The Walking Dead Series Review

Ok so I'm doing three games in one today so let's see how this goes.  I'm reviewing Telltale's The Walking Dead series (not counting Michonne) so Season 1, Season 2, and A New Frontier.  Let's not waist time here and get started.

Summary: Quick Note, these summaries will be very brief, because most of the story is based on player choices.

Season One: Lee Everett, a college professor accused of murdering the man his wife was cheating on him with, is on his way to jail when he hits a zombie in the road.  He awakens to see the cop that was driving him as a zombie and shoots him unwillingly.  He moves forward and stumbles on a house.  He enters the house and is saved from a zombie attack by a little girl.  Her name was Clementine.  Her parents are nowhere to be found, so Lee says he will take care of her until they find them.  The pair of them meet new people, some of which are friends, some of which become enemies.  The story ultimately shapes who people believe Lee Everett is; the hero they all need or the murderer on the news.  All of this leads to Lee being bitten by a zombie, but instead of living his last days peacefully, he uses them to save Clementine.  When it comes down to the end, Lee will have to say goodbye to Clementine, who remembers him forever...

ENDINGS: Either Clementine shoots Lee to stop him from turning into a walker or leaves him behind, no confirmed major impact on future seasons, may impact one certain decision in A New Frontier that I will talk about later

Season Two: A few years down the road, Clem is with a couple survivors.  But when tragedy strikes them, Clem is left alone in the wilderness.  Clem is attacked by a hungry dog, and she is weakly making her way through the forest, when she is saved by two survivors.  Their group thinks Clem is bitten, so they lock her in a shed.  Clem manages to sneak into their house and steal stitching supplies to fix herself.  She is accepted into their group.  An evil figure from the group's past returns into their lives, causing them to leave the comfort of their home.  When they find a new place, Clem reunites with Kenny, a survivor from the group she was in with Lee.  The man eventually finds their group and captures them.  While at the man's camp, Clem meets Jane, who is a more quiet survivor who looks out for herself over others.  After escaping, a woman in their group has a baby boy named Alvin Jr. after her late husband.  In the end, the only members of the group left are Clem, Kenny, Jane, and AJ.  Jane appears to have lost AJ, and Kenny flips out and tries to kill her.  Clem has to make an important choice here which will determine who she becomes...

ENDINGS: During the Kenny/Jane fight, Clem has to choose whether to shoot Kenny, saving Jane, or let Kenny kill her.  If you shoot Kenny, he will have a very emotional moment with Clem telling her she made the right choice.  It is then revealed that Jane had hidden AJ to provoke Kenny to show Clem that he's dangerous.  Clem can choose to forgive Jane or leave her with AJ.  If Clem forgives Jane, they go back to the man's now abandoned camp.  Alternatively, if Clem doesn't shoot Kenny, he defends his actions before finding AJ.  Like with Jane, Clem can either go with Kenny or call him dangerous.  If Clem goes with Kenny, they go to Wellington, a safe community in the northern United States.  They say they can only take Clem and AJ, not Kenny.  Kenny begs Clem to go for AJ's safety.  If Clem chooses to go to Wellington, Kenny gives her his hat and wishes he well, then Kenny leaves Wellington alone.  If Clem rejects the offer, Kenny calls her stubborn and Clem responds by saying "I wonder where I got that from?"  Clem, Kenny and AJ leave together.  If Clem rejects Jane or Kenny (or shoots Kenny after he kills Jane) Clem finds AJ and they go off by themselves.  These endings are VERY important because they determine the flashback sequences in A New Frontier as well as Clem's actions.

A New Frontier: Javier "Javi" Garcia is a former professional baseball player in a situation he would have never expected.  After the zombie outbreak, he and his brother, David's wife, Kate, and kids, Gabe and Mariana.  They find a junkyard and try to stay there for the night, but they are interrupted by a group of thugs accusing them of stealing and capturing Javi.  The truck Javi and a thug are in in flipped over by a girl that is revealed to be Clementine.  Javi and Clem make their way to a town called Prescott where they are allowed to stay for the night.  They return to the junkyard in the morning or the previous evening, depending on player choices, and they manage to save the group.  They are all happy until Mariana is shot in the back of the head and killed.  Clementine identifies the killer as The New Frontier, a group of survivors with some twisted methods.  Javi makes his way to New Richmond, a city that he sent a wounded Kate to, not knowing that it was taken over by The New Frontier.  Upon arriving, he finds that one of the leaders of The New Frontier is his own brother, David.  With David, Javi uncovers corruption in The New Frontier's leadership.  They take it down, but an accident causes New Richmond to be flooded with walkers.  Relationships between the members of the Garcia family are strained, and in the end Javi will have to decide what family truly means to him.

