Disc Version Currently Unplayable!
Hi guys, I hope you can help.
I have just spent a very frustrating few hours trying, unsuccessfully, to get the 360 disc version of this game running properly.
For the record I recently played, completed, and loved Season 1 and 400 days. I ran season 1 from the disc and did not have one single problem with it. I wish I could say the same for season 2.
The very first episode runs so poorly that it is literally unplayable. The audio and video is badly out of sync, it stutters constantly, jerking around intermittently becoming playable for all of about 10 seconds only to suddenly pause, skip a bit, pause again and repeat. Even worse, it fails to accept or sync my controller input with what is happening on screen, leaving me furiously attempting to get it to recognise that I am inputting what the game is prompting me to input, leaving me screaming at the screen "I AM PUSHING LEFT YOU ****!!!" Only to watch Clem die in her very first fight scene for the 24th time in a row. This is vexing.
This has made getting through the first part of the first chapter impossible. As it stands this is a game breaking issue. I considered returning the disc and downloading the digital - but I shouldn't have to. I'm a game collector, I like my discs. I considered swapping it for a PS3 version, but my season 1 saves are for the 360 and I want to keep my prior decisions in play.
I love this series and I want to keep loving it - please help!
Technical details, if they help:
Model is an old XBox 360 from 2009 with a 320Gb HDD with >100Gb free space for the cache.
I have tried running it while both connected and disconnected to XBox live.
I have tried clearing the system cache, restarting the xbox, leaving it unplugged from power for >1min.
I have tried deleting the save file and restarting the game.
Why can't I just install it like any other disc-based game? 
Comments
Thread: Trouble with Disc
Like many others threads posted in support, I've encountered the black screen/game freeze. I just got the game today (a new copy) and I managed to play through the entire first episode. I encountered the black screen trying to load the second episode. After turning off my system for about a half hour, I can now only reach the 'press start' button screen (it takes about minutes of 'connecting' before showing the black screen). On the other threads, I see the advice is to delete & reinstall the game but I have a physical disc, so I can't really do that.
What I have done so far is cleared the system cache about three or four times. I cleaned the disc (with cloth and water) and even tried another game disc to make sure it wasn't my system to no avail. The game's physical version's been out for less than a week so I don't know if this is a resolvable issue, but I would like to know if there's anything else I can do short of exchanging the game.
To add, from the beginning of episode one, there was a lot more lag in the game than I'm used to (during the recap from the previous game, audio was out of sync with character's talking), I don't know if this could be connected to the eventually black screen/game freeze.
[I know there is also another current post about this exact issue, but since this is dealing with a physical copy of the game instead of installed onto the Xbox itself, I made a separate thread]
My apologies, can you please clarify if you are playing the Xbox 360 disc version of the game, or the Xbox One version of the game? Also, can you please clarify if you can hear audio/characters sounds playing in the background of the black screen, or is there no sound?
Hello, I am playing the Xbox 360 version. I would also like to update that I tried the game again today, and managed to get past the loading screen. Starting up episodes still lags and leaves a black screen, but I've found that hitting the dashboard button (as well as button mashing, but I don't know how much that contributed) kept the game from locking up.
As of right now the game can play--I had just finished through episode 4 a few hours ago--but the loading of each new episode ('the previously on' portion) continues to seriously lag, and freeze up unless I hit the dashboard button a few times (hit the button once, here the sound, then wait about half a minute for it to pop up, then exit out of it, which seems to kick the game into motion), and I do this until the game starts up, from which point it runs quite smoothly. If the game runs into this issue again, I'll be sure to post another update on it here.
*To answer your second question. When it was a black screen before, there was no sound (neither music nor audio). When I would hit the dashboard button, I would hear it opening, but it would never appear. If I left the screen for several minutes and then hit the dashboard button, no sound would be made. The loading icon would be present in the upper right hand corner, and it would also cease moving when this was happening.
Edit: To make it clear, I am still asking for help. I shouldn't have to be button mashing through loading to make sure the game won't freeze on me, and I appreciate any suggestions to get it to stop, or at least not be as big of an issue as it is.
I apologize for any difficulties this has caused you. Can you please clarify which model Xbox 360 you are currently using? Also, how large is the hard drive/storage device of the Xbox? Do you have at least 10% of your storage device's space left in order for the game to cache properly?
I have the Xbox 360 S 250 GB model with 195 GB of free space.
I recommend try disconnecting your console from the internet, and start the game, and you should not experience the black screen at the beginning of an episode again.
I have the same problem with the physical copy of the game. I was barely able to play through episode 1. Episode 2 locks up at the black screen and will not progress further. I have the Xbox 360 S 250GB with 210GB free. I have cleared the cache on the device and have the same problem on an account with an active internet connection and on an account with no internet connection.
I apologize for the inconvenience. Some hitching may occur at the beginning of an episode, and during autosaving, and loading sequences between chapters, but any major hitching or lagging is unusual. Can you please clarify if after rewinding to a previous chapter/checkpoint and then playing through again, that you experience the same hitching? Also, can you please clarify if your account with no internet connection is an Xbox Live online enabled account, or an offline Xbox Live account?
I have been experiencing similar issues as well since Season 1. This has greatly ruined my experience with this game. As with the others I have done all the troubleshooting but the issues are still there and I have not attempted to complete either. I came to this site to see was it me or what and with these posts from others I see I am not. 2 games from you guys and I've enjoyed neither.
I am having this problem too. I am running the Xbox 360 disc of Walking Dead season 2, on an original Box 360 with a 60GB HDD with 12 GB free space.
