TWD:TFS Ep2 - AChicken's Impressions
This is 3 months too late, but at least I got it done. Finally.
First off, I'll say that I clearly missed out on some good fun and community discussions by not playing this earlier. Heck, I missed out on enjoying a great episode of TWD. Wish I'd gotten to this sooner.
Anyway, the episode. What did I think?
In short, point-form:
- The opening scene was greatly edited together, and I experienced no significant stutters or lag between the switching of scenes/camera angles as Telltale games most often do. The pacing for it was well executed, flashing back between the moments after Episode 1 and the aftermath the next day.
- It's also good to see that Telltale knows the ramifications of the moral dilemma they've presented to us with Marlon's untimely death. It wasn't for shock factor after all (well, maybe a bit) as the characters (and Clem specifically) know that Marlon was killed after him calming down, and after the conflict was resolved. That's not right. "...We talk Marlon down, and they murder him?!"
- While (I'm assuming, given TTG's track record plus the direction the story had to take) that Clem+AJ's exile was inevitable, it's understandable. Finally, a forced choice that I have no qualms about.
- The Lily reveal caught me off guard (well, Abel's did first. I did throw him into a pack of 3+ grabby walkers but he somehow only got bit on the arm, anyways...) I hadn't noticed it was Nicki Rapp until the character's older, grizzled, recognizable face was put with it.
- The fanservice-y dialogue between the OG pair included is... ehhhh maybe a bit much for one scene, but it's good to know that Telltale knows what character and circumstances therein they're dealing with.
- The fact that you can't choose to remain quiet about Louis and Violet's obvious sneak attack is a bit disappointing. It's either warn and run or order to shoot (as you stand in front of your captors).
- The Walker-person reveal probably caught me off-guard way more than the Lily one did. Out of nowhere, as the camera moves from a combat position to one of obvious QTE [XXXXXXX - O], I am suddenly greeted by a walker. That was interesting.
- On a tangent here: Might I say, James is a looker.
- Ooh, another tangent: Thankfully the other group aren't pedophilic rapists as this place predicted so heavily. They just need people to forcefully join in their war. Forums, you led me astray... (though It's understandable why we'd jump to such a conclusion in the first place.)
- As one caveat of gameplay/story in this episode (and season thus far), I really hope they give a choice involving Louis that is actually practical rather than "fun". Playing this story as a person focused on surviving (and impressing other fellow survivors), it's really hard to pick options like "Play Pinata with a corpse while on a hunting trip" or "Go play some piano with a friend while you're focused on fortifying the compound." I really want my Clem to spend some quality time with Louis (y'know, get to know him... find their calling... find their 'ship'.) but I just can't do that when you give me options like "do the survivor thing VS. goof off"
So... I went with Violet to fortify the walls (at least that's what I thought she said she was going to do, so I followed) and... there's this really nice scene between the two looking at constellations. I've got to say, Telltale did a really good job subverting expectations on characters based on their looks. Yes, Violet is a bit of the reclusive, edgy type her look gives off, but, she's really smart at survival, has a funny bone, is pretty deep sometimes, and is a pretty good-hearted person.
Then comes the kicker of the scene. At this point I considered Vi and Clem to be pretty good friends. Vi defended the other, and they've spent their quality time together. But, apparently, you can bring that a step further. Bravo Telltale, a ship you guys accounted for. People ship Clouis, People ship Violetine, some don't do either. And, well, I hadn't considered it before this scene, and I thought long and hard about this, and I made Clem be more than friends with Violet. Maybe I can even consider Clem bi. I don't know, I haven't thought that much about how I see her (i.e.: my version of) her character, but a homosexual relationship is a nice option that was put in and I'm glad Telltale did it. They developed their relationship in such a way that felt pretty natural, gave me a different perspective on which romantic interest I was really chasing, and I went for it.
Well, that last point went on for too long.Giving AJ the option to swear more (reverting the choice of the last episode) is some nice vocabulary development you can give him. More choices are good if they can properly follow through with them effectively.
- And more with the moral dilemmas. AJ wanting to play Rock-Paper-Scissors for "dibs" on Abel is sickly dark. I don't know whether to love it or hate it or love-that-I-hate-it. Telltale loves making AJ the perfect childish anomaly.
