Did "Above the law" make it or break it for you? aka 10+1 major feedback points from the community
Before the episode I wrote up 10+1 points that would make ANF or break it for me. Most(all) of the points were taking by me collecting feedback from the community on the boards. Here they are and my reflection on them:
- More Clementine playtime Not met at all
- More puzzles/hubs Not met
- More/longer flashbacks Not met
- Better character development Some things were fixed
- Longer episodes Met
- Improvement to the story Met
- Clear dialogue options Met somewhat (There were no "glass him" level of choices, but some were misleading)
- Choices matter during E3 Not met (If you show clear evidence to ANF leaders, it doesn't change anything)...maybe in E4 we will see something
- Choices matter from previous seasons (Clementine being different depending on your choices for example) Not met
reasonable development of the story Met (there were things that were ruining the experience, but it's an improvement over 1st episode)
???UNFIXABLE???S2 endings flashbacks Not met
By being generous it's 5/11
My conclusion: I will play this game till the end, but I won't waste my time writing feedback. I expected more, considering how long it took them to make this episode. With the way ANF started out and how TTG manages their PR relations I won't buy any sequels of TTG games and I won't buy any TTG games in 2017 until all episodes come out and I make sure they're good. I don't want to support a company that can't handle PR realtions and continuation of their own games properly.
Did "Above the law" make it or break it for you? Which conclusions you took after playing it?
Comments
The intro is a flashback and was a great 10 minutes. Just saying...
I honestly hate new frontier but I have to address most of these
This isnt going to happen, javi is the playable character. Is it lame that they promote clem constantly in promos. Yes. Did they pretty much lie when they said they were both playable. Yes. But thats the game at this point we play as javi in present time not clementine, we are not going to play her present time or if we do the story will be changed a lot to accomodate it.
Fair enough. Though this episode didnt really need any, maybe one in the basement/jail thing....
I dont see much point in having flashbacks, I dont really like the ones they are doing now.
Fair enough
Well they mattered at least what they ever do in telltale games and better than they often do
The abomination flashbacks and new frontier episode 1 mean this isnt possible anymore. They ignored the previous two games, that sucks however the game doesnt even recall much of what happened. It recalls a few basic moments that the player inputted.
I wonder - Where are all the people who complained about Clementine being the protagonist of S2, how it was "terrible to play as a child" and whatnot. Where'd they all go?
Nope didn't do it for me again. If i was to be generous it was better than the last 2 episodes but only in terms of story.
The episode was once again 90% watching cutscenes and choosing dialogue. We literally had one scene of gameplay! One fucking scene! And by gameplay i don't mean the Q&E's, i mean being able to move Javier around when searching for the car jack, fuck all hubs, choices have felt like nothing again so far and once more we get very little of Clem. Also i still don't care about any of the characters like i did with Season 1.
Disappointing again and I knew it would be but i expect this from
Telltale now. It upsets me that they'll never make such a good game as season 1 again
Its not the same people
Oh yeah. Great music. Someone link me to that song.
Eh
Well they did better the Determinant character handling with Conrad who Is Double determinant and actually did something instead of Sleeping off the entire episode Like nick.
For example: Conrad Kills Badger
This episode gave me hope in Telltale again. I wish Kenny and Jane had better fates but if the story is going to be as good as this episode's I can sort of get over it. I liked playing as Javier, the dynamic with David intrigued me. Character development was great, I would say it deserves to be looked at in the same regard as The Walking Dead Season 1. The episode felt like it was a good enough length so that wasn't an issue for me. Clementine felt natural now, I wasn't constantly hoping to be put in her shoes like the first two episodes. This was good, on a scale of 0-11 I give it a 9.
Agree with what you said, though I have slight hope that they can make some good games in the future. I mean TFTB was good imo, but my expectations on sequels are very low now.
I would rather have them making short but with high impact choices story games.
As expected, almost none of the issues were addressed in Episode 3. It took them 4 bloody months to release this episode and it's still a bad episode (but better than Ep1 and 2 - but that doesn't say much since Episode 1 and 2 were so bad that anything could top it) and short as fuck. Literally the only thing they listened to was that there's at least some more character development this episode but there were still no hubs. A determinant character wasn't killed at the start of the Episode and was handled pretty damn well - but that's it. That's all they improved on. Episode 3 was horseshit and it does not save the season from the abysmal state it's in. This season shouldn't even exist. It's not the official S3. The length is also so fucking short for a 4 month wait.
