Pros in Ties That Bind Parts 1 and 2
So I finally got to play the first two episodes (I'm one of those retail waiters, meaning I'm actually somewhat of a fan of the season pass disc), and I really liked what we got! I'm not going to dispute any of the things people have not liked about A New Frontier so far, because I don't want to start any arguments, but I did want to mention a couple of things that I loved. Primarily, I actually really like what they've done with Clementine so far.
Playing as someone just meeting Clem, there's something really mysterious about her. It's a really cool dynamic going on between Javi and Clem, and I love that we get to learn about the time we didn't spend with her through flashbacks or from someone else's perspective. Helps that Javi is a reasonably interesting character (his VA has been doing good work). Otherwise, I also really like the aesthetic and atmosphere of the season so far. Lots of dark blues, it's very moody and unique in my opinion.
The New Frontier themselves are showing a lot of promise. I think Telltale have a few tricks up their sleeves regarding them. The season wouldn't be named after them if they were just going to be the series antagonist, so that's exciting. Apart from that, I honestly think the supporting cast is an improvement on season 2. I'm not a blind fan, but most of my criticisms are technical (which I won't get into). What do you guys think?
Comments
I wish I were as positive as you buddy :-) we don't like being haters here
I said it before I am interested in this story and I love some of ANF but I have my many many many doubts about it
I am among those who enjoyed the first two episodes, but even I have to agree with the game's shortcomings and flaws. But I'm still interested to see where the story is going, especially since I am really enjoying playing as Javier.
Haha maybe I'm too easy to please. I'd like to hear what your doubts are regarding the actual story?
If TT follows their formula, one of the pros is most of the new characters will be dead by the end, hopefully Javier among them and they actually cast someone who can speak Spanish the next time they make a Spanish protagonist. And hopefully written better, because shit he's either a terrible person or a complete moron.
The game is really pretty, though. That's a pro.
Now I know TellTale was trying to make their game look more modern,but I miss my old Season 1 and 2 cartoony art style
Jesus
New graphic engine
It's nice but short
Charecters are interesting but they die quickly, maybe not all are with the same page as me for the the flashbacks but I was really pissed when Kenny died like that...and lastly I was dissapointed when clem shot that guy even tho I didn't let her shoot anyone in seasons 1 and 2
Jokes aside, I miss old TT style like @Violent_Vengeance. Back in S1&S2 you could feel the work they put into the animations, models and art style in general. Cartoonish and simplified yet complex way of telling the story got my interest when I first came across this title. I've always considered it original and very fitting to a point-and-click game, and I don't find S3's style as good as the initial one.
S3 feels too smooth and shiny, something that by all means wants to resemble a movie. I thought I bought a game, not a movie ticket.
Fair points. I was disappointed that Mariana died so soon. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was really effective, but I felt like she had more to offer the series than Kate or Gabe. I thought Clem accidentally shot the guy? I'm not sure how. The bullets started to work? Fair point about her though, because I've noticed a lot of people are unhappy with the retcon of season 1 and 2 choices. My Clem kinda played out according to how she is in season 3, so personally I haven't been let down by that.
That it only took two hours or so to get through them? #shrug
Amen.
Clementine being in the game is the only pro for me at this point
Pro
Still not as absolute dogshit as No Going Back was. Despite everything, it does hold that title.
I was talking with someone in another thread about this, and I agree completely, you can't say that the main characters don't look great, but in season 1 and 2 everything was unapologetically animated in a way that didn't shy away from looking like a comic in action. I loved that about them.
I love it personally. Characters are great, story is great, everything's great. I do wish it was longer though, that's my minor criticism.
The only praise I can give to this game is to voice acting, which is still great, but the writing....
Guess you probably picked the Alone ending in Season 2 since the Alone ending is the one that fits the storyline the most and the One that fits A New frontier Clementine the best since she s a Loner in this game
i like Javier as a character and as a playable character but he s not even close in my opinion to the other Playable characters Telltale has made: ((In my opinion he s a little behind Lee, Bigby, Rhys , Asher and Rodrik))
I honestly think the only con is the Clementine flashbacks. I really feel like it would have been loads better if we hadn't had those at all, and just learned about what happened to Clem through her words. Other than that, the pros are everything else.
New graphics engine is very subjective personally, while I dont dislike the new style, I much preferred the old cartoon style
But youre right that the only interesting people so far have been Clem Mariana and Jesus
Um...Clementine's not the protagonist, I guess. And even that's not really a pro, thinking about it, considering Javier's not much of an actual improvement... Suppose I don't mind Kate's character and I thought the opening scenes were okay...and the graphic look alright, mostly...
Yeah, good things about this game are few and far between, to say the least.
