THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

The much loved Telltale adventure games centred in The Walking Dead universe have returned with a jaw-dropping third season. This time the action shifts from directly following Clementine's story, although she does turn up as a teenager in this five-episode series, to follow the trials of the Garcia family as a new threat arises.

MY VERDICT:

Sorry it has taken me so long to review this one guys but now the fourth and final season has been confirmed, I thought I better get a move on. Anyone who has been following The Dead Times for some time will know that I absolutely adore the The Walking Dead adventure games and, I'm glad to say Telltale keeps going strong with this third outing. The graphics, for one, have improved substantially over the first two seasons; the crisp comic book feel of the characters and animations remain but everything just looks more solid and weighty, without any of the nasty clipping issues seen previously. You take the role of series - and comic - new-comer, Javier Garcia; one-time baseball star and now post-apocalyptic leader of "complicated" Garcia family. Playing a new character is refreshing, giving you a wider picture of the undead-ravaged world and seeing how a difference of opinion in the opening stages of the apocalypse can have a profound effect on the structure of a relationship later on. I know there is a huge following for Clem in the world of video games - after more than ten episodes of directly impacting her story, it's no surprise - but it's smart that the series takes the brave decision to branch out. Don't worry though, Clem still has a fairly large part to play in Javier's story so she has not been completely side-cast. The only slight downgrading of an otherwise brilliant game is that the choices you make do not seem to be as emotionally weighty as in the previous adventures. The story is quality with meaningful, varied characters but I just never felt as attached to them as I was the characters of the earlier games.