The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (Season Three)

 

I often cite Telltale's The Walking Dead series as an example of a type of experience that can only be achieved in video games. Robert Kirkman's long running comic book series, and subsequent TV show, have employed legions of fans through its dramatic storyline. The appeal is watching the desperate group of characters being forced to make morally ambiguous decisions in the face of a zombie outbreak. However, I would make the argument that the video game adaptation is the best incarnation of this series precisely because you, the player, are forced to make these incredibly difficult decisions and have to face up to the consequences in game. It is for this reason that the first two 'seasons' of Telltale's critically acclaimed series are so beloved by fans - you feel like you are experiencing this post-apocalyptic-zombie-infested world. Couple this with an excellent script and characters and you have a winning combination. I also give eternal plaudits to Telltale for reviving the point-and-click adventure genre for a new generation, which moved away from puzzle solving to decision making (which I have some mixed thoughts on but ultimately I think it's positive). 

So three seasons in, Telltale have decided to take something of a risk. The breakout character of this series is, of course, Clementine, an innocent child thrown straight into this crazy and bloody world. Clementine is unlike any other child character in a video game, mostly through intelligent writing and an excellent vocal performance from Melissa Hutchinson. Season One sees Clementine as something of a moral compass for the main character, Lee. Season Two, due to plot developments, shifts the focus to herself - a character who once served as the innocent now has to make these incredibly difficult and traumatising decisions. I can't stress how revolutionary this is - big companies would have you believe that this is the exact opposite of the kind of character the 'intended demographic' of video games want to play as. But companies like EA and Activision are stupid and wrong, so Clementine became an incredibly popular character. So Telltale's decision to put Clementine back into being a side-character in Season Three is a little bit odd but it ultimately pays off. Season Three doesn't quite hit the high notes of prior seasons but it does successfully make you care for its new cast of characters and re-positions the story in an interesting way for future installments. 

Clementine returns with a cast of characters, including player-character Javier

This time you're put in the shoes of Javier, a disgraced baseballer who is looking after the remnants of his family, who include with brother's children and wife. The family live on the road and seem to have made a relatively comfortable, albeit still dangerous, life for themselves amid the zombie apocalypse. Things are thrown into chaos when when the gang cross paths with the New Frontier, a community from a settlement named Prescott. Along the road, Javier meets and befriends a familiar face to the player in Clementine, who is desperately picking up the pieces after the devastating conclusion of Season Two. However, forces from Javier's past threatens to tear this defacto family apart.

In terms of the gameplay, it is very much business as usual. You have a branching dialogue tree in which you make decisions or react to other characters. These of course all have implications for later parts of the game and shape the narrative. This is littered with quick time events and investigator scenes. Players of the first two seasons can import their save data from another file (irregardless of the platform, as it uses Telltale's cloud based system) so all your previous choices can pull through. Ultimately, your choices from the previous game don't have a massive impact on the plot of Season Three, it is more for flavour. The title of New Frontier is in reference to the in-game group, of course, but this is also to give the impression of a clean slate - with this one, first timers can easily jump in, even if they haven't played the first two seasons. This is a choice that will no doubt be controversial with fans. I think overall it was a wise move. It re-orientates the pieces for Season Four in a way that only becomes clear at the end of the season. I haven't experienced every implication of the choices brought forward from Season Two but I was satisfied with mine. It was tragic, heart-wrenching and just the right level of depressing for the world of The Walking Dead. 

Get ready for more difficult choices

Graphically, it benefits from working on an engine specifically designed for next-generation hardware. The game introduces more cinematic scenarios for our band of heroes, even if the character models still feel a bit stiff. This is saved though by the excellent art design. Everything has a more vibrant look and feel, with the character models themselves particularly benefiting. Everything is very detailed and helps bring the stiff models to life. Telltale has clearly worked to this the series feel fresh again. However, there is one area that does need improvement on. This review is looking at the season as a whole but a source of some disappointment, as I waited for each new episode, was the length of each entry. This has been a problem for some time now for Telltale games and it is still apparent here. Played as a whole experience, it will probably take you 8-10 hours. This is a far cry though from the meaty days of Back To The Future and The Walking Dead: Season One. This might not bother players coming to the game with all the episodes released now but I still wish they could have been extended.

