The Case

Episode 3, Long Road Ahead, is the halfway point in the 5 part series from TellTale games. Does the emotion and drama continue to impress or is it slowly rotting?

The Trial

Long Road Ahead (LRA) is easily the most serious and dramatic episode yet. I'm not afraid to admit that I actually shed a tear or two during my time with it.

LRA is set about a week after Starved For Help and begins the journey from the motel (where the gang have been sheltered for most of the game so far) to Savannah, where they hope to find safety. Pretty much right away you are given a moral choice that is yet another toughy. A girl is injured and being surrounded by Walkers as you're out searching for more supplies. Armed with your rifle you are faced with two options, shoot her to put her out of her misery and alert the Walkers to your presence, or leave her to be ripped apart, allowing you to remain undetected. What did I do? Put it this way..... supplies > screaming woman.

Shortly after returning to the motel you discover that someone has been stealing supplies and giving them to bandits. You must question each person and decide who you think the culprit is. During your 'investigation' the bandits attack the motel, which leads to a shootout and of course, a horde of walkers. It becomes obvious to Lee, Kenny, Lilly and the gang that the motel is no longer safe and they decide to get into the RV and leave.

This is where things take a turn for the worse for everyone. Again, I don't like to spoil the story, but for this review, I must reveal some things, so, please read on with extreme caution.

Tensions begin to rise as Lilly seeks justice for the person responsible for dealing with the bandits. Ben and Carley (if saved in Ep 1) are the prime suspects. After hitting a Walker with RV and getting it stuck underneath, the RV pulls over, which leads to Lilly shooting....someone in the head, in a fit of rage. You must now decide - take Lilly with you or leave her at the side of the road.

Now, it's not very often a game will leave me open mouthed and literally "what the fucking, but moments after getting back on the road, something happens that left me momentarily stunned.

Right, I think I've spoiled enough so I will just say that things get progressively worse as this particular episode comes to a close. With only 2 episodes remaining, one can only wonder what surprises (good and bad) TellTale have in store for us.

Unlike Starved for Help, the new characters you meet in LRA aren't entirely exciting or memorable. A homeless guy called Chuck and 2 survivors, Omid and Christa. While Chuck brings a creepy old man vibe to the game, Omid and Christa appear near the end of the episode so don't really have a chance to develop, but something tells me this will change in the next episode of The Walking Dead.

Gameplay wise, this episode is the most varied. There's the usual conversation pieces, but there's also a bit of shooting and puzzle solving thrown into the mix. After 3 episodes I thought the point and click gameplay would get tiresome, but it works fantastically and will be leading me to visit other games in this particular genre.

Apart from the framerate issues I encountered during the opening of A New Day, no major bugs or glitches have really stood out. However, during one scene I felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. For some unexplained reason, after talking to some of the characters and trying to advance in the game, it decided it would be a great idea to make me do it again. There was nothing I did wrong, but for some reason, I had to go through the same conversations and actions twice, all the while, Chuck's acoustic guitar was hovering/stuck in his waist as he moved around!

As with the previous episodes, the voice acting and audio in general is incredibly well executed. A sombre tune plays during slower scenes, such as moving from character to character, interacting with them. It does a great job of setting the mood and never becomes annoying.

The bond between Lee and Clementine is visibly growing and becoming stronger as Lee evolves from protector to father figure. It's almost like a love story in a way (not the bad kind), you really do see that the relationship they have is changing them as characters.

The Verdict

Long Road Ahead is not the best episode to date, but is by no means a bad one. An episode full of drama, emotion and times of true horror, Long Road Ahead will hit you like a ton of bricks! One major glitch stood out like a unicorn at a petting zoo, which is a shame.

Case Review