Okay, I honestly cannot figure out, for the life of me, how people can have such double standards or can be this purely stupid, when they are a part of the walking dead game or any zombie game for that matter. I think I did mention this in my previous review of episodes 1 and 2, but seriously though, some actions made me go completely “what the actual f*ck” I’m just going to say it … I think David is a moron.
Anyways, I’m gonna go straight into Javi, because I want to mention some things as him being the main character. I’m not going to lie, I felt a bit worried, playing as a completely new character, because so far, Telltale had done a great job in shaping Clementine for this role. Also I didn’t have these worries as Lee, in season one, because it was a new game and all characters were new and we didn’t really have this “backstory” of events that we face with the previous seasons now. Also, taking care of Clementine, to playing her in season two, to now completely not having control over her actions (except flashback memory parts, which I will mention a bit further down), was kind of a bummer for me. But I have to say, I did find Javi likeable. I like the way Telltale have created this character and then allow us, the players, to tailor and shape his personality bits and pieces as we progress through this very stressful storyline. This is further supplemented in the 3rd episode, where we are faced with such decisions to reveal a more opposite side of Javi – one where he is not afraid to fight back anymore and I’m not referring to zombies, oh no. I am talking about people. People, who we saw in episode 1 and 2 did awful thigs to us (top of the list killed our niece, Mariana), and now when their lives were at our mercy, we had a choice. But also it’s further supplemented by how our companions react to this. Okay … *SPOILER ALERT* … I’m not gonna lie, my emotions got the best of me and I bashed Badger’s head like there was no tomorrow. But I didn’t do it all the way ‘till the end. Tripp was there, telling me to stop already and with every hit, I realized what I was turning Javi into. Then next up we had Max. Without saying I blew his brains out, but in the end I felt as if I was contradicting myself. Their actions completely justified their deaths, but my point was that we see how these dark times of a zombie apocalypse are starting to shape our actions and their justifications, but we as players are still given the opportunity to decide how exactly we want Javi to handle things. And there are so many varieties – from impulsive, to humble, from quiet and obeying to the complete rebel. I for one love character development and to firsthand participate in this development, makes me really happy. But amongst all, I felt like I could push Javi beyond his limits and see how exactly he copes with everything. And to be fair, for the amount of sh*t some people have been throwing at him *cough* David *cough*, I am surprised how strong his survival instinct grew to be, but also, he knows what it means to have a family to take care of and wanting to do everything in your power to protect them.
And now, in episode 3, we finally get a deeper look into this “New Frontier” that everyone is so distrust of. To be fair, I didn’t buy any of it. The good lady with the chocolate cake? The fair community act? The way she reacted to when I demanded justice for Mariana? All loads of bullsh*t. Like seriously, I have come to know how effed people, and especially communities, are so I knew all along there would be something rotting the frontier from the top lines. And then we have David. Okay … *ANOTHER SPOILER TAG* … now I shall proceed to explain why I believe that David’s character is a moron. First of all, let’s talk about his position in the frontier. So apparently, the frontier is being led by 4 people, all responsible for different things in the community. As a chief of security, you’d think David would have more of a word amongst the other 3, but throughout the whole episode, he felt like a puppy, and a very unappealing puppy at that. His character was the one that frustrated me the most. Eff Max and Badger and that other guy, who was lying his ass off, whose name I don’t remember, but seriously, all the time David did not step up for anything. I felt like his opinion does not matter at all. No matter what he does or says, it’s already predetermined by that annoying lady … I think Joan was her name, or somewhere along those lines, and that other crops growing dude, who I felt like was as bland as an avocado – only texture, no flavor. Like, he had 0 opinion of his own, always taking Joan’s side. I was getting frustrating with his lack of character and willpower to make decisions on his own as well, as that passive doctor, who at least was trying to get things right. And not only that, but David completely lacks the will to put up for his family. I mean the one scene that infuriated me was the send off. Of course his wife and son got to stay in Richmond, while the unwanted brother was cast off, as a thief, trying to fend off for his family. And what did David do? Okay, so on my way to the meeting point, I was like “surely he would do something, I mean come on”, and he has the audacity to come up to my face and tell me “goodbye” … Like, yeah, thanks for taking care of my family man, I don’t need you anymore so f*ck off … while he was nesting the killers of his own daughter in that same community he is wagging his little obedient tail at. Honestly, I feel like David didn’t really care about the death of Mariana. And his care for Kate, came off as so fake. But it’s not only in him the problem – it’s the whole frontier. I feel like the whole frontier were a bunch of unknown faces, with undeveloped personalities, that just managed to piss me off. Unlike in previous seasons or even in season 3, the people from Prescott and even Jesus, who I came across at the end of episode 2 and now he’s gone again, was way more likeable than any of those frontier idiots.
And then the ending … YOU CANNOT DO THIS TO ME TELLTALE!!! You know, this is why I cannot watch TV series or Anime, or play any episodical games, while they are being released, BECAUSE I CANNOT HANDLE THE STRESS OF WAITING. I would much rather wait for the whole thing to be out and then watch/play it, rather than be like a little fish, swimming through the water all like “yeeeeeeah, 2 eps of TWD:S3, I’m so happeh” and then I had to flop for nearly 2 months dry, just to get another 1hr episode of fresh water swimming and now here I am flopping for air again … STAHP.
Anyways, the ending of the 3rd episode was not as nearly as climactic as the previous 2, however it does leave you hanging with quite the cliff hanger and I kind of have my own mixed feelings as to what will happen. I can kind of guess that things will be a lot more chaotic now, but I hope Telltale don’t kill off the characters I like. And also, I hope we get to shape how the events will happen, not them happening off screen.
Last thing before the verdict, I want to mention are flashbacks. Telltale have been sticking to this flashback system of tailoring plot points in season 3 and I for one, like this, because it shows more character development for characters we don’t know and how they have changed based on the zombie infestation, going on. The only thing that bothers me is that Clementine’s flashbacks feel a bit bland for me. Honestly, they show how she has gotten from the point of season 2’s finale, up to where we are now, which is understandable, but because I lack the knowledge of this bond between Clem and AJ, I just cannot sympathize to her as much as I did with Lee.
Anyway, off to verdict. I can give this episode a 7/10. I kind of feel like I wanted more from it, but it was still engaging enough, to score high with me. I guess the over-clumping of the frontier is pulling it a bit down, but hopefully we can see a bit of character development and motives for the frontier dudes as well.
THE WALKING DEAD: A NEW FRONTIER Was review on PC Via the Steam Platform, the game is also available on PS4 and XBox One.
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