That whole siege scene was tense. It probably was because the episode was structured so far with little to no action or distress. This is how you craft effective standoff moments, not how ANF did it non-stop.
So, at the end I couldn't see my choices or their percentages. I assume that's because Telltale's servers are dead. (Could anyone see it since the release or was it always dead?)
- In the Pines being included as the credits song is a great throwback. Can't wait till Episode 4 ('Take Us Back') where they rip my heart out of my chest.
In summary, this was a shorter episode than the last, I think clocking in at somewhere around 2 hours for me (but that may be because I spent a lot of time exploring every corner of every hub), though regardless I had a good time the whole way through. I can't wait to continue this series on January 15th as I know it won't be dead and we'll get the ending that we were promised. After the cliffhanger and ramifications of this episode, it'd have been terrible for it to end here.
If I were good at rating things I'd give this episode a... hmmm... 9.0 out of 10, due to how well-polished and enjoyable this episode was.
Comments
Glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah ! I totally agree with you there,the first time you see Violet you're like "oh no another Molly/Jane clone.." but she's way more than that imo.
Same thing about Louis,he's way more than just the "comedic-relief" character of the game.
I'd give this episode a solid 8/9 out of 10,i wish Omar got a little bit more screentime this episode,maybe next episode we'll see
Many people were upset about Lilly being the antagonist,i'm not,but i can see why.
Anyway,yeah great episode.
Finally playedexperienced the episode, eh? Glad you enjoyed it, I guess.
Yeah, I can't say I noticed any of the typical pausing in any of playthrough I've seen.
Mm-hm.
There've been some like that in the past, but yeah, I think this one is one where very few can get away with complaining.
You kinda have to in order for that to make sense.
Really? One thing about that trailer is that she's pretty instantly recognizable.
Oh, that monologue was lame as shit.
Pffft--oh really?
Yeah, that was great
Hmph.
Yeah, I'm fairly relieved about that too.
Practicing archery with him is an option, for a start.
Both options in that scene are somewhat misleading, to be honest.
Eh. Basic good characterization for what's supposedly a main character.
That being said, I do like a few scenes with her.
Eh.
Eh, you're fine.
Alvin Rebecca Carver Jr is definitely one of two characters that make this game.
No comment.
Yeah, it's been like that for a while, I've heard. Which is funny, considering The Wolf Among Us still shows percentages.
With that said, they are apparently working on getting those back up in time for the penultimate episode. And there are some records of the percentages on the wiki and some Youtube playthroughs.
Uh, you say great throwback--I say shamelessly on the nose.
Yes, Clem and AJ getting kicked out happens no matter what, and it’s always a 5-3 vote.
@bloop I’ve got another one for you.
I see what you’re getting at, and I think we’ll get something like this next episode if you saved Louis over Violet, but this is honestly one of the reasons why I have come to really like Louis. Yes it is important for Clem to be focused on survival, but that’s not to say, when there’s a moment of peace or levity, she can’t enjoy herself a little and have fun. And whether it’s Louis card games or his stupid jokes, it’s something he adds that makes him a bit more unique amongst the other Ericson kids. And that’s not to say he can’t take care of himself, we see clearly that he can, he just likes to have a bit of fun while doing it. I can’t say I totally agree with his overall philosophy, that tomorrow doesn’t exist and the only thing that matters is today, but I think Louis’ character being the way it is is an important aspect for the group.
And I know it’s not much and you’re kind of required to do it, but you do have a scene like this when you go over to talk to him when he’s trying (and failing) to use Marlon’s crossbow. He apologizes to Clem for his behavior towards her and AJ, he regrets that he never helped Marlon out more, and that he partially blames himself for what happened to him.
At least Louis is honest when he says he’s about to goof off and mess with his piano.
It seems that most people went with Violet, and I can’t really blame them. She said that she was going to inspect their defenses, she was a vocal defender of Clem and AJ throughout the episode, while Louis was one of the votes to kick you out (even if he did regret it, and I thought they did a fantastic job of displaying this throughout the episode), and she stepped up to become the de facto leader after Marlon’s death.
