By the end of The Walking Dead:
Season 2 -- Episode 3: In Harm’s Way, I had one inescapable thought.
What have I done?
As the credits rolled, I wondered
if I should have been less forgiving, less brash, less compassionate. If I had
been more willing to do things differently, would more people
The Walking Dead: Season Two --
Episode 3: In Harm's Way
TBA 2014
The Walking Dead: Season Two -- Episode
3: In Harm's Way is the first episode in the second season of The Walking Dead
game series.
Other great stories about
people...
To the MoonBroken Age: Act
1Catherine still be here? Probably not. Contrary to The Walking Dead’s previous
episode, I had no interest in reliving the events to find out.
They unnerved me too much.
In Harm’s Way writer Pierre
Shorette forces many of The Walking Dead’s characters to their physical and
mental breaking points. The scenes in which they’re each tested are memorable,
excellent, and effectively unpleasant, in a way that is uniquely Walking Dead
-- to acknowledge you have enjoyed them is to submit to your own sadistic
sensibilities.
Yet there is no glee during the
unpredictable story told during In Harm’s Way. Clementine’s new family is
imprisoned by Bill Carver, the quiet maniac who debuted in Episode 2: A House
Divided. Clementine and company’s overnight escape plans put everyone at risk,
and the way In Harm’s Way builds to its devastating climax had me anxious and
uncomfortable in all the right ways.
The Walking Dead explores what
that means to players while putting them on a hopeless road for Episode 4. In
Harm’s Way is about as bleak as this franchise has ever been, and what little
optimism exists is only here to remind you how easily it can be used against
you.
Bill Carver is Telltale’s vessel
for that fear and distress. Carver escalates from a man whose subtlety is scary
to someone whose unpredictability made me dread every interaction with him.
Sociopaths in video games usually
exist to motivate the player’s violence. Their mental instability absolves you
of any uncertainty or guilt when you do something terrible to them. They’re
“crazy” -- just kill them. Bill Carver is a different kind of sociopath. He
made me play Clementine differently than I had been, but in quite the opposite
way of most games. My cold, bitter Clementine warmed to those around her, even
those she didn’t fully trust, because of Carver. Yes, I wanted him dead -- he
is likely the first person Clementine has ever truly hated -- but that was
secondary to protecting those who suffered because of him.
Empathy is the greatest success
of In Harm’s Way. It focuses on people, features very little environmental
exploration, and doesn’t bother with puzzles. Contextually, this is a human
episode, so there’s little room for the more involved “play” aspects of this
adventure game. Despite having less interactive portions than previous
episodes, In Harms Way has tension, discomfort, and character development
that’s among the best of them.
I have no idea what Clementine’s
future holds. That’s unnerving. But, like Clementine, I’m focusing on getting
these people to a better place than the people I left behind.
THE VERDICT
Speaking with friends around a
campfire, or fighting zombies to save their lives, humanizes The Walking Dead’s
cast better than most games characterize their protagonist. My dialogue choices
reflect what Clementine and her friends need, rather than what I stand to gain
as a player. In Harm’s Way deepened my empathy for characters I’m legitimately
worried will die, or worse.
Sometimes, I made choices in
hopes that I could stop that from happening. I put others before myself, and
that got a lot of us hurt, Clementine included. Maybe these were the wrong
choices. I don’t know. I’d rather not think about it -- but I can’t stop.
The Walking Dead: Season Two -- Episode 3: In Harm's Way is the first episode in the second season of The Walking Dead game series.
No comments:
Post a Comment