I think all it proved for me was that no matter how bad it is, no matter how little of our feedback they dismiss as "Minority". I'm on this train until the end.
sigh
Honestly, I'd rather have cutscenes and dialogue options than hubs.
They found new things to complain about, some are probably still around.
I was quite satisfied with the episode and it was a fantastic upgrade from the abymssl previous episodes. I didn't mind the hubs being absent since the story and characters made up for it overall. I liked how they made New frontier have complexity and depth to it rather than having David as a typical evil leader like Carver was. I liked how they introduced new and interesting characters that didn't end up being a cluster fuck that ultimately died in meaningless ways. The only minor complaint I have for the episode is I would have liked to have clementine have more playability in the episode.
I really miss the puzzls like season one fineding the battery puzzle the barn door pazzle the train puzzle the station train puzzle the doug house puzzle crowford puzzles clementine puzzle(katja said this girl is a puzzle) hell all season one game was a puzzle and very good puzzles .i want even monent when i be even more conected like in season one ep 4 cheacking the house by looking in the rooms or giving the food to the group member in ep 2 that make U more conected with the story U feel like U part of it ahhhh i keep dreaming about the old days
Yeah, Ive always played Telltale games for Dialogue and story, because thats their niche, if I wanted to play something with gameplay I would play something else, puzzles and hubs are always a plus, but its not why I play these games
It was quite predictable and cheesy, especially with love topic and "cool" stunts happening here and there. I can't recall any moment of the episode which was memorable and worth remembering. The ending was just plain idiotic and realism has left for good. How Javi and the rest happen to cross Clementine once again, how on earth they were able to navigate their way through unknown woods at night, how did the thing from the wrecked car managed to work just fine when needed, why NF thugs stare at the broken window for five minutes to let Javi sneak past them, why Richmond's streets were empty as soon as Gabe and Kate walk off the hospital with Javi, etc. It's clear, TT's game is just a movie and movie logic is what's we got. What happened to hubs, open scenery?
I sure seem like I'm complaining all the time, but Ep3 was just average.
What I liked was David's character, I thought he would be another soap-opera-drama villain, but I liked his reactions and some of his dialogue. I like that other people can do Javi's homework, not killing Badger doesn't end with Javi dying or when you don't press the right button while fighting off the zombies someone else will save you. Also Max being determinant, it's good TT gives us different options. How will that play out... we're gonna see, arent we.
@freelancepolicefan11 Indeed,something to keep in mind too is the fact we are all judgeing an unfinished game at this point. I run into the same type of opinions everywhere TTG can be discussed. Good/Useful Criticizing requires pointing out the good parts as well as the terrible. AKA: I agree
For me episode 3 didnt do anything for the plot. It was better than 1 and 2 because there was no stupid things just because "plot" but this time the plot just didnt move.
So basically I just feel kinda the same about season 3 as I was before.
usually episode 3 is where the story at its highest and most complex, I don't expect much from this season. yes I liked this episode more than the 1st ones but it came too late, story is botched but they made it decent in ep3. it saddens me to say but I cant praise something that did not touch my heart in term of story/characters etc.. the visuals were much better and overall performance, but the core ( story, characters) are lacking comparing its predecessors.. there were some great moments in this episode but were scarce for me.
I give credits were credits due, this was by far the best episode in ANF. and I hope the rest of the season add up to it. just accept the season for what it is
hubs are important because they give you more freedom in learning more of, or from other characters etc.. they are not just search for a/b/c and then meet me at X. for me its about building relationships with people you like and be more interactive and personal, you can always have the option to ignore those who you despise. a freedom in choosing who you like and don't like, a cutscene is good but it wont give me the same experience. its being forced upon you to react, which most times result in me not caring at all about what the character say and be silent or choose the meanest option. its a forced interaction, hubs are more personal plus it lets you absorb the world around you, a cutscene is more linear and tend to be more fast paced, the 1st two episodes were a result of that. it felt like I'm rushing through the story rather than enjoying being in it.