ENDINGS: Now this just came out at the time of writing this, so I don't know every detail yet.  In the end, three characters can die.  They are your brother's ex-wife/your girlfriend (determinate) Kate, your nephew, Gabe, and your brother, David.  The ending all depends on a choice Clementine makes.  In the end, David takes Gabe and tries to escape Richmond, and Kate wants to fix her mistakes by saving Richmond by stopping the walkers.  Javi can choose whether to go with Kate to save Richmond or try and rescue Gabe and David.  Clementine also chooses where to go.  She will either choose to go with Javi, go to whichever one Javi doesn't, or she will choose by herself which one she will go to.  These are the endings:

If both Javi and Clem go save Richmond with Kate: Kate lives, David dies, Gabe dies
If Javi goes with Kate and Clem goes with Gabe: Kate lives, David dies, Gabe lives
If Javi goes with Gabe and Clem goes with Kate: Kate is missing, David dies, Gabe lives
If both Javi and Clem go to save Gabe and David: Kate dies, David lives, Gabe lives

In an after credits scene, Clem says she will find AJ, who was taken by the New Frontier, and then the screen says "Clementine's story will continue..." which I think means Season 4.

Review Of Season One: This game is definitely the most critically acclaimed game in the series.  The story of Lee and Clementine is nothing short of a masterpiece.  I will not be reviewing the gameplay of any of these games because that isn't what they're supposed to be.  Some of the choices in this game are extremely hard to make, which laid the groundwork for what is to come.  However, replayibility is a huge part of Telltale's games for me (like going back and playing the game again to see the other choices) and I didn't want to do that with this one.  I have replayed Season Two and A New Frontier multiple times already, but I never have the desire to play this one.

Overall game score: 8.5/10

Review of Season Two:  This game felt more polished than season 1 for me.  The choices felt like they mattered more.  Clem's character development is definitely visible, but it's different depending on which of the two possible ending characters, Kenny and Jane, that Clem is more like.  I also was surprisingly more affected by the ending in this one.  I chose to let Kenny kill Jane, and when we got to Wellington and I heard Kenny had to leave I literally paused my game and cried.  I chose to stay with Kenny because I had an emotional attachment to Kenny, which is something that Lee didn't have towards anyone but Clementine.  This game did have pacing issues, but that's my only negative.

Overall game score: 9/10

Review of A New Frontier: OK, this is gonna be the weird one.  While most people were angry about the direction A New Frontier went, but it is actually my favorite game in the series.  Personally, I loved playing as Javier.  I liked it more than Lee because he was more relatable, and I liked it more than Clem because he is a capable, strong adult and not a child.  I thought this was The Walking Dead's necessary change of theme, changing it from being about who you can trust and making if about family and legacy.  In the end, I got an ending that I didn't like at first which is Gabe and David being alive and Kate being dead.  After a while, I accepted my ending because I thought that if these characters were to return, I could make David into a better person.  The only criticism I have is that I think Telltale is treating this as a standalone story because of the mixed response from fans.  I PRAY that they don't do this.  I want to see Javi, Gabe and David return to assist Clem in finding AJ.

Overall game score: 10/10

Message for Telltale: Season 4 will make or break this series.  Depending on how it is handled, this could be the end.  I promise, if you continue Javier's story as well as Clem's, true fans will be happy.

Mafia III Review

Ok I know, haven't posted in months, just bear with me here.  I just finished Mafia III and I have a review of it.  So... let's do this.



                                     



Mafia III: On PS4, Xbox One, and PC, developed by Hanger 13 Productions and published by 2K Games.


Summary: New Bordeaux, 1968.  You are Lincoln Clay.  A orphaned African-American boy who ended up under the care of Sammy Robinson, leader of the black mob.  After Lincoln returns from serving in the Vietnam War, he goes to Sammy and his step-brother Ellis one last time to tell them he is moving away, but he is then offered the heist job of a lifetime by Sal Marcano, leader of the Italian Mob in New Bordeaux.  Sal also wants Lincoln to force Sammy into retirement, so Lincoln could lead the black mob.  Lincoln refuses, which disappoints Sal.  The heist goes fairly well, and Lincoln, Ellis, Sal's son Giorgi, and Danny Burke, another heist member, all return to Sammy's bar to celebrate.  The party stops when Sal arrives at the bar and he, Giorgi, and an unknown accomplice, kill everyone inside Sammy's bar, take all of the money, and burn the bar to the ground.  They slaughtered everyone inside that bar.  Everyone, except Lincoln Clay.  Lincoln was not killed by Giorgi shooting him in the head, and he was saved by a priest named Father James, who is a family friend.  Lincoln vows for revenge, but he has two conflicting opinions on how he should pursue this.  Father James believes Lincoln is a good man, and doesn't want him to take part in this bloodbath.  John Donovan, a CIA agent who is helping Lincoln throughout the game, thinks Lincoln should take out Sal Marcano's entire organization.  Lincoln sides with Donovan, and they embark on a quest for vengeance against Sal Marcano.  Lincoln realizes he can't do this alone, and he recruits three underbosses to aid him in taking down the Italian Mob.  Cassandra, leader of the Haitian Mob, Vito Scaletta, leader of the Italian Gang (also the playable character in Mafia II), and Thomas Burke, leader of the Irish Mob, also father of Danny Burke, who was killed in Sammy's bar.  The rest of the story is pretty much determined by how you choose to play it.


