Season 3:ANF Review(before Episode.5)
Success, is the best high you can feel. When the labors of your hard work pay off, truly there is no drug that feels quite like it.
That feeling is intoxicating, but sometimes after you obtain success on the scale TTGs did with S1...you lose the drive to push for perfection. You still work hard, but you still have that feeling of success...and that feeling can be a trap.
A trap that lets you cut corners...just a little, after all you have plenty of talent. You decide to release 2 games TWAU and S2 ....TWAU turned out really well....but something...something was amiss with S2.
S2 was and still is an amazing experience...though also a very flawed one. The inability of the writers to make newer characters as compelling as those in s1. So much so they bring in Kenny to bolster the season.
We all love Kenny, even though my user handle suggests otherwise...I was happy when he appeared...but then it became apparent he was not here to be a character...but to be THE focus, to the detriment of the cabin group.
S2 was still great...but there was a feeling that it was not as good. Corners were cut and the writers did not take the time build new characters.
Michonne...IMO...it was a step in the right direction...the writing was grittier and the violence was more intense. In many ways this was a truer interpretation of TWD than S1 and S2. But at only 3 episodes of shortish length...there was so much more that could have been done...should have been done.
TWD:ANF 2 years of development....but released with a newish Frankenstein engine...an engine that is still having issues.
After 2 years and up to 5 games being in some stage of development during that time...ANF plays like a game that is in alpha...the characters like Javier and Kate have the beginnings of being interesting and unique...but they are never given the time to develop...too much is left to the player to try and develop themselves.
Ties that Bind parts 1 and 2...each episode needed 30 more minutes each to build all the new characters. Rarely does the player get the down time to get to know them.
No campfire scenes for characters to talk.
The story is a mess and makes no sense...we are told NF took over Richmond...yet it looks like they have been there for a long time....it is this lack of consistency that hurts the season.
The entire story looks like it needed more time with an editor and some rewrites. This is pretty galling when you compare it to the writing of the Batman game. A game I dearly love.
While Batman could have explained more about how Lady Arkham got her equipment and training...it is easy to imagine that her plan was The League of Shadows plan....it even makes sense. In ANF...the idea that David never missed a good number of his people being used to sack other towns is a bit farfetched.
There is a lot to like about ANF...but character motives...backstroke and plot are not any of those things.
Clementine is perhaps one of the most loved characters in TWD universe...I still remember watching the live stream of the VGA and how the chat was filled with CLEMENTINE!!!! When she appeared. The way they have handled her...it is a pathetic slap in the fan's faces.
TellTalegames...you have a series that is your flagship...and you basically what out this season. The writing is improving, but it is only going to elevate this season to merely ok.
Cutting corners....the fucking lies you told us...you are hurting yourselves.
You need to take your time and actually work on a fucking script that would not embarrass a fucking 6th grader.
That engine...let it go....invest in New tools...license a competent engine....go back to 1 or 2 games at a time. Hire a new public relations person...and treat your paying customers better than being liars.