Yet, in spite of all that, I personally chose to go with Louis, and despite how I’ve been saying for years, especially during all the Gabentine shit and throughout ANF and the build up to TFS, I romanced him. The writers did a fantastic job with both scenes, and I’d watch the Louis scene if you get a chance, it’s handled very well. Unfortunately, not many Youtubers picked Louis, most of the big ones chose Violet (I think PewDiePie wanted to romance Louis, but went with Violet because he didn’t realize that this was a romance choice, something like that, I don’t pay much attention to him, I just go with what I hear). The only ones I know that went with Louis were me, Hollow, and iHasCupquake.
I know right, isn’t it great when they actually give the players a say in determining Clem’s romantic interests. It’s better than, oh I don’t know, shoving a whiny, immature brat down our throats who shows little development and only shared a handful of scenes with Clem. I swear, both romance scenes did more to establish a connection between Clem and Violet/Louis in 4 minutes than all of ANF did between Clem and Gabe.
It was confirmed by writer Mary Kenney, who I believe was also the lead writer for Episode 2, that Clem is bi, regardless of who you choose. She actually confirmed it via Twitter when there was a debate amongst those on the forums as to how players should interpret her romance choices. Some were on the side of just being presented with the choice makes Clem bi as it depicts her internal thought process, others were on the side of it’s up to the player to determine what she is and what matters is the choice you make, not the options you’re given.
I can certainly see the validity of Violetine, I’m not going to shit on people who went that route. All I’m going to say is that you’re going to be opening a huge can of worms if Minerva turns out to be alive.
Rock Paper Scissors, the ultimate judge, jury, and executioner of the zombie apocalypse.
Yes, that is exactly why. Don’t worry, they were down at the time of release as well. In a recent video with Melissa Hutchison, Skybound said they are working to get the servers going again by the time Episode 3 is released.
Even with the delay of Clem’s ending, there is no amount of preparation that will ever make me ready for when the final episode ends. I’m going to be a mess.
I personally have no issues with a main character being Bi in any game. Hell I had no issues with Javier being that way. My main concern is where the idea for Clem being Bi came from, both in terms of who came up with it as well as what was going through the writers heads during writing process.
The Telltale staff didn't come up with it, people here on the forums did last year. I didn't like it at all. I thought it was fanfictiony and inappropriate for them to even consider. When it actually came up on Mary Kenney's Twitter, I was just shook. Em Buck had already stated they weren't allowed to use pitched ideas, and that's what they did. And given how Mary Kenney described the kids in this game as "Snacks" as quoted by Em Buck on Twitter, this made me seriously question what was going through the staff's heads when they were writing this. Bluntly put...it creeped me out.
Glad u enjoyed the episode btw.
Putting it that way, it does make it very creepy. If even their writers are treating them as objects of subtle fanservice instead of how they are supposed to be portrayed, then it shows they don't actually care about the integrity of their characters if it means that it appeals to more people. To be honest, that strikes a nerve with me.
I thought she was just saying that as like,a joke,nothing more
Ah, so another Gabentine then?
Welcome to Telltale Games after 2013.
From the way @achicken depicts it, it doesn't sound like a joke. I haven't seen the tweet myself, but if you know any parts of the tweet that gives evidence it was just a joke, let me know. And, who would call people who are known as romantic interests as "snacks" without it meaning of a more intimate action? Of course this could be taken as them being "walker food" given the circumstances, but with lack of context all we are left is to assume it's meaning off of what there is. This is like DabigRG levels of missed context I'm getting here.
Cuse me?
But yes, I took that to mean a lot of characters would be at risk of dying.
Yeah well from what i can remember this was more of a joke or something,whatever who fucking cares seriously Jeez.
That's not doing anything to convince me otherwise, but k then.
Gabentine is a whole different ballgame. I honestly didn't mind it too much until it got forced out the gate as soon as they met up again in Episode 4.
Honestly, I'd take anything Emily says with a grain of salt, she's been outed as someone who either outright lies or gives half-truths on more than one occasion. As for the snacks comments, I don't remember ever seeing anything like that, but it sounds like it was more of a joke than something to really think too hard about.
I probably wouldn't have ultimately minded if
3. they had used it minimally, constructively, and/or respectably.
2. they didn't put more or less seal it in the bad ending of From the Gallows.
1. The fandumb. Just. The fandum.