Review: Ok so this is one of my favorite games of all time.  The reviews may have been mixed because of the uninventive gameplay, but while it is nothing new, it's not bad at all.  The driving may be a little funky at times, but that's it.  Also, Lincoln's execution kills, whether they be stealth or while in combat, are simply beautiful in a sick way.  The main reason to play this game is for the story.  You get to see Lincoln Clay tear the Italian Mob apart from the ground up, but you also see how Lincoln is becoming more and more like the man he is trying to kill.  Another feature I really enjoyed was the underboss system.  The opinions each underboss had of you was completely determined by the player.  They judge you by how many districts of New Bordeaux you give them after taking it from Marcano.  If you give a ton to one underboss, they give you tons of rewards.  But if you give little to none to an underboss, it could result in them betraying Lincoln.  I personally decided to split the districts equally, even though I am #teamvito all the way.  I also really enjoyed the endings.  Depending on your final choice, Lincoln could either be in hiding and away from New Bordeaux, ruling the criminal empire of the American South, or dead.  I liked how you get to choose who Lincoln Clay really is.


Final review score: 10/10 BABY!!!!  I don't see a single negative about Mafia III, and this is the first game I have bought the season pass for, that's how amazing it was.

Batman: The Telltale Series Review

POTATO.  Told ya, I'm gonna write anything I want.  Anyways, today I'm reviewing Batman: The Telltale Series, developed and published by Telltale Games.

Platforms: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC

NOTE ABOUT THE SUMMARY: I'm trying to stay away from including player choices in the summary, so some events may seem like there are big gaps between some events.

Summary: A young Bruce Wayne has recently taken up the role of Batman, when after attempting to stop a burglary at city hall, mob boss Carmine Falcone arrives at Wayne Manor for a campaign fundraiser party for Harvey Dent's mayoral campaign.  Him being seen with Bruce sparks suspicion, which leads to the media discovering that Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father, had been working with Falcone and the corrupt mayor of Gotham, Hamilton Hill, and stealing money from people.  This puts Bruce under a lot of heat, even losing him the CEO position of Wayne Enterprises to criminal Oswald Cobblepot.  While Bruce deals with the heat, Batman investigates further into the city hall robbery after discovering that the burglar was Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman.  At a mayoral debate between current mayor of Gotham Hamilton Hill and District Attorney Harvey Dent, an attack by Cobblepot and the leader of a mysterious group called the Children of Arkham.  During the attack, Hill was killed, making Harvey the mayor by default.  However, Harvey was drugged during the attack, which started the process of transforming him into Two-Face.  Many of Bruce's allies are lost, and Lady Arkham, leader of the Children of Arkham is unmasked, making Bruce question if the mask really is a mask.

Review: First of all, my summary gets a 0/10.  Ok now for the actual review.  This is my favorite Telltale game yet, and I LOVE the Walking Dead games and Tales From The Borderlands, but this game takes the cake.  The gameplay is classic Telltale, with a little more combat scenes.  The story is an amazing mystery story, with a reveal I didn't expect.  The relationships you can forge with the characters is my favorite aspect of the game, I loved being able to choose which characters I wanted to have as allies.  The only problems I have with this game is the ending didn't really add up to much except a teaser for the villain of season 2 (we all know what it is), and that the game occasionally had BIG frame rate drops and sometimes even crashed on PS4.

Final Score: 10/10 as a game, 5.5/10 for PS4 performance.

Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare/Modern Warfare Remastered Review

Ok so the "What's up gamers?" thing is kinda dumb so now I'm just gonna start my reviews however I please.  Ok back to the review.


KETCHUP.  I will be reviewing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, developed by Infinity Ward and Raven Software, published by Activision.