While its surely interesting to see Clem from a thirdperson perspective, I dont one bit like that its basically up to Telltale to write what they think my choices in season 2 means for Clem, for example, while I was generally not very trusting unless I severely needed help in season 2, my alone ending does not mean that Clem didnt like company, while I do think Clem is better off on her own, she shouldnt be so phobic of meeting people, since thats not what I meant with the choices I made, it was just that Kenny was and unstable mess, and after what Jane pulled I couldnt trust her anymore, I think that writing a character, and in turn the consequences for that characters actions should not be happening in a game thats all about choice, where the person they are writing (Clem) basically IS the player, since the player is the one that has been molding her personality since season 1, and while I think that telltales rendition of Clem thus far is pretty close to what I imagined her being, I dont like that its basically up to Telltale how she turns out this season, even though we have, to a larger degree, been chosing her personality since season 1
I also dont like Javier, I find him bland, and I cant really relate to him at all, he has way too much backstory for one, Lee was easy to relate to, because he had a clean slate, so there was no preconceptions, Clem was easy to relate to in season 2, because I knew her background and what had happened to her. Javier, has a family (who is terrible, except for Mariana) which means that he already has things and stuff, for example, even though you can reject smoking weed in the car, it is very much implied that Javier smokes weed. And by being unable to relate to the main character, I find it really hard to relate to his family, (Gabe is a whiny teenager, who acts like its family dinner and not the zombie apocalypse, Kates only real character trait so far is, "want to fuck Javier" and "smokes weed), and most of the other characters that arent Clementine also seems really boring to me so far, except Jesus, I kinda like him (non-comic reader, all my impressions are from the game).
The amount of action sequences in this game so far also means that I have yet to be drawn into the world in the same way I was with season 1 and 2, Season 1 and 2 felt like new beginnings, Lee getting off his penalty, Clem losing Christa, and season 1 and 2 were also way slower paced, there could be long whiles between action, which is what made the world feel real and special, and immersed me, TWD seems like a very slow world to live in so to speak, since the walkers move very slowly, so there is long times with downtime, (they stayed at the motor inn for months), but in A New Frontier, we have already been in many walker-herds, many gunfights, and already had one civilization (Prescott) which we can assume has stood for a long time, fall, it just feels alot more like a mediocre action movie, than it feels like the world I fell in love with in the 2 first games, my favorite part of these games is when stuff is happening, but nothing is happening, if that even makes sense? like when you reach the cabin in season 2, there isnt really any action, but it was exciting because you had to try and convince people that you werent bit, and then you had to go in and steal from them to fix your arm, then after that, you get attacked by a walker, and that attack is tense, its exciting, because you have had so much quiet time, then next day you are in the house, talking to people. Then you leave the house with Pete and Nick, to help out, again, not really very action filled, but still very exciting because you get to know the characters. A New Frontier hasnt really had that feel for me so far, that feeling of relaxation between action, that moment of feeling that the world moves around you, rather than moves with you because the action is all centered around you like it is in A New Frontier.
I dunno, while I do kinda like A New Frontier, I feel like its missing alot of what made the first 2 seasons so great to me
Yeah I did. So I can sympathize with those who didn't.
Do you think the season would have been better for you had Clem been the playable main character, if the narrative stayed the same? So you would at least have some control over how she behaved around others.
I think it could have been cool playing as Clem during/before and after her inauguration in the New Frontier, but I dunno, at this point I think I just hope theyll make another season after this that focuses on Clem as protagonist
It takes alot for me to dislike a Walking Dead Telltale episode, i never actually have.
Other than that, I really enjoy the game
While i prefer season two or one over ANF, I don't see why it gets as much hate as it does.
Clementine not being the playable character is the ONLY thing that bothers me though, I've been taking care of this kid for the past two seasons and all of a sudden she's just thrown to the side
I enjoyed it. I mean, it was shit, but I was having a fun time playing that shit, like reading YA novels!
Javier is okay, different from what I expected
I guess ANY flashbacks at all are a good thing, I mean I remember a lot of people thinking they wouldn't even be present in the first place
I would have said having another child character, but oh wait she died. FFS a child that lived this long in the zombie apocalypse but wasn't totally emotionally damaged?
Great is a very overrused word. You know the definition?
of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average.
This game was nothing if not average
It saddens me that telltale has stretched the meaning of "point and click" so far that whatever they're making now is still considered one. Their games really aren't point and clicks, it would be insulting to call them so. They're just glorified choose your own adventure books in which you sometimes get to click and look around.
I think I would think more favourably of the first two episodes if Clementine wasn't a part of them.
She was a huge part of the first two seasons and coming into the third after playing the first two, Clementine is reduced to a side character who is there to act as a foil to Javier and not as an equal in the story.
That's annoying to me and while Telltale have said that Clem will have a larger role in future episodes, I'll be honest and say I just don't believe them.
I am aware of the definition and my opinion still stands.
Man I would have loved for Mariana to have survived. I really liked her character
I love the way people are hating on this game when it hasn' t even been finished yet -_-
If the first two episodes were bad, the whole game would be bad
Fixed. Just because the game started on a bad foot doesn't mean it can't recover. It might not but there is still a chance.
I'm actually the minority who liked episode 1 and 2