The Walking Dead Telltale Game, Clementine Rises

At last the waiting is done. All that vaguely obsessive compulsive analysis of the trailer need no longer suffice for the hungry fans. It seemed like it would never happen, but finally, the Walking Dead Telltale game, season 2, has arrived. Episode one is ready for our thrilled exploration. And you'll hear no discouraging words from this aficionado. It rocks.

The Walking Dead franchise has been a major boon for the creative explorations of the interactive fan base crowd. Elsewhere on this site, we've looked at the booming role of the Walking Dead fanfiction . The Telltale game provides another, more structured, but still interactive experience with the world that Robert Kirkman created.

Clementine has moved center stage. The young girl, so vulnerable and sweet, that season one's protagonist, Lee, was so concerned to protect, having lost her devoted guardian, now must survive on her own. And it's not going to be easy.

The almost universally celebrated game, in its second season, continues breathing new life into the adventure game genre, once left for dead by many a gaming aficionado. Its strength of the past carries through into the present, skirting the danger of lapsing into mere puzzle solving. Instead, the emphasis on dynamic and interactive story telling remains its forte. And these aren't empty choices.

The protagonist's choices matter. Not just in the moment, but also in the future. They can lead to surprising and tragic outcomes. The game keeps track of choices, even alerting the player about specific statements or actions that another character will remember. Often these past decisions come back to haunt the protagonist. And this is not only from episode to episode, but it appears choices from last season will affect options in this new season.

As happy as I am with this continued emphasis on the interactive dynamic, not everything is the same. Mostly, though the changes are improvements. This is particularly notable on the technical side of things. The graphics are greatly improved: richer and more detailed. The frame rate too is better. Clementine walks more quickly than we saw in season one. When you're gripped in suspense at the prospect of a walker attack, that's a great add.

My one complaint was that too often I thought the dialogue choices were too extreme. Either Clementine had to be harsh or childish. That's the way I read it and I didn't think that kind of limitation gave either the character or the story the fullness from which it could have benefited. I'll be keeping an eye on that development going forward.

On the flip side of the coin, though, playing a young girl does provide for some interesting options that weren't available by playing Lee. Clementine can be coyly manipulative. This is a new and interesting option - especially for those of us who have never been young girls!

And, I'm happy to report, that Telltales' strongest strong suit remains firmly in place here in the first episode of season two. I'm referring of course to the moral complexities confronting the protagonist. For instance, are you prepared to make Clementine a dead cold killer right from the get-go?

Lots of people already have. What are the consequences of that? Only future episodes will tell the tale. This is why the Walking Dead Telltale games have been so successful and so compelling. So far, the future looks bright. At least, from outside of the zombie apocalypse...and all that.