Let me start by saying that I've never been a big fan of the horror genre. Whether it is movies, books, or video games, I generally avoided them. Other than the popular installments in the Resident Evil series, I haven't played any zombie games. Why? Because I get light headed when I see gory things and scary movies truly freak me out.
But, I had heard so many good things about The Walking Dead game, and I had just picked up a new iPad and wanted to see what the iOS gaming scene was like. I didn't want to play any connect three games, so that lead me to The Walking Dead.
Because I never got into the zombie craze, I wasn't burnt out on the genre when I started The Walking Dead. This was my first dive in and it felt fresh (poor choice of words; I know). From the start, I was faced with many tense and surprising scenarios that had my stomach wrenching in ways that it hadn't for years.
One of the main aspects of the game play is simply making choices. I made a conscientious decision at the beginning of the game to take it seriously and make my choices how I would if it were me in this situation. However, I found that the choices placed before me were difficult and often didn't have a morally or logically "correct" answer. This caused me to try and guess the solution the writer would want me to choose. But, after the first episode, I found myself caring less about this, and I felt more comfortable about making the choices that I would if it were me in the situation.
I do have to mention the timer. Many choices, including the most important ones, have a timer that forces you to make a decision in a limited amount of time. The timer's length varies in length and sometimes you're faced with a heavy decision that you only have a few seconds to answer. Although I did miss a few questions because I wasn't paying attention, I felt that the timer added to the tension of the situation that the characters found themselves in. I thought it was a great addition that would be welcome in other choice driven games like Mass Effect.
The story is amazing well written (better than the TV show), and I found myself excited to see how the next encounter would work its way out. This brings me to one of the only aspects of the game that I didn't like. Some of the "adventure" sequences grew tiresome. Although not difficult, or all together lengthy, they just seemed to slow down the game's pace enough to make me impatient for the next great story beat, consequence bearing choice, or new character encounter.
In the end, I loved The Walking Dead. I started it around a month ago, and just finished the last episode a few days back. Although the VGA's gave it game of the year, I don't think it would be my personal number 1. However, I can say it is for sure in my top five of 2012. I would recommend it to anyone; even those that don't like zombie games. It is a very heavy game in both the story beats, choices, and in the emotions that you will find it pulling from deep within you. Please check it out!