The Walking Dead Episode 4: Around Every Corner's final stages overcome the weak script and lacking characterization.
Telltale Games has always been a great developer of adventure games based on licensed property. They developed a season based on Back to the Future, and they also made an episodic series of Jurassic Park. Now they have tackled The Walking Dead. Though the two games aren't anywhere near the quality of The Walking Dead, they still showed the pedigree they had with storytelling. But here, man, they've bettered themselves. I was riveted by the first three episodes, all of which bore moral weight on me and had a real emotional impact. I thought the third episode, "Long Road Ahead" was the strongest episode yet and, though the fourth episode isn't as memorable, the final ten minutes are worth the price of admission alone, but don't expect an amazing adventure this time around.
Episode 4, "Around Every Corner", follows Lee and co, including newcomers Omid and Christa from Episode 3, as they attempt to find the riverfront in the city of Savannah. There are a few ongoing predicaments – Kenny's struggle with coming to terms with his tragic ordeal, Ben's guilt, and Clementine's wish of finding her parents. These three themes had me engaged once more, but unfortunately Telltale introduces us to new and relatively uninteresting characters that don't bear nearly as much emotional weight as the cast we've come to connect with these past three episodes. The story starts well enough, but the characters don't feel as personal as the others I have come to know for 6+ hours of game time and leave the story before they have a chance to develop.
One of the most important aspects of The Walking Dead over these last three episodes was character development and, though the final 10 minutes are as strong as anything that has come before, the episode as a whole doesn't feel as riveting by comparison. The choices made in this episode don't feel as powerful or as meaningful as what has happened before. Also, there are some narrative choices that I felt were disappointing. The main aspect it the incident involving a mysterious voice on the walkie-talkie, teased at the conclusion of Episode 3. It was a "this is going to be great" moment and, upon finishing Episode 4, I'm confused as to why Telltale bypassed this area altogether. That's why this episode feels weaker than the others.
I think one of the main reasons why this episode isn't as strong is because of the action. There are numerous sequences where shooting is the priority, and though its in good spirit, the impact of the story suffers a little because of it. Also, while not a big issue, I feel the pacing is a little of in spots. Most of the time its solid, but there are some moments of downtime that feel a little slower than normal, but its nothing major. As for the presentation, The Walking Dead: Episode 4 is as good as ever, outside of the now expected game freezes. However, its not as bad as what we saw in Episode 2, so props to Telltale in that respect.
Visually, "Around Every Corner" has some really great environments and art direction. The animations are stiff and awkward, and there are some glitches in a couple of cut-scenes, but I think Episode 4 is the best its ever looked. The character models still need good lip-syncing, but its an attractive game. In terms of audio, the voice acting is as excellent as always, and the dialogue lets the performances shine. The sound effects are as good as ever outside of some occasional cuts, and the soundtrack is fantastic.
Gameplay plays a bigger part than ever, with some solid albeit unspectacular sequences, such as fending off zombies while trying to remove your leg from a hole in a staircase, or searching for items while zombies are being distracted. These are good, but they aren't as tense as other scenes in the previous episodes, and they don't add much to the emotional core of the game, except from a scene later on in the episode.
"Around Every Corner" runs the gambit of around two-and-a-half hours. Despite some muddled pacing, it feels perfect, as Telltale have always delivered stories that don't outstay their welcome. And like before, going through these episodes again is the crux of the Walking Dead experience.
The Walking Dead – Episode 4: "Around Every Corner" is another solid addition to this great series. The story is mostly good and the core cast is as solid as ever, except for some issues with new characters. The action is welcome but not all that memorable, and the final ten minutes are stronger than anything yet in the series. In spite of the issues, this episode is still worth experiencing.
SUMMARY
Presentation 7.0 – The story is worth seeing (for the final stages), but the characters – and dialogue – aren't as memorable this time around, and some narrative decisions are baffling.
Graphics 8.5 – Some great environment and art design. Stiff animations and models take away from the look at times.
Audio 9.0 – The superb voice acting, sound effects and soundtrack are in tact.
Gameplay 7.0 – The pacing suffers at times, but the core action is still good enough.
Replayability 8.5 – Going back to the other episodes is par for the course once more.
Overall – 7.5/10