Tales had great humour and I enjoyed the storyline and characters but sadly it didn't have as much to offer as TWD Season 1. I know i keep referring to that but it truly was their best game in my opinion. I know that Telltale are capable of doing so much more with their games but it's like these days they rush episodes and would rather focus on cutscenes and dialogue more than anything else. As i said above, as a paying customer, i expect to have more gameplay, exploration of areas and hubs, character interaction/developmen (something that will make me care about them like i did for S1 characters). We get none of that anymore. Telltale fixed something that was never broke to begin with
Personally I really enjoyed episode 3. I loved everything they did with Conrad, and he's already one of my favourite new characters. I also really liked what they did with David - instead of making him the sort of bad guy that the trailer paints him as he's interesting and I like the relationship he has with Javier. Also a definite improvement with the flashbacks, dialogue, etc.
I cant say i dislike it, but the game still doesn't leave me the mark of a truly amazing telltale game or a mark at all, is in the realms of "good" and that's it, there are several flaws about the game and i doubt they will adress the problems in the last two episodes.
The disappointment in me after the flashbacks of episode 1 still haven't left me and in general i admit that ever since 2012 of the 9 games telltale has released by now (The Walking Dead: Season 1, The Walking Dead: Season 2, The Walking Dead: Michone, The Walking Dead: A new frontier, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, Telltale's Game of Thrones, Minecraft: Story Mode, Batman: The Telltale Series) only three of them are truly amazing (TWD S1, The wolf among us, Tales from the borderlands) while the rest are divisive. I do am able to enjoy the games with a certain midset, those three truly amazing games are the exception and in general Telltale releases games that are good to average.
Totally agree dude! Telltale just can't make good games anymore. Not to the same quality as TWD Season 1 anyway
Damn Straight!
To be fair with Nick, there was almost nothing they could've done with him in that episode: He had no huge ties to Carver, no consequences to face with Walter dead, and mattered very little in the grand scheme of the story. Add on his determinant character status and expecting him to play a major role with so many non-determinant characters around was a bit of a pipe dream.
Conrad at least had the benefit of being a better Kenny/Sarah for Javier by virtue of having the same flat scumbag take away someone he loved, as well as being part of a more consistently straightforward story with a minimalist cast.
Eh, I think we definitely could've used a hub in the quarantine area, to be honest.
Who was the other one?
I never said it was terrible to play as a child. I felt that the personality they gave Clem and how they used her in the plot was generally uninteresting. Even though S3 Clem has the same personality as S2 Clem, she's much better as the deutoragonist.
Good question. I'll have to write an overall review at some point, but for now, I'll just follow your example:
So, 6.8 of my given expectations were met, so it passes.
Don't you remember the season 2 DLC with Clem's evil twin sister Tangela? She had a goatee and everything.
Yes...but points out that basically S2 was weaker in story structure than ANF is. My Conrad is still alive...I can see him walking into an unguarded chipper/shreader in the next episode...but would be mind blown if he makes it to ep 5.
Season2 had a story to tell, but they abandoned it for the Kenny show. What ever faults ANF may have...and I am enjoying it while being mindful of it's faults...it at least is sticking to it's guns and going with the story.
Ohh sweet Tangela....and her sidekick Lenny? Omg pure gold!
I honestly liked Javi and Kates flashback at the beginning, a lot. I really wanna see more of their time on the road, and I can't help but wonder if introducing Javi via a s2 dlc would have been a smarter option.
Winner of -3 DLC of the year awards
"What will Clementine do when the Sister she never knew swears revenge against her? Meet Tangela, Clementine's twin sister who was locked away at birth for not being quite as adorable as her sister. Along with her friend Lenny a former Submarine captain and Professor of Ancient Alien History. Sisters separated at birth will collide in a world destroyed by the Undead."
It was better. New villain is cheesy. Intro where they where packing up to leave made the episode.
Oh yeah, except it wasn't on her face...
Eh, debatable, but I'd say it definitely had more story and character to it, which unfortunately was a disadvantage in the final product.
That certainly didn't help, yes.
Fucking A agreed.