The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Platform(s): Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Genre: Adventure, Action
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)
The Tale Continues
Telltale Games continues to grow their ever popular library of titles and with their latest release they go back to their incredibly popular series The Walking Dead. Telltale Games now bring us The Walking Dead: A New Frontier.
We are quickly brought back to the decision making, emotionally charged series with enough modifications in control selection and graphics updates to make this feel like a unique and fresh game. As the opening credits are displayed players are introduced to a new and immediately likeable character, Javier, but everyone calls him Javi.
With the new character introduced we see a new family as well. The opening scene shows Javi sprinting and running out of breathe as it looks like he's been running for a long time to get to his childhood home. David, his brother, greets him at the front porch to tell him he is too late and their father is now dead. David argues with Javier and tells him he's never around. Clearly David has been drinking.
As we make our way into the house, Javier is greeted by his mother to a slap across the face and his niece tells the family that her grandpa isn't actually "sleeping". The entire family go into the bedroom to see what she is talking about only to find Javier's dad walking and moaning like a Walker. This is the start of the zombie apocalypse. Javi's mother is amazed her husband is now walking but gets a little too close as she is bit. The family rushes out of the house to take her to the hospital while also "taking" care of the dad in his bedroom. David, takes one car with his mother, while Javier gets into the van with his uncle, Gabe, Mariana and Kate.
Four years later and we have grown up kids in the van, Kate, David's Wife, and Javier have been on the road with Gabe and Mariana, David's kids and Kate's step children, this entire time but are finding it more difficult to now find supplies.
Javier pulls over to a junk yard and finds enough fuel and food to last the four of them for quite sometime before they realize these supplies aren't meant for them. Javi is kidnapped and taken down a path far from the junk yard where he awakens in a large garbage truck. The driver and Javi argue for several minutes before a tree starts to come down causing them to go into a ditch. Javi is outside with the driver running away from the tipped over vehicle when out of nowhere we hear a very familiar voice. It's Clementine! She's back to join in on the adventure.
This time around Clementine is a lot more skilled and even less empathetic as she has been through even more hard ships and heartache since the last time we saw her.
She tells you she will get you back to the junk yard to get your family back but wants your van as a payment.
As the story progresses, the players take control of Clementine in a Flash Back Sequence, which is the first of a few Flash Backs that shows what exactly has happened between the end of The Walking Dead Season Two and prior to meeting Javier.
Without reveling too much more of the episode and spoiling the season story, you form a quick bond with Clementine as the two work together to get back to the rest of Javi's family at the junk yard.
Controls & New Features
The controls in this season have been improved to look and feel much more fresh and cinematic than in previous seasons and episodic adventures of Telltale Games. Now we see the button selections embedded and cell shaded in the cinematic experience of the game and not just displaying as a flat looking button select as in previous seasons of The Walking Dead.
We also see that fighting with The Walkers or other groups is a little easier since the controls have improved. This can be thought of as an advancement of these characters abilities as well. Since they have been on the road for four years, they know a lot more about combat than they did in previous seasons.
A new addition to the Telltale Series Games titles is Crowd Play. It's a fun feature to have people in the room play along with your decision making and selections. The local multiplayer mode allows up to 12 players to help you with your decisions and your participants will be accessing a unique website so only you and your family can take part in the action.
Graphics
Along with the controls hitting an upgrade we see that the graphics have greatly improved as well and this time around, in Flash Back sequences we have a lighter hue on the screen while current state is the dark, unfiltered mess that the world is in now.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier now feels like a cinematic adventure rather than a video game with all the updates in graphics and seamless cut scenes. It was so enjoyable at times and looked flawless that I actually forgot I was playing and missed a response or two in selection.
Conclusion
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier provides us with new features to deliver a different type of the same game. It feels like a new standalone version of the Walking Dead, especially since you are now controlling a brand new character and family.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is highly recommended and is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Check it out here.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 1 - Ties That Bind - Part I : Overall Score
- 90% Story/Features
- 90% Visuals
- 85% Audio
- 85% Achievement Variety
- 90% Fun Factor
- Total - 90% OVERALL RATING
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