I had high hopes for GoT
I'd like to first point out that I haven't played Ep. 5 yet and I don't know if/when I'll ever be able to because for some reason Telltale refuses to fix the black screen bug that has plagued PS3 users for months now.
But yes, I had high hopes for Telltale's Edition of Game of Thrones and initially they did not disappoint. Players both familiar and new to Game of Thrones were thrown into its universe through its multiple protagonists and tense moments, expected of a Telltale game.
The first episodes were spectacular and introduced each character well and established the feeling of Game of Thrones effectively through its usage of well-known figures from the TV Show and also introduced difficult choices that would carry over through the course of the Season and had great potential, so it seemed.
Based on the choices and outcomes I've observed in Episode 5, it hasn't lived up to its potential.
Ever since the revelation by Gwyn Whitehill that there was a traitor in the midst of House Forrestor, the Game of Thrones forum blew up. Multiple threads were created theorizing the traitor, each with greater evidence and speculation than the last. It was the talk of the forums. Then Episode 5 happened.
To have the identity of the traitor revealed based on who we chose as Sentinel just seems so fucking petty and poorly written. You're telling me that Duncan is willing to betray the House just because some never picked him as Sentinel? Based on his loyalty and friendship with Lord Gregor and his knowledge of the North Grove, this just seems so unlikely. I can make the same argument as Royland. He's been in service of House Forrestor ever since Balon Greyjoy's rebellion was squished. That's at least 12 years, seeing as the canon of the game takes place in about Season 4. You're telling me that Royland will betray the House just because he's not the Sentinel? After 12 years of loyal service, NOT AS THE SENTINEL? Ridiculous. Why don't they think these things through?
This isn't the only thing.
While Telltale always says that our choices shape the story, they usually do a better job of pretending they do. Mira's story is the prime example. Are we loyal to Cersei or Margery? Doesn't matter. Agree to Tyrion's proposal or not? Doesn't matter. Talk with Tyrion or stay with Margery? Doesn't matter. Keep Sera's secret? Doesn't matter. Currently, Mira's screwed no matter what you do. (Mira did NOTHING in this Ep. I figured she would have a large role based on the title, but I guess not huh.)
Other things such as Finn's determinant status and how obvious it was that he was going to die, and using Ramsay as the undefinable plot armour guy as he kills Arthur even if you brought him to Highpoint with you, are disappointing as well.
Based on the final choice of Ep. 5, either Rodrik or Asher are dead. This could be interesting. "Could" being the keyword. There's so many little factors that could be huge, the pit fighters Asher gains, the Glenmores, Gwyn Whitehill, the traitor, etc, but my fear is that the writing team behind GoT will decide to whitewash it all and have the same thing happen to Rodrik/Asher. They are both determinant and we know what happens to determinant main characters in the Telltale universe so far. They die. And this being Game of Thrones in the title, I fear this is the direction they will go and no matter what we do, Rodrik/Asher will be dead at the end of Ep. 6.
Let's face it. Many users speculations and theories turned out to be better than the actual product that was released. Barring a miraculous reversal, I don't see it getting any better based on what we've gotten so far.
I'm a pretty big fan of Telltale, but GoT could have been much better than what has been given, which while having some great moments, has felt quite frankly, lazy and careless overall with a huge lack of oversight especially in its major choices.
Comments
Eh, i loved the first season of the walking dead, and the wolf among us IMO is the best telltale game ever. Im a fan of GoT, both the books and tv show. and so was excited to play this one. it was going well. But episode 5 was a major disappointment for me. mostly for the reasons you listed. the biggest reason being that choices turn out to not really matter.
Completely disagree, I love this game it's easily my favourite Telltale series so far, my one issue is that Episode 5 was short but that's a minor issue.
Your problem sounds like you need to be talking to PlayStation's people for help.
Hey that's alright. Whatever you think. And yeah Ep. 5 was pretty short, less than 90 minutes.
There's a whole thread in the Telltale support about this specific issue with the black screen and PS3: GoT. It's been going on for 4 months now with multiple users and Telltale either A) refuses to provide any answers,
can't solve the problem, or C) simply don't care.
Too much things happened that were unexplained. The traitor part was written so badly, and mostly all the choices i made in older episodes did not help or change anything.
Most of all, How does Gryff have those healing powers? pretty sure i damaged his face with a stick in the previous episode.
I have enjoyed the ride so far. But yeah, I do agree that some things could have been done better
Haven't had the same experience. It's currently battling TWAU for my favorite Telltale game.
The traitor reveal was a minor point to me (which is why I wasn't expecting anything from it) and I assumed people who would focus heavily on this would be disappointed. Bullseye.
I actually don't think GoT was given the treatment the franchise deserves with this game. Let's be honest, it's far from being the smoothest experience with all the save freezing, the ugly blur, some audio problems (particularly the first and second episodes where lines were repeated or some character weren't voiced) and the pace could be a little better. However, I don't have a major issue with the way the story was handled so far.
At this point, complaining about the "the story is tailored by the choices you make" is just an exercise in pointlessness. I think pretty much anyone who played a TT game would be aware of that fact. Yes, it's a bad line. Yes, it shouldn't be used again. It's just not worth it repeating it's bad over and over.
Length of the episode isn't so much relevant as to how much happens in it. Also, some characters are bound to have more screen time in an action heavy episode than others, just the way things are. And we all hate plot armor, yes.
I definitely agree with you. Telltale MUST have the funds to create better games, so why don't they?