Summary of IW Campaign: You are Lieutenant Nick Reyes of the elite SCAR team.  After a terrorist attack on Earth by the Settlement Defense Front, a Mars-based military that wants only to see Earth's destruction, Nick Reyes retreats to his ship, the Retribution, where he is promoted to Captain of the vessel.  Reyes and Lieutenant Nora Salter, fellow SCAR team member and friend of Reyes, along with Staff Sergeant Usef Omar and humanoid robot Ethan, fight the SDF in many different ways, leading to heavy casualties and a war that seemingly never ends, until it does, but not in the ideal way...

Summary of MWR Campaign: You take control of two characters: SAS initiate John "Soap" MacTavish (the main protagonist), and Sergeant Paul Jackson of the U.S. Marines (secondary protagonist).  A civil war has broken out in Russia between the Ultranationists and the Loyalists, who have different views on how Russia's government should work.  Captain John Price's SAS squad, which includes newly inducted Soap, along with an operative named Gaz, becomes involved with the Loyalists when the Ultranationalists capture Nikolai, an informant for SAS.  Meanwhile, the Marines are trying to take out Middle-Eastern revolutionary (and Ultranationalist leader) Khaled Al-Asad.  The Marines almost get him, but are too late, and Al-Asad launches a nuclear missile on the town where the fighting took place, killing almost every Marine in the area, including Sgt. Paul Jackson.  Price's squad finds Al-Asad's hideout and kills him after finding out that the Ultranationalist leader is Imran Zakhaev, a terrorist that Price sniped the arm off of years ago.  His squad, along with Marine Staff Sergeant Griggs, assault an Ultranationalist missile base after figuring out that they have plans to nuke the United States.  They succeed in stopping the missiles, but have trouble escaping, and are cornered on a bridge where Gaz and SSgt. Griggs are killed, but the Loyalists show up in time to save Price and Soap, who had just killed Zakhaev.  They thought this was the end, but there was a man by the name of Vladimir Makarov who was ready to continue the Ultranationalist fight...

Review of IW: Ooooookaaaay, I know what most people have to say about this game already but here's my opinion.  I think the campaign is one of the best ever.  It is the most emotionally charged campaign yet, and the end of the game and the credits make you forget that you're playing a game about shooting anything that moves for a second.  Zombies in Spaceland was a pleasant surprise for me because I LOVED BO2 zombies (BO3 was decent) so I was really skeptical about a developer other than Treyarch doing zombies and I have to say Infinity Ward impressed me.  Still not as good as BO2, but still a really fun experience.  Multiplayer is basically all the things I don't like about BO3 multiplayer, combined with all the things I don't like about MW series multiplayer.  Not a fan at all.

Review of MWR: Basically the same game as the old one with better graphics and a few extra game modes.  I wish they sold this as its own game so I didn't have to buy Infinite Warfare.

Final Scores: Infinite Warfare: 7/10    MW Remastered: 9/10

Sleeping Dogs Review

What'a up gamers?  Sorry I've been gone for like two frickin years lol but I'm trying to get back on this blog now.  I also have a PS4 now, so I can review new games.  The first review I'm doing is for Sleeping Dogs, Developed by United Front Games and published by Square Enix.  The same format as I originally used is still in affect: short summary, short review.  Keepin' it simple.

Platforms: Original Version: PS3, Xbox 360, PC (I think).  Definitive Edition: PS4, Xbox One

Summary:  Welcome to Hong Kong.  Wei Shen, a former criminal who moved to America, has returned to the Pearl of the Orient to take down the Sun On Yee, a major triad gang in the city.  To do this, Wei has to go undercover and rise through the ranks of the Sun On Yee and gain the trust of the Red Poles, their leaders.  Even though Wei eventually gains Red Pole status, that isn't the end of the battle after all.  Wei has to fight rival gang The 18k, along with corruption inside his own Triad with the Sun On Yee, and the criminal underworld through several crime cases as a cop.  Through all of this, Wei has to decide which side is truly the good one, and which is the corrupt one.

Review: This game is definitely one of my favorite of all time.  The story is amazing with all kinds of twists and turns.  The gameplay is mostly good, but has a few issues.  The driving is not the greatest in the world, but still isn't the worst.  The combat system is the highlight of the game, when it works. Sometimes when you hit the counter button, Wei won't counter, but it happens very rarely.  The shooting is basic, and it is challenging at times because if you don't shoot the head, it takes a LOT of shots to kill the enemy.  Another one of my favorite gameplay features is the various environmental takedowns you can do.  They range from slamming an enemy into a phone booth to smashing someone's head in with a door to drowning someone in their own piss.

Final score: 9.5/10