It seems like Telltale had this exact same problem with the season 1 game, and ended up offering every a free download of the game.
Frustrating!!!
ps 3 is no better the game freezes and you can't save
Guess I'll rule that option out then. Thanks for the heads-up.
If they can't patch the issue I suppose I'd be fine with that.
I'm having the same issue. It's very frustrating. I loved season one and was excited for season 2 but it is virtually unplayable.
No response from Support?
Not even after a week of patient waiting?
...
Having serious problems with this atm the game plays like a scratched disc or a buffering youtube video. Just timed the load time for episode two it took 7 mins with a blank screen and the into into the episode literally doesn't work the sounds work but the cinematic is non existant. NOT HAPPY TELLTALE.
Ridiculous. It's a shame the creative team at Telltale, the ones responsible for making excellent storylines, great art etc. are being let down by whichever buffoons are in charge of the technical aspects of making the game actually run. Very disappointing.
Well I'm done waiting. Thankfully the manager at the place where I bought the game is understanding and will still let me get a full refund.
I think I'm done with Telltale games. Which is a shame because I was looking forward to Tales from the Borderlands.
Was.
Mine isn't plugged into the internet and its just as crappy
I sincerely apologize for the delayed response, and for any difficulties this has caused you. Can you please clarify if after experiencing the hitching/lagging during gameplay, that you were able to rewind, and replay that chapter without issue? Or did the hitching/lagging continue after the reload of the previous chapter/checkpoint?
Disk version is just completely hosed...it is a constant rat-a-tat-tat as the head thrashes about trying to read the disks format. Episode 2, you get he little loading progress icon that stops after 20 seconds and just sits while the drive rat-a-tat-tats... tried in 2 different xbox 360's(both older white, one with 20gb hd (10gb free) and the other with 250gb HD) same for both...never seen a disk so noisy when trying to load... was purchased from amazon, going to return it adn get a replacement, but have a feelings, after reading here it may not be much help
Please try Clearing your System's Cache and then start the game, and you should not experience the issue.
been there, done that... received the replacement disk from amazon, same thing...freezes loading episode two... only way to get it to eventually start is to hit the xbox button to bring up a menu then cancel it with b...
you guys have a series bug, dunno why it hasn't been patched...it's obviously wide spread going by a simple Google search
I've just bought a disk version of season 2 and as the others said it's broken and completly inplayable. Telltale you need to do something about this. I have a xbox360 4Gb, i've tried every possible solution found on this forum and nothing. The games from episode 1 keep freezing and you just cannot play. I think we all understand the situation with season 1, but it goes again as we can see. So, I sincerly demand a solution for this issue, a refund or free downloadable episodes. We all need an answer!
Thank you for providing the extra information, I will make sure to pass it along to the team for further investigation.
I also have the disc version, cleared the cache 17 times just to be sure, logged out and tried to start episode 2 chapter 2 and all I get is a frozen blank screen. I have an Xbox 360 model 1439 with 250gb storage and 84.9 available. I had zero issues with season 1 on the same xbox and after getting though issues in episode 1(just the previously on and a few lags in the first chapter) and finally completing it I know cannot start episode 2. When will the patch be made and how can I help with more info so this can get done asap. I am not happy with this purchase and it is making me sour on Telltale as a whole. Please give some actual updates unlike your previous posts and do not recommend the same "solution" that has failed over and over again for everyone here. How about some substance in your response? Give us something please, some kind of hope that telltale actually cares that we are upset, they you actual recognize the inferior product you unleashed. Something....anything or just lose more customers.
Can you please clarify if you have the digital version downloaded on your Xbox as well? If so, this may be causing issues such as the ones you are describing. If not, can you please clarify if you have tried playing both online connected to the internet, and offline, disconnected to the internet? If you start Episode 2 in a blank save slot, are you able to play the episode successfully, or do you experience the same issue?
I do not have the digital version downloaded and I have tried playing episode 2 both ways (online and offline) to no avail. I have not started episode 2 using a blank save slot and I don't see that as a solution either. The point of the game is to have my decisions change the story based on what I have done. This would totally negate that and make it pointless in my mind.
I was finally able to get the game to start episode 2 following what someone said earlier in the thread. When the black screen froze I held down the home button on the xbox 360. When the menu finally came up I canceled out of it and button mashed like crazy and all of a sudden a stuttering version of "previously" began to "play". I have no idea what it said and it froze on one still picture while a broken narration started and stopped multiple times. Once the game itself started the lag was minimal.
From what I see it is your loading screen and "previously" part of the game that is bugged. You guys should look into that asap because it ruins the experience and make the game frustrating and borderline unplayable.
Thank you for providing the extra information on how you were able to resolve the issue. I will make sure to pass it along to the team for further investigation as we are still looking into the root cause of the issue.
We have exactly the same problem with our disc for Xbox 360 which was bought in South Africa. It won't load episode 2 just shows a black screen.
I doubt very much that I'll be able to return the disc.
Same here. Followed everyones advice to no avail. I have the 360 s 250g with 206g available. shouldnt have to clear cache or restart or delete save, should be able to plug and play. Thats why we buy these games, to play them and relax. We do not need added frustration of trying to get the game to work. I never had a single problem with ssn 1 or 400 days so why do I now. Please make it right
Can you please clarify if when you reach the black/blank screen, that you are able to press the Xbox Button, or does the system freeze and you are unable to press the Xbox Button and access your Xbox Dashboard?