapter in their episodic The Walking Dead series, and what we saw impressed us. Needless to say, this article might be spoilery, so read at your own risk.

Set three months after the events of the first entry, Episode 2 is subtitled "Starved For Help," as the group has nearly depleted their food supply. Tensions are running high anyway, but a lack of food doesn't help with anyone's calm.

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Player choice plays a huge role in how the story develops. This isn't limited to 'big' choices, but even smaller ones like which characters you choose to feed with the day's rations. The game tracks every action you take, and all of your interactions with other members of the group. Not only will helping certain people improve your relationship with them, but other people will take notice too - sometimes to your benefit, other times not so much. Our demo character chose to ration food to Kenny and the kids, but then got accused of playing favorites. Telltale says the choice isn't good or bad in most situations, it's all gray area decisions.

What really highlighted the decision system's versatility to us was a sequence in the forest. As we stumbled across a man stuck in a bear trap, we were presented with several methods to free him. With walkers closing in and time limited, our Telltale rep failed to release him in time. Needing to stay alive, the group flees, leaving the man and his partially-severed leg to the walkers, a scenario nobody in the room had seen played out before. Normally the man would accompany you back, but instead, one of his cohorts did.

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The fact that different people will live or die, and bring various personalities and skill sets into the fray has us quite fascinated. One can only imagine how drastically different the group dynamic can change by the end of the series. The potential variety should mean multiple playthroughs could vary significantly.

The Walking Dead: Episode 2 is scheduled to release on its various platforms later this month. Be sure to check out more screen shots and artwork in our updated gallery below.


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