As a whole, Season Three becomes a very emotionally engaging experience. At first, it is hard to gauge what the end game of this season is. The early episodes are engaging enough, with a particularly harsh twist really ramping up the stakes, but doesn't leave much of an impact. That said, time is taken to set up the characters' relationship with each other and it works, for the most part. Events become very interesting when we flashback to Clementine pre-Season Three and we are put back in her shoes. This is a clever way of doling out the information to the player whilst retaining some mystery as to what exactly Clementine was up to all this. My only major complaint about the story of season three is that there is no clear motive to the New Frontier group, outside of being an insular community. I wish a bit more time could be afforded to examining this group's motives. The flipside though is that the character work is super strong, especially when an unexpected character from Javier's past turns up in Richmond. This leads to flying sparks, bruised emotions and plenty of good drama. This is easily the highlight of the middle episodes (three and four), which slowly begin to reveal Telltale's master plan for the season. Episodes three and four succeed massively at building up a pressure cooker situation. 

This leads into the final episode, which I feel is the strongest of the season. Great character work, good length and interesting threads leading into Season Four. The only misstep of the final episode is an all too obvious decision. Spoilers - it is the choice between one character living and one character dying. The player is forced into a situation with a no-win scenario. I find this a bit counter-productive to a story where you forge the narrative. I understand that Telltale don't have an infinite well for their budget or resources to account for every decision but there must be smarter ways of doing this. Earlier in Episode 4, a particularly cruel decision turns on your head in an unexpected way. Other than that, it is a very strong ending which repositions the series in an interesting way for Season Four.

Javier proves to be an interesting and sympathetic character; the gamble of swapping leads from Clementine pays off well

The Walking Dead: A New Frontier may take small missteps but I actually appreciate the shift in perspective to a new character. It helps to give each season a unique flavour and tone. It's not the strongest season of The Walking Dead but it is still manages to match the expected Telltale quality. Concentrating on Javier as a character takes a while to pay off but it ultimately leads to an interesting and surprisingly emotional experience. As the final scenes of Season Three began to play out, I realised that I actually cared about these characters. If you love the previous games, stick with this one, even if you have some reservations, and you may find yourself engaged, maybe even moved.

Rating: 8/10 

Side-Note

I'm desperate to give my thoughts on the other Telltale series - I've not played them all but have finished a good chunk of them. The Walking Dead: Season One (10/10) is a revolutionary masterpiece - an emotional journey where you truly become bonded to the characters. This is still an unmissable video game mostly through its well-written and acted characters. The Walking Dead: Season Two (9/10) has a slow start but it ultimately morphs into something that almost matches the power of the original and sometimes surpasses it. It is also brilliantly plays on the player's emotions and nostalgia for the original season. The Wolf Among Us (9/10) is an excellent adventure story. I honestly did not know what to expect and was delighted by its contemporary setting inhabited by fairy tale characters. It has a twisty-turny plot that keeps the player guessing and just when you think you have a handling on what is going on, the rug is pulled right from underneath your feet. Back to the Future (10/10) I absolutely love. This is where I alluded to my mixed feelings in the review about point-and-click adventure games moving towards decision making as opposed to puzzle solving. Back to the Future is defiantly retro in its design with bizarre (but brilliant) leaps in logic to solve its puzzles. I add an extra point as well for being a massive fan of the original trilogy of films - this feels like a full on sequel to the film series, while also providing fan service and callbacks. Game of Thrones (6/10) is a frustrating experience and actually highlighted a problem I have with the books and the show. Games of Thrones does exceed in making you feel as beaten down as one of its characters, as every decision you make in the game feels like the wrong one. So in a way it is an accurate reflection of the harrowing series but it doesn't make for a satisfying game. I think it's a little too ambitious for a Telltale-style game. And despite having six episodes (up from the usual five), the plot feels like its been stretched very thin. Until the conclusion of the shows's sixth season , I was a bit fed-up with the series' incredibly dark and frustrating turn  - I just wanted the characters to succeed once! And the game just managed to bloat this issue for me.