The Case

The Walking Dead, Telltale's episodic game based on the popular zombie comic book series, kicked off in a brutal, emotional way with episode 1 - A New Day. A point and click adventure with more soul, guts and brains than you can shake a stick at. Starved for Help is the 2nd episode in the 5 part series...

The Trial

Starved for Help continues the story of Lee, Clementine and the gang, 3 months after the first episode. After an incident in the woods involving a bear-trap, a leg and of course, zombies, tensions amidst the group begin to rise as food is running out and the number of mouths to feed is increasing. It's not long before help arrives in the form of two brothers, Andrew and Danny St John. The brothers reveal that they own a dairy farm not that far from the motel where the main cast have set up base. A deal is soon made - food for gasoline.

The survivors decide to split - some stay at the motel and defend it while the others check out the farm. On their way to the farm they encounter a couple of bandits arguing in the woods. One bandit shoots the other and the gang decide it's time to keep moving. The dairy farm is the main setting for this episode and seems to be a safe haven for the survivors. And Mrs St John, the mother of the brothers is the typical sweet old lady. You know the kind, the one's who have a big sign above them screaming "DO NOT TRUST ME!!!"...that kind of old lady.

Upon their arrival Lee and Mark (Mark is a new character introduced in this episode) inspect the electric fence perimeter which surrounds the farm, looking for weak spots that the Walkers could get through. It's not long until Mark takes an arrow to the shoulder from a bandit hiding in the woods, claiming they've been cheated of food. As with my review of the first episode, A New Day, I will try to keep things relatively spoiler free, but please read on with caution...

After finding a locked door in the barn, Lee becomes even more suspicious of the St John's and their reaction to Lee's curiosity towards this locked door. It's from here on out that things take a stomach churning, grizzly turn...during a seemingly lovely meal cooked by Mrs St John, Lee makes a startling revelation about the ingredients and it soon becomes apparent that the Walkers (zombies) aren't the only things hungry for human flesh...

Without giving away too much, one of the hardest decisions I had to make during this episode and indeed the first, came shortly after 'the dinner scene', when the group are placed in a locked room. It was a decision that will no doubt hugely impact the remaining episodes and it will leave you with an unsettled feeling.

Concentrating more on the human danger faced by the survivors, Starved for Help replaces the Walkers for an equally dangerous threat. Telltale do a great job creating these seemingly 'normal' brothers and their sweet and charming mother. The gradual exposure of their true mentality is extremely creepy and unnerving. Lee is yet again faced with even more decisions that define him as a man, you as the player and the story itself, with an especially brutal decision that will leave you with a burning "what if..." question...

The Verdict

The Walking Dead: Starved for Help is Telltale at their finest. The lack of zombie action in this particular episode is redeemed by the fantastically creepy character design and development of the St Johns. An episode filled with paranoia and visible cracks threatening to split the group, each piece of dialogue chosen, each decision made all impact something and set the ball rolling for a potentially explosive 3rd